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The family of a US influencer who died after she was filmed being violently beaten while on vacation in Mexico has called for the government to take action against her suspected killer.
Attorneys for Shanquella Robinson, who died in October aged 25, joined her mother and sister to demand that the State Department and Department of Justice either extradite the suspect to face justice in Mexico or prosecute them in the US.
Robinson’s case has been taken on by famous civil rights attorney Ben Crump – who represented the family of George Floyd and recently announced he would be suing over the death of Malcolm X.
Crump said during a press conference in Washington DC that his office confirmed the Mexican government had identified a suspect in Robinson’s murder – and that they were currently free in the US.
Robinson, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was found dead in San Jose Del Cabo during a vacation. Initially the group she was with allegedly blamed her death on alcohol poisoning – but an autopsy later concluded her neck and spine had been broken.
The family of Shanquella Robinson, who died in October during a trip to Mexico and was filmed being beaten shortly beforehand, have demanded that her suspected killer face justice
Robinson’s family is being represented by famous civil rights attorney Ben Crump (pictured), who said Mexico had completed its own investigation and identified a suspect who is now free in the US. Sallamondra Robinson, her mother, is to the left of Crump
Soon after her death, a video went viral in which she was seen being severely beaten by another woman in a hotel room – while at least two people watched and recorded.
Her family members called on President Joe Biden and the US State Department to help bring the people responsible to justice.
‘I plan on talking to the highest levels of our government to say Shanquella Robinson is not irrelevant and you all need to give her the same dignity and respect as any citizen in the United States with merit,’ Crump said during the conference on Friday.
He added: ‘The United States government should do one of two things. One, they should either extradite the person who murdered Shanquella Robinson to Mexico to face the charges and the crimes that have been alleged against her.
‘Or two, they should take jurisdiction. Mexico is willing to give jurisdiction to the United States to bring a case for those responsible for killing Shanquella Robinson.
‘The only question is State Department, President Biden, what are you going to do to bring justice for this broken hearted family? Especially this mother of Shanquella Robinson?’
Sue Ann Robinson (pictured) traveled to Mexico to learn about the status of the Mexican government’s investigation into Robinson’s death
A woman, whose name has not been released, is seen in footage attacking Shanquella Robinson at the villa they rented out for the birthday of one of their friends in Cabo, Mexico, in late October
Crump said that an attorney from his office had been sent to Mexico in order to collect evidence and understand the status of the Mexican investigation. That attorney, Sue Ann Robinson, concluded that the investigation was complete and that a suspect who is now free in the US had been identified.
‘The ball is clearly in the United States’ court, the State Department the Department of Justice, the ball is in your court. Do what you have to do,’ said Robinson, who is not related to Shanquella.
Sallamondra Robinson, Shanquella’s mother also spoke on Friday. ‘I am here as an American citizen to ask our president and everyone with the power to get Justice for my daughter to help me please help me and my family,’ she said.
Her sister Quilla Long described the family’s difficulties in securing justice. ‘This journey has been frustrating, the feeling of disheartenment towards our government. I feel like our government has failed us,’ she said.
Also addressing the media on Friday was activist Tamika Mallory. ‘It is all too often that when black women are harmed people don’t show up and fight,’ she said.
‘What we see is very clear. She was beaten to death. And if she wasn’t beaten to death, the somebody needs to come and tell us exactly what happened,’ she added.
Charlotte resident Shanquella Robinson died while on vacation in Cabo, Mexico, on October 29. Video footage surfaced of one of her friends violently beating her in a villa
In the month after her death Mexican officials confirmed they were investigating Robinson’s death as femicide, which is regional terminology for the intentional killing of a woman.
Officials also revealed that her neck had been broken and her spine had been severed, both discovered during an autopsy.
That news came after a video surfaced that appeared to show Shanquella being beaten while naked in her hotel room.
Robinson’s mother said her daughter’s friends initially called her and said she had died of alcohol poisoning.
‘My heart just, like, it went into pieces,’ said her mom. ‘Shanquella was my heart.’
‘Saturday evening, I got a call saying that Shanquella wasn’t feeling well,’ she said, but added that she quickly figured out there was more to the story.
‘By the time that we questioned each one of them, and each one of them gave us a different statement,’ she told GMA on Friday.
‘I did not believe them because actually before they even got back to Charlotte… someone had already called us and said that someone was fighting her over there,’ she added.
She also said Shanquella was with someone her mom knew ‘very well’ and hoped he would look out for her daughter, but ‘that’s not what it was.’
‘I don’t wish the terrible nightmare on anyone,’ said her mother on Friday.
‘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.’
