One year has passed since 25-year-old Shanquella Robinson died very suddenly on October 29, 2022, while on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with six other people.
The circumstances surrounding her death, initially attributed to alcohol poisoning by her travel companions, took a drastic turn when a video surfaced showing Shanquella being severely beaten during the trip. This evidence raised questions and suspicions regarding the actual cause of her death. Since then, Robinson’s family has been calling for justice and demanding that those responsible be held accountable.
One year after her tragic death, Robinson’s family plans to file a civil lawsuit against her six travel companions who were on the trip to Mexico with her.
“The lawsuit will be against the six travel mates including the three who lied by omission by failing to disclose that someone had been beating Shanquella prior to her death,” family lawyer, Sue-Ann Robinson (no relation), told Newsweek.
According to the family’s lawyer, the FBI and the U.S. State Department were negligent in their investigation.
“The FBI, saying that they’ve done a ‘thorough, diligent and complete investigation’ announcing that the case is closed, and still saying that they’re waiting for documents to be translated, is negligent,” Robinson told The Charlotte Observer.
The lawyer also said that the complaints will need to be filed in federal court, which takes time to prepare properly. She added that it likely will happen before Shanquella Robinson’s next birthday in January.
Although some of her friends said she died of alcohol poisoning, an autopsy done last November revealed that Shanquella died of “severe spinal cord injury and atlas dislocation,” a condition in which the first two vertebrae of the neck are unstable or excessively moving within 15 minutes of being injured.
About two weeks after the six people who were on the trip with her returned stateside, the video of Robinson being beaten went viral on social media, prompting people across the country to demand justice.
“It’s one transnational criminal case with video evidence with six witnesses. Six witnesses that are alive and haven’t fled anywhere,” Sue-Ann Robinson said. “They have the same cell phone numbers that they had when the crime transpired. If the FBI can open up files on Malcolm X and Martin Luther King for no reason, why can’t they (investigate) six people who [may be] involved in the murder of a U.S. citizen on video? (These are) questions that need answers.”
Mexican authorities have issued an arrest warrant for at least one of the six travelers, but a U.S. State Department authorization is needed for extradition.
The lawyer for the family said they “are tired, weary, heartbroken and missing Shanquella but motivated by her legacy to keep moving forward on the path to her justice.”