Family attorneys call on FBI to release more details about case of Shanquella Robinson on anniversary of Mexico death

“Shanquella’s life mattered, and her legacy will continue to drive the fight for truth, transparency, and justice.”

The attorneys for the family of Shanquella Robinson are calling out the United States government three years after her Mexico death that continues to be shrouded in mystery.

On the anniversary of her death in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where the 25-year-old North Carolina woman was on vacation with six “friends” in October 2022, attorneys Ben Crump and Sue-Ann Robinson (no relation to Shanquella) called on the FBI to release more information into their investigation of the transnational case.

“Three years have passed since Shanquella’s life was taken, yet her family still waits for justice. The fact that no criminal charges have been brought in the United States is not only heartbreaking but unacceptable,” Crump and Robinson said in a statement released on Wednesday. “Shanquella’s loved ones have endured three years of silence, delays, and denials, and still they stand, demanding the accountability their daughter deserves.”

Robinson was found unresponsive inside a rental villa she shared with her travel companions, who told a doctor tending to her that she had too much alcohol. She eventually went into cardiac arrest and was declared dead.

After her death, video that leaked online showed Robinson being physically beaten by a female believed to be one of her travel mates. Another male also believed to be one of her travel mates recorded the physical assault and shouted, “Can you at least fight back?” An autopsy of Shanquella’s body determined she died as a result of a severe neck and spinal cord injury.

An investigation led by Mexican prosecutors determined that Shanquella Robinson’s death was femicide, a gender-based form of homicide, and sought to extradite the woman involved to face charges in Mexico. However, the U.S. government has not cooperated with coordinating the extradition.

After months of pressure from Robinson’s family and the civil rights community, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into Shanquella’s death; however, in April 2023, federal prosecutors declined to bring any charges in the case, citing a lack of evidence to support a federal prosecution.

In October 2024, Robinson’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, seeking damages for battery, negligence, conspiracy, and emotional distress, among other claims. A $100 million lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State and FBI was also filed by the family’s attorneys and later dismissed.

“We continue to call on the United States to do what is right, for the FBI to release information on this case so that Shanquella’s family might have some sense of closure,” said Ben Crump and Sue-Ann Robinson. “Shanquella’s life mattered, and her legacy will continue to drive the fight for truth, transparency, and justice.”