Shanquella Robinson’s mother, Sallamondra Robinson, speaks about her daughter’s death at a news conference on Friday, March 3, 2023. (Screenshot of news conference via WUSA9; Shanquella Robinson’s photo via Instagram.)
Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they would not bring criminal charges in the death of a 25-year-old North Carolina woman who died in Mexico, even though the victim’s family says video shows her being attacked by a woman wanted by authorities there.
In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina said the evidence involving the death of Shanquella Robinson does not support a federal prosecution.
“As in every case under consideration for federal prosecution, the government must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a federal crime was committed,” the DOJ’s press release said, adding that government officials told Robinson’s family that “the available evidence does not support a federal prosecution.”
“The death of Ms. Robinson has been incredibly difficult for her family and the community,” the statement continued. “As a matter of policy, federal officials generally do not issue public statements concerning the status of an investigation. However, given the circumstances of Ms. Robinson’s death and the public concern surrounding this investigation, it is important to reassure the public that experienced federal agents and seasoned prosecutors extensively reviewed the available evidence and have concluded that federal charges cannot be pursued.”
Robinson died on Oct. 29, one day after she and six others arrived at a villa in Cabo San Lucas. Initial reports attributed her death to alcohol poisoning, but the family says the video evidence and an autopsy report in Mexico suggest otherwise. Family members vow to continue fighting for justice and are planning a march and rally in Washington on May 19.
“Her attack was captured on video, and now we’re being told that there isn’t going to be an arrest or there aren’t going to be any charges brought,” said the family’s attorney Sue-Ann Robinson in a news conference on Wednesday. “We’re going to continue to press on. We’re going to continue to demand that there’s a high-level diplomatic intervention in this case.”
She questioned why there were no charges when a video surfaced of Robinson being attacked in a room and an autopsy in Mexico confirming that she injured her spine and had swelling on her brain.
“How are you closing an investigation on a case where the cause of death is undetermined, but we all have seen a video showing a brutal attack?” she said. “Now you’re telling us something else, not to believe our own eyes.”
She said that prosecutors in Mexico have issued an arrest warrant for someone identified as the aggressor seen in the video and believed to be in the U.S.
That alleged attacker has not been identified, but Mexican law enforcement has said the suspect was a friend of the victim. In January, the attorney general for the region where Robinson died said in an update that the investigation was ongoing.
When asked in the news conference how the Justice Department’s statement on Wednesday would affect any possible extradition, attorney Robinson said it’s like playing pingpong.
“For the United States government and for the FBI today to sit and tell myself, Mrs. Robinson and Mr. Robinson, that there’s nothing to be done on their end, and they’re closing their investigation, and I guess Mexico could do something if they want to is absolutely absurd,” she said.
In March, the family called on President Joe Biden and the U.S. State Department to help bring the people responsible to justice.
In a White House press briefing on March 16, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded a question asking what the White House was willing to do in the investigation. Jean-Pierre expressed condolences and called it a devastating tragedy but declined to comment on the case, citing the FBI investigation.
The victim’s mother, Sallamondra Robinson, wants answers.
“I don’t wish this terrible nightmare on anyone,” she said in a news conference last month. “My daughter was brutally beaten on a video. She was undressed, and there were many people that could have helped her. They laughed and joked instead. Shanquella came back from a vacation dead with a broken neck and spine.”
“I can hardly talk about it,” the victim’s mother continued. “The people who knew what happened to my daughter are living their lives. They have returned to work, and my family is left to wait, and we beg for answers.”
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