(Trends Wide) — Shanquella Robinson arrived in the quaint Mexican town of San José del Cabo on October 28 with six of her friends.
A day later, the 25-year-old Winston-Salem State University student in North Carolina died while staying at a luxury rental property in Baja Calfornia Sur.
Now, nearly a month after her death, the FBI is investigating and Mexican prosecutors are seeking to extradite one of Robinson’s friends as a suspect in the case.
Here’s what we know about a case that began to gain attention after a viral video surfaced showing another woman beating Robinson while someone else filmed the assault.
Robinson last spoke to her mother the day before she died.
Shanquella Robinson. (Credit: WSOC/Robinson Family/Shanquella Robinson/Instagram)
Robinson traveled to Mexico on vacation with her friends from Winston-Salem State University, according to her father, Bernard Robinson.
The woman last spoke to her mother, Salamondra, by phone on the morning of October 28, according to her father.
Robinson was found dead in the living room of her vacation home the next day, US and Mexican authorities said.
Autopsy deepens mystery of how he died
Robinson’s cause of death was “severe spinal cord injury and dislocation of the atlas,” which is instability or excessive movement in the upper vertebrae of the neck, according to a copy of his death certificate obtained by Trends Wide affiliate WBTV. .
The death certificate classified Robinson’s death as “accidental or violent,” noting that the approximate time between injury and death was 15 minutes.
Viral video shows Shanquella Robinson being beaten
After Robinson’s death, his six friends returned to the United States.
A video circulating online in recent weeks appears to show a physical altercation inside a room between Robinson and another person.
It is not clear when the video was taken or if it shows the moment he suffered the fatal injury.
In the video, Robinson is seen lying on the ground and hit in the head, Bernard Robinson confirmed to Trends Wide.
Death resulted from “a direct attack”
Mexican prosecutors said last week that an arrest warrant had been issued there for a woman suspected of fatally assaulting Robinson.
Prosecutors said they were working on an extradition process with the Public Ministry and Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Evidence showed the death was the result of “a direct attack, not an accident,” and involved a friend of the victim, prosecutors said.
Mexican authorities have said the death occurred in San José del Cabo. The FBI said it occurred in the vicinity of Cabo San Lucas, and the agency has not responded to Trends Wide’s request for comment.
The suspect has not been publicly identified.
Mexican authorities have not named the suspect, but confirmed that he is an American person believed to be in the United States.
No one has been charged in the case, and authorities have not released the names of Robinson’s friends.
Trends Wide has contacted the US State Department, the FBI and the US Department of Justice for comment.
The FBI field office in Charlotte said it has opened an investigation into Robinson’s death.
The Mexican Prosecutor’s Office says that he is in the process of extradition
The death was not caused by a “fight” but by “a direct aggression made by this person,” Baja California Sur Attorney General Daniel de la Rosa told local media last week.
The suspect’s extradition process was underway, according to the prosecutor.
“There is already an arrest warrant issued for the crime of femicide,” or the murder of a woman because of her gender, De la Rosa said, adding that “a friend” of the victim is allegedly responsible for the death.
The arrest warrant is valid in Mexico, prosecutors said, and they are consulting with federal government officials in both countries about the extradition request.
“We are already doing all the corresponding procedures, both the Interpol file and the extradition request,” De la Rosa said.
The suspect could be prosecuted in the US or Mexico
Mexico and the US have a long-standing extradition treaty and a history of cooperation on such matters, according to Joey Jackson, a Trends Wide legal analyst.
“On the one hand, you could see Mexico participate in the prosecution,” Jackson said. “On the other hand, we certainly have a statute in the United States that would allow our government to get involved. In the event that you go abroad and a US citizen is ultimately murdered by another US citizen, there is a statute that could provide for the prosecution to take place in this country.”
Robinson’s family, meanwhile, awaits more information from authorities and their daughter’s friends.
“He took my only jewel,” he told Trends Wide by phone. “It ripped a big hole in my heart. All I can do is fight for her; I can’t let him die in vain.”
— Trends Wide’s Rashad Walker, Karol Suarez, Melissa Alonso, Hannah Sarisohn and Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.
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(Trends Wide) — Shanquella Robinson arrived in the quaint Mexican town of San José del Cabo on October 28 with six of her friends.
A day later, the 25-year-old Winston-Salem State University student in North Carolina died while staying at a luxury rental property in Baja Calfornia Sur.
Now, nearly a month after her death, the FBI is investigating and Mexican prosecutors are seeking to extradite one of Robinson’s friends as a suspect in the case.
Here’s what we know about a case that began to gain attention after a viral video surfaced showing another woman beating Robinson while someone else filmed the assault.
Robinson last spoke to her mother the day before she died.
Shanquella Robinson. (Credit: WSOC/Robinson Family/Shanquella Robinson/Instagram)
Robinson traveled to Mexico on vacation with her friends from Winston-Salem State University, according to her father, Bernard Robinson.
The woman last spoke to her mother, Salamondra, by phone on the morning of October 28, according to her father.
Robinson was found dead in the living room of her vacation home the next day, US and Mexican authorities said.
Autopsy deepens mystery of how he died
Robinson’s cause of death was “severe spinal cord injury and dislocation of the atlas,” which is instability or excessive movement in the upper vertebrae of the neck, according to a copy of his death certificate obtained by Trends Wide affiliate WBTV. .
The death certificate classified Robinson’s death as “accidental or violent,” noting that the approximate time between injury and death was 15 minutes.
Viral video shows Shanquella Robinson being beaten
After Robinson’s death, his six friends returned to the United States.
A video circulating online in recent weeks appears to show a physical altercation inside a room between Robinson and another person.
It is not clear when the video was taken or if it shows the moment he suffered the fatal injury.
In the video, Robinson is seen lying on the ground and hit in the head, Bernard Robinson confirmed to Trends Wide.
Death resulted from “a direct attack”
Mexican prosecutors said last week that an arrest warrant had been issued there for a woman suspected of fatally assaulting Robinson.
Prosecutors said they were working on an extradition process with the Public Ministry and Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Evidence showed the death was the result of “a direct attack, not an accident,” and involved a friend of the victim, prosecutors said.
Mexican authorities have said the death occurred in San José del Cabo. The FBI said it occurred in the vicinity of Cabo San Lucas, and the agency has not responded to Trends Wide’s request for comment.
The suspect has not been publicly identified.
Mexican authorities have not named the suspect, but confirmed that he is an American person believed to be in the United States.
No one has been charged in the case, and authorities have not released the names of Robinson’s friends.
Trends Wide has contacted the US State Department, the FBI and the US Department of Justice for comment.
The FBI field office in Charlotte said it has opened an investigation into Robinson’s death.
The Mexican Prosecutor’s Office says that he is in the process of extradition
The death was not caused by a “fight” but by “a direct aggression made by this person,” Baja California Sur Attorney General Daniel de la Rosa told local media last week.
The suspect’s extradition process was underway, according to the prosecutor.
“There is already an arrest warrant issued for the crime of femicide,” or the murder of a woman because of her gender, De la Rosa said, adding that “a friend” of the victim is allegedly responsible for the death.
The arrest warrant is valid in Mexico, prosecutors said, and they are consulting with federal government officials in both countries about the extradition request.
“We are already doing all the corresponding procedures, both the Interpol file and the extradition request,” De la Rosa said.
The suspect could be prosecuted in the US or Mexico
Mexico and the US have a long-standing extradition treaty and a history of cooperation on such matters, according to Joey Jackson, a Trends Wide legal analyst.
“On the one hand, you could see Mexico participate in the prosecution,” Jackson said. “On the other hand, we certainly have a statute in the United States that would allow our government to get involved. In the event that you go abroad and a US citizen is ultimately murdered by another US citizen, there is a statute that could provide for the prosecution to take place in this country.”
Robinson’s family, meanwhile, awaits more information from authorities and their daughter’s friends.
“He took my only jewel,” he told Trends Wide by phone. “It ripped a big hole in my heart. All I can do is fight for her; I can’t let him die in vain.”
— Trends Wide’s Rashad Walker, Karol Suarez, Melissa Alonso, Hannah Sarisohn and Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.
