lts identified methamphetamine, amphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine in her system.

Her mother disputes how investigators interpreted the messages.

 You doing this makes me want to take my own life,  Billie quoted one message as saying. Another, she said, blamed the man's alleged drug use.

The family also questions accounts of Bella's final moments and the physical evidence.

A Fort Worth crime lab report identified Bella as the major DNA contributor on the gun. A minor DNA profile came from an unknown male, but the genetic material was insufficient for further analysis. Neither profile was suitable for entry into the FBI's CODIS database.

The family acknowledges the unidentified DNA could belong to Bella's father, who purchased the gun for her protection. The finding alone does not establish that another person was involved in her death.

CBS News Texas attempted to contact the man Bella lived with. A woman identifying herself as his mother said he was unavailable and questioned why the story was being pursued because Bella was dead.

In a statement, Fort Worth police said homicide investigators consider all possibilities, including whether a death may be a homicide, and work with the medical examiner's office. Police did not directly address whether Bella's case would be reinvestigated.

One Safe Place examines possible hidden homicides

The Gonzales family turned to One Safe Place in Fort Worth, a family justice center serving survivors of domestic violence.

Michelle Morgan, the center's executive vice president and director of the Family Justice Center, reviewed portions of Bella's journal.

 You can 100% tell that there is some power and control that is happening in the journal,  Morgan said.

Morgan, a former Fort Worth police employee, connected the case with a national team of experts trained to examine deaths where domestic violence may have been overlooked.

The review to determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted has no deadline and does not require police to adopt its findings.

But Bella's case could be just the beginning.

Morgan has been working with researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington's School of Social Work to identify deaths that warrant closer examination.

Researchers initially identified 279 suicides and undetermined deaths between 2020 and 2025. They expanded the review to cover a decade and compared those records with One Safe Place's database.

They found nine matches.

That does not mean nine deaths were misclassified.

 What we were at least able to do is go back to see when those survivors came here, what were they disclosing?  Morgan said.  What was their danger score? Were they in extreme danger for homicide to occur? Had they made any police reports? 

The research could help establish a regional multidisciplinary review team capable of identifying warning signs, improving investigations, and recommending policy changes.

 There is no system right now that's set up for us to review these cases and have some cross-agency coordination to see, 'Are we missing something?'  Morgan said.

Family pushes for 'Bella's Law' in Texas

The Gonzales family wants Texas lawmakers to require more thorough investigations of suicides and suspicious deaths when there is evidence of intimate partner violence.

Their proposed  Bella's Law  would also seek accountability when abuse is proven to have contributed to a death by suicide.

 I want accountability for abusers who their abuse contributes to death by suicide,  Billie said.

For the Gonzaleses, the fight has come at a cost.

They say they have spent their savings hiring experts and gathering investigative records, in search of answers they believe remain out of reach. Their daughter's grave has become a daily destination.

 I find a sense of peace here, but it never gets easier,  Billie said.

The family still doesn't know whether the national review will change the official findings in Bella's death.

What they do know is that other families may be living with the same questions.

 And I know some people think we should have moved on,  Billie said.  But when you lose a child, there's no moving on, you move with. 

For the Gonzales family, moving with grief now means fighting for answers-and potentially changing how Texas investigates deaths like Bella's.