Federal officials said Wednesday that they won't pursue any charges in the death of Shanquella Robinson, the Charlotte native who died while vacationing in Mexico last October with a group of people.
Robinson was a 25-year-old graduate of Winston-Salem University and entrepreneur from Charlotte who died on Oct. 29, 2022, while on vacation with six people in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Nearly a month later, a video surfaced showing Robinson being beaten by one of her traveling companions, which reportedly caused the injuries that led to her death.
An autopsy performed in Mexico listed a spinal cord injury and atlas luxation (a severe spinal injury to the top of the spinal cord, near the brain) as the cause of her death.
Following her death, a video circulated online that appeared to show a woman attacking Robinson in their rented villa. Robinson's traveling companions gave conflicting statements about the death — at first telling her family she died of alcohol poisoning, according to WSOC-TV.
The U.S. Attorneys’ offices of both the Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina and the FBI met with the family of Shanquella Robinson on Wednesday morning to share findings in the federal investigation.
Prosecutors said they informed Robinson’s family that there's not enough evidence to warrant a U.S. prosecution for any federal crimes. The status of a separate investigation by Mexican authorities — who have previously said they issued an arrest warrant for a suspect — wasn't clear Wednesday.
"As in every case under consideration for federal prosecution, the government must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a federal crime was committed. Based on the results of the autopsy and after a careful deliberation and review of the investigative materials by both U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, federal prosecutors informed Ms. Robinson’s family today that the available evidence does not support a federal prosecution," the FBI and U.S. Attorney offices said in a statement Wednesday.
The Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday that it conducted a second postmortem after Robinson's body was returned to the U.S., and that it found no evidence of a spinal cord injury that could have caused Robinson's death. The autopsy was performed Nov. 17, about two and a half weeks after Robinson's death.
"During this examination, the brain and spinal cord were further examined by a neuropathologist and there was no evidence of any spinal cord injury or atlas subluxation," the office said in a statement. Medical examiner Dr. Thomas Owens declined further comment.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sue-Ann Robinson, an attorney representing Robinson's family (no relation), said that the Mecklenburg autopsy was performed after Robinson's body had already been embalmed.
Pressing for action
Attorneys for the family have been pressing U.S. authorities to take action in the case, including with visits to federal officials in Washington, D.C.
Mexican authorities have said they issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in the case, a woman Robinson knew.
Attorney Sue-Ann Robinson said at a press conference Wednesday that Mexican authorities have completed the requisite paperwork to extradite a suspect in the case. But it wasn't immediately clear if Mexican authorities have formally requested the extradition of a specific person.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney in Charlotte referred questions about extradition requests to the Justice Department in D.C., which couldn't be reached Wednesday. Sue-Ann Robinson told WFAE last month that there had been no formal extradition request to return the woman to Mexico to face charges there that she was aware of.
