a 20 year old New Mexico State football player she was found dead at her home earlier this week, police said Thursday.
A roommate called first responders after discovering Thalia Chaverria was unresponsive at her residence in the 2400 block of El Dorado Court in Las Cruces around 7 a.m. Monday. the authorities said.
In the early stages of this investigation, suicide and foul play were not immediately suspected.
“There is nothing to make it look like a suicide and there is no evidence of foul play,” police spokesman Danny Trujillo told NBC News on Thursday.
Chaverria would have been entering his junior season on the Aggies football team.
The Bakersfield, California native was a back-line anchor for NMSU who, last season, won his first conference title in school history. NMSU recorded three straight shutouts in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament to clinch their berth to the postseason.
She started 20 of 21 games for NMSU last year and played 1,787 minutes, fourth-most on the team.
“The sudden loss of Thalia has completely shaken the world of our Aggie soccer families,” NMSU Coach Rob Baarts he said in a statement. “T was an inspiration and a rock to this team. She will be missed but not forgotten. Her spirit will be with us every day, on and off the field. I will always love you T!”
Chaverria’s tragic death marked another difficult time in 2023 for the NMSU athletic department.
Earlier this year, the school abruptly canceled men’s basketball season and fired her coach following accusations of hazing and the shooting death of a student from rival New Mexico.
