Mother of ASU student who died in Greek Village says university isn't providing answers

The mother of Arizona State University student Ivan Aguirre, who died earlier this week on the Tempe campus, told The Arizona Republic she still is seeking answers from university officials about what happened to her son.

Aguirre, 20, was found dead Monday in his room at the Greek Leadership Village east of the main campus, ASU officials said.

Velvet Aguirre said Thursday afternoon that ASU has provided her with no details about her son's death.

"I'm very disappointed with the way that the ASU police force has handled this," she said. "I've had to reach out to the lead detective myself to ask questions, to which I get zero answers. Not only do I get zero answers to these questions, but I'm treated very condescendingly and not as a mother who has just lost her first-born child."

University officials did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Republic on Thursday. A spokesperson provided the following statement Friday afternoon:

“ASU Police are conducting an active investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Ivan Aguirre. Because of that investigation and the confidentiality of student information, some information cannot be shared with the family at this time, but we have shared all of the information that we can and have reached out to discuss their concerns and offer support.”

ASU initially said foul play is not suspected but have not released any official manner of death or other details, other than to say he was found inside his room.

"It's very devastating to know that your child's gone and you don’t know why," Aguirre said. "I know there's been things out in the media and I just want it to be clear that (Ivan) was a junior, college student that has maintained a 3.5 GPA the entire time (and) is not a bad kid that is heavily on drugs."

Velvet described her son as "a light to the world."

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She said Ivan was very social, kind and had an extreme sense of humor.

"I still keep thinking this isn’t real, I'm just going through the motions at this point because it was literally the call that no parent wants to get," she said. "It's still hard to fathom that my first-born child, who I saw take his first breath on earth, isn’t here anymore."

Paul Aguirre, Ivan's uncle, remembers Ivan as an "outgoing, free-spirited guy who was wise beyond his years."

Ivan attended Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix on a scholarship and graduated with honors. He was attending ASU on a full-ride scholarship and was a member of the fraternity Lambda Chi.

Paul remembered coming to ASU for its homecoming. Ivan did not attend the festivities because he was working to get his GPA up above 3.9.

Ivan, who would've turned 21 in December, was a junior studying sports business, something Paul said he always loved.

"(Ivan) knew he could make more money, but he would rather be doing something he loved," Paul said.

Dreaming of becoming a general manager, Ivan hoped to get an internship with the Diamondbacks that would lead to a career with any of the local teams — teams Ivan grew up watching.

Ivan also played the sports he watched and was "naturally athletic." Paul, a member of the military, remembers Ivan being just a year old and performing a pushup in perfect form.

"I took a picture of it and put it in my office to show other troops the standard of a pushup," Paul said.

AJ Aguirre, Ivan's dad, developed a flesh-eating disease that made him disabled. However, Paul said Ivan put AJ at ease.

"Ivan would tell his dad, 'I'm proud of you and no one is better than you' and he would introduce him as the most successful man," Paul said.

AJ described his son in two ways: cool and the leader of the family, according to Paul.

"(Ivan) had a quiet confidence and could get along with anyone," Paul said.

As the leader of the family, Ivan inspired both of his younger siblings.

"His siblings are successful because Ivan took the ball and ran with it," Paul said.

Sam Aguirre, Ivan's brother, recalled Ivan as a "superstar" older brother, making him who he is today. He also has a sister, Gabby, a sophomore at the University of Arizona.

"(Ivan) was one of the few good guys in the world who was going to do great things," Sam said.

Sam will miss his brother's funny personality, he said.

"He would walk into the room and you would be laughing automatically without him even saying anything," Sam said.

"(Ivan) lived a full life in the short 20 years he got," Paul said.

The family made a GoFundMe page for Aguirre and in just over a day has raised more than $37,000.

"Only Ivan would've had this reaction in the community. He was loved," Paul said.

If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe, you can find it at gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-ivan-aguirre.

A funeral for Aguirre will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Brophy College Preparatory, 4701 N. Central Ave. Velvet Aguirre said the service will be open to the public.

She also added that Ivan's fraternity organized a candlelight vigil walk Friday at 7:30 p.m. from the Greek Leadership Village to A-Mountain.

Reach the reporter at alexa.fuenmayor@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexafuenmay.