Family Fights for Justice After Teen Cheerleader's Unexpected Passing

A grieving mother stepped in front of cameras with a warning she never imagined she'd have to give, and the everyday product at the center of her pain may shock you.

Alicia Rodriguez stood before the public on April 8, 2026, representing her family, which was forever changed by the death of her 17-year-old daughter, Larissa Nicole Rodriguez, a Weslaco High School cheerleader who passed away on October 20, 2025.

A wrongful death lawsuit had just been filed against a big company, and what attorneys claim killed Larissa was something millions of teenagers buy without a second thought.

A Girl Who Will Be Missed

Let's get to know the teenager a little bit first. Born on December 7, 2007, in Denton, Texas, and raised in Weslaco, she was the beloved daughter of Roberto Rodriguez Jr. and Alicia, and the cherished older sister of Robert Alejandro Rodriguez.

From an early age, she carried herself with a confidence that turned heads and a warmth that made people feel immediately at ease.

Her mother introduced her to pageants as a young girl, and those early experiences shaped her into someone who faced challenges without flinching.

She went on to earn the titles of Miss Texas Onion Fest and Junior Miss Weslaco, adding those to a growing list of honors that reflected both her drive and her deep ties to her community.

Friends remembered her as someone who could walk into any room and instantly make it brighter.

During her time at Weslaco High School, Larissa balanced several major leadership roles. She led the student body as the Student Council President, managed procedures as the National Honor Society Parliamentarian, and helped guide the Varsity Cheer Team as its co-captain.

Beyond these campus roles, she actively participated in the Latina in Progress Program. Her athletic skills also earned her recognition as a UCA All-American Cheerleader and a position as a UCA Staff Candidate.

Academically, she ranked in the top 5% of her graduating class, with her sights set on the University of Texas at Austin, where she planned to pursue a career in law.

Her obituary describes a young woman whose laughter echoed through every cheer competition she attended and whose dedication to giving back was matched by few her age.

She was instrumental in community drives like Flip Flops to the World and Socktober, and collected numerous service awards for her work with local charities.

Outside of school, she loved attending musicals, cheering for Taylor Swift and Meagan Maroney, and spending movie nights with her dad.

What Happened After Her Death?

When Larissa died, no cause was shared publicly. Her family grieved without answers, and the Weslaco community mourned alongside them.

Months later, those answers finally came, and they were devastating in their simplicity. Attorneys for the Rodriguez family say Larissa died from an enlarged heart caused by stress and an excessive amount of caffeine.

Medical examinations confirmed that she had no drugs or alcohol in her body at the time. Furthermore, she possessed a clean medical record and no documented family history of cardiac issues.

"The medical examiner did 100 different tests, all negative, and the only finding was caffeine and the heart swollen," said attorney Benny Agosto Jr.

Therefore, Larissa was not a reckless teenager. She was a high-achieving young woman who had no idea that what she was consuming was slowly ending her life.

What Allegedly Caused This?

According to the family lawyer, in the year leading up to her death, Larissa had made Alani Nu part of her daily routine, drawn in by the way it was marketed across social media as a health and wellness product with an energy boost.

The colorful branding and influencer-driven posts framed it as something wholesome, even aspirational. Over time, she became a promoter herself, posting about the drink the way she had seen others do.

"It was very common for her to get up in the morning, go to school and have an Alani or be in sports activities and have an Alani," Benny said. "We have pictures and videos of her playing sports and her and her classmates, as well as other friends, drinking Alani or other energy drinks."

While talking about the lawsuit placed against the energy drink's distributors, Alicia described her daughter's last weekend with painful precision.

"She drank one on Friday. She drank one on Saturday. She drank one on Sunday. I have a picture of her on Sunday after homecoming in the morning drinking her energy drink with half a bagel, cream cheese, turkey, bacon," she said.

Still, that routine was, by every appearance, ordinary.

The Numbers Behind the Can

Unfortunately, each 12-ounce can of Alani Nu contains 200 mg of caffeine, the same amount found in a 12-ounce can of Celsius.

The FDA's total daily maximum for healthy adults sits at 400 mg, but for teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17, Columbia University Irving Medical Center puts the safe daily ceiling at under 100 mg.

One can of Alani Nu contains double that teenage limit. For comparison, an 8.4-ounce Red Bull has 80 mg of caffeine, and a 17-ounce Monster contains 160 mg, making Alani Nu significantly more concentrated than two of the most recognized names in the category.

Beyond the caffeine, the lawsuit claims the drink contains undisclosed stimulants that could trigger cardiac arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, or death, with minors at particular risk.

The can does include a side-panel warning advising against use by children, people sensitive to caffeine, and pregnant or nursing women, but Larissa's legal team argues that the way the product was promoted to young women on social media directly contradicted that message.

A Lawsuit and a Legacy

The wrongful death lawsuit names Glazer's Beer and Beverage and Glazer's Beer and Beverage of Texas as defendants, accusing them of allegedly distributing drinks that were "dangerously formulated and inadequately labeled."

Potential damages exceed $1 million, and legal experts anticipate this amount will climb as the litigation continues. No hearing date has been set, and the distributors have not responded to requests for comment.

For Alicia, the decision to go public was about more than legal action. "I know that there were a lot of people that did want to know what happened. And when we talked to our attorney, he said, 'In the spirit of Larissa and of what you do, this is also advocacy,'" she said.

"Never would I think that I would be in this situation, that my family would be in this situation," Alicia added. "This is the hardest thing that I've ever gone through in my life."

That word, advocacy, captures exactly who Larissa was, and who her family is choosing to be in her name.

A girl who spent her short life organizing charity drives, leading her school, and lifting those around her became the reason her mother stood before cameras, determined to make sure no other family is left with the same silence they once endured.