Charlotte Family Fights For Justice After A Young Woman Mysteriously Died On Vacation With Friends

Bernard and Salamondra Robinson are searching for answers about how their daughter mysteriously died in Mexico. Shanquella Robinson, 25, was excited to visit Cabo with a group of her friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. She left her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the trip on Oct. 28, 2022, and tragically never returned home.

Within 24 hours of arriving in Mexico, she was dead, according to Shanquella’s mother, Salamondra Robinson.

“She told me they had a chef. They were getting ready to eat. They were eating tacos or a salad or something, and I said, ‘OK. I love you. Have a good night, and I will talk to you tomorrow.’ I never talked to my child again. She never made it back home,” the grieving mother told Queen City News.

The family was first struck by a frantic call from the 25-year-old’s friends.

“They said she wasn’t feeling well. She had alcohol poisoning,” Shanquella’s mother said. “They couldn’t get a pulse. Each one of the people that was there with her was telling different stories.”

The now-suspicious family called the FBI and Mexican authorities, and they soon learned of a new, corrected cause of death. According to the death certificate, the cause of death was a severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation, which is an instability in the uppermost vertebrae.

“After they said it was alcohol poisoning, we received the autopsy report on Thursday, and it said that her neck had been broken and she had a back spasm. There was a crack, spinal cord was crack[ed]. That took it to a whole ‘nother level because that meant somebody had attacked her,” the victim’s parents explained, according to WBTV.

Shanquella’s group of friends left her body at the Mexican resort and returned home, her mother said. After nearly two weeks during which the family spent $6,000, the young woman’s body was returned home, reported Everything Lubbock.

“I know that’s not going to bring my child back, but I want something done about it,” she said.

The U.S. Department of State is involved in the ongoing investigation. In a statement, they shared, “We are aware of these reports. Protecting the welfare of U.S. citizens overseas is among our top priorities. Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, we have no further comment at this time.”

At the time of her death, Shanquella and her friends were staying at Villa Linda 21, a Cabovillas.com property. Now a spokesperson for that company is saying her death is an “isolated criminal matter,” according to Rolling Stone.

Cabovillas.com confirmed to the publication that Robinson died on the property. They also explained that they worked with local emergency and public safety authorities on an investigation into a criminal matter after the victim’s parents began to call out for justice and a larger police investigation into the young woman’s death.

Adding to the family’s pain and the ongoing mystery, video footage circulated online of a fight between Robinson and an unnamed friend. Robinson does not appear to fight back as she is being beaten.

Rolling Stone reported that the family has identified the victim as the person in the video who is being punched and hit while seemingly naked and defenseless. Two people can be heard in the video calling her “Quella” and telling her to fight back. Instead, she is thrown heavily to the floor with nobody seeming to bother helping her.

On April 12, six months after Robinson died, federal prosecutors announced that the evidence they have isn’t enough for prosecution and they will not file charges in the case, CNN reported.

Following the announcement, the Robinson family attorney Sue-Ann Robinson (no relation) said, "We're disappointed but we're not deterred."

Attorney Robinson said they pushing for the State Department to honor the documents that have been sent from the Mexican authorities.  The FBI Charlotte division said the case remains open.

For more on this case, stream CrimeFeed: "Week of 11/6" on Max.

*This article was originally published on Nov. 17, 2022 and updated on Nov. 9, 2023.