Shanquella Robinson's mother and sister stood alongside lawyers and supporters in Washington, D.C., on Friday, demanding the U.S. State Department and President Joe Biden arrest or extradite a suspect in Robinson's death.
Robinson, a Charlotte native and West Charlotte High graduate, died from spinal injuries while vacationing near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in October with six other people.
Mexican authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a woman who was traveling with Robinson, but the family says no arrests have been made.
The case drew national attention after Robinson's traveling companions gave conflicting statements about the death — at first telling her family she died of alcohol poisoning, according to WSOC-TV.
Later, a video circulated online showing a woman beating Robinson, who was unclothed, during the trip. Robinson has been identified in the video by her mother.
The Robinson family has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Crump has represented families in numerous high profile cases, including the families of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Martin Lee Anderson, Breonna Taylor and Tyre Nichols.
Speaking alongside Robinson's mother and sister on Friday, Crump said an arrest was long overdue in Robinson's death.
"They have identified a suspect. That suspect is currently out free in the United States of America, and that is not right — that the suspects and the people involved are sleeping comfortably in their own beds at night if they are guilty of a crime," Crump said.
He called on the U.S. State Department to extradite the woman suspected in the death to Mexico, or to take jurisdiction of the case and begin prosecution in the U.S.
Co-counsel Sue-Ann Robinson added she had obtained a copy of the autopsy and reviewed a portion of the Mexican investigators' report on the death while on a fact-finding trip to Mexico.
"Mexican authorities confirmed that they have completed their investigation. We have had the opportunity to review some of the packet, and it has been sent. The ball is clearly in the United States' court," she said.
Robinson's mother, Sallamondra Robinson, also extended a call to Biden to take action in her daughter's death.
"No one has been arrested. The people who knew what happened to my daughter are living their lives. They have returned to work, and my family is left to wait," she said. "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."
The rally in Washington, D.C., comes after Robinson's family and supporters held a rally for justice in December and a memorial for Robinson in January. The family and others also held a march and rally in February and mailed letters to Mexican authorities calling for justice in the death.
