(UnitedVoice.com) – The death of an American in Mexico last year garnered national attention. Shanquella Robinson, 25, traveled to the country with friends when she suddenly died. The people with her quickly traveled back to the United States and told her family that alcohol poisoning killed her.
Authorities later disputed that story, and her family begged Mexican and US authorities to arrest those they believed were responsible. Now, the Department of Justice has made a decision in the case.
What Happened to Shanquella?
Robinson, a hairdresser from Charlotte, North Carolina, traveled to San José del Cabo with a group of six people. At about 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 29, a doctor was called to help her. The friends she was with told the physician that she’d had a great deal to drink.
According to WCNC, the doctor wanted to take Robinson to the hospital, but her friends refused to allow it. Around 4 p.m., she started convulsing, and an ambulance was called. Doctors at the hospital pronounced her dead less than two hours later.
A death certificate lists a broken neck and a severe spinal cord injury as the cause of death. Nobody really knew what happened to the young woman until November 2022. That’s when a video began circulating on the internet showing a naked woman, believed to be Robinson, being beaten by another woman. She is punched multiple times and kicked. At one point, someone grabs her by the neck and throws her to the ground.
Daniel de la Rosa Anaya, a Mexican attorney general for Baja California Sur, said Robinson’s death was femicide, and he issued an arrest warrant for one of her female friends. Extradition proceedings are ongoing.
Department of Justice’s Decision
On April 12, a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said federal authorities had spoken to Robinson’s family and offered their condolences. Authorities explained that in order to prosecute someone for her death, they had to prove that a federal law was broken. Unfortunately, they could not find evidence to support such a prosecution.
The family issued a statement through their attorney, Sue Ann Robinson, saying they were “disappointed” but they are not “deterred” by the decision. According to The New York Times, the family was told that there were signs of brain swelling, but a cause of death couldn’t be determined. A US autopsy allegedly didn’t find evidence of the spinal injuries.
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