‘They can’t hold anyone accountable.’ Shanquella Robinson remembered 1 year later
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Shanquella Robinson Death Investigation
The 25-year-old Charlotte woman died while on vacation in Cabo, Mexico.
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It’s been a year since Charlotte native Shanquella Robinson died under suspicious circumstances on Oct. 29, 2022, during a vacation to Mexico.
Robinson was only 25 when she traveled south of the border to a resort villa in San Jose Cabo with six others and died a day after arriving.
To date, amid much speculation, no arrests have been made in a case that has been reviewed by authorities from Mexico to Washington.
It’s not clear if there any public plans to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Robinson’s death, which officially is Sunday.
Attempts by The Charlotte Observer to reach Robinson’s family members, including her father Ben Robinson, mother Sallamondra Robinson and her sister, Quilla Long, were unsuccessful.
With the FBI ceasing its investigation due to inclusive evidence and the Department of Justice not seeking criminal charges, activists say the only true path to justice for Robinson right now is never forgetting her.
“Make sure that your name stays out there,” John C. Barnett, a national civil rights activist told The Charlotte Observer Monday. “You have no choice but to bring exposure to the case. What that does is make sure that the White House (doesn’t) forget about Shanquella Robinson. Things sit dormant because there’s no activity.
“Be it a march — they just did a brunch a couple months ago. Well, do another one. Do a book bag and wait for the schools, and do it in the name of Shanquella Robinson.”
Barnett began helping out the Robinson family about four months after Robinson’s death. He says it was his suggestion to place letters, written by supporters from families to friends in North Carolina and elsewhere, in pink envelopes. The demands for justice captured in those letters were sent to authorities in Washington and Mexico.
“I decided to send pink envelopes ... to Mexico and Joe Biden. I only did it, just reaching out for hope, and being dramatic,” Barnett said. “But I knew the pink envelopes may catch their attention.“
Others such as Mario Black, who heads Million Youth March, an anti-gun violence group, has organized many events. Those include marches at the intersection of Beatties Ford Road and LaSalle Street to protest U.S. authorities’ decision not to pursue criminal charges, the Observer reported previously.
Black also has organized a balloon release, an event that took place in January on what would have been Robinson’s 26th birthday.
The community activist was unavailable for additional comments at the time of this report.
Corine Mack, the president of the NAACP Charlotte-Mecklenburg, said Robinson’s body should not have been embalmed before an autopsy was performed.
While an autopsy can be performed at any time, for the best outcomes, it should be done before embalming, with proper refrigeration, forensic experts say.
“If they can’t determine the cause of death, they can’t hold anyone accountable,” Mack told the Charlotte Observer on Monday.
It’s unclear, though, whether Robinson’s body could have been transported back to the United States without some intervention, including embalming.
In addition to an autopsy, there are few pieces of evidence authorities had to work with, which includes a police report that says Robinson was still alive when medical help first arrived at the villa where she stayed with six others.
The other piece is a video of Robinson, naked and barely verbal, that showed her being hit repeatedly over the head.
The video went viral, drawing outrage from around the globe. Her traveling companions, referred to as the “Cabo Six,” originally said she died of alcohol poisoning.
Months later, an autopsy revealed she had no alcohol in her system, which backs up assertions from Mexican law enforcement officials, her family and lawyers, who say the 25-year-old Charlotte woman’s death was violent and not caused by alcohol poisoning.
The lawyer for the family, Sue-Ann Robinson ( no relation), told the Observer in April there still is a chance for justice. Authorities in Mexico issued an arrest warrant for femicide (similar to homicide) for Daejhanae Jackson, one of the six travelers, The Observer reported.
As family members undoubtedly still grieve, among the many unanswered questions is whether the case is a high priority: Will an arrest for her death ever be made?
This story was originally published October 28, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
