Who killed Shanquella Robinson? NC officials will not federally prosecute prime suspect

Authorities issued an arrest warrant for the suspect but she had already left Mexico

UPDATED APR 13, 2023

Shanquella Robinson was murdered in October 2022 while she was on a trip to Mexico (Facebook/Shanquella Robinson)

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: The US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, April 12, that officials in North Carolina will not federally prosecute the person suspected of killing Shanquella Robinson, who was vacationing in Mexico in 2022. The details of the investigation were presented to Robinson's family. The businesswoman was seen being assaulted in a viral video in 2022 at a resort development in San Jose del Cabo.

The clip, which went viral, raised suspicions that Robinson may have been killed by her travel companions. In a news release, attorneys with the DOJ said that the available evidence and autopsy results did not support a federal prosecution. The release said that investigators could not prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that a federal crime was committed.

Shanquella Robinson: Timeline of her ill-fated arrival in Mexico to her death as friends refused to take her to hospital

The Mecklenburg County medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy in North Carolina. Late in 2022, local prosecutors in the state of Baja California Sur filed charges against the unnamed US woman, suspected of murdering Robinson on October 29, 2022.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant for the suspect but she had already left Mexico along with her travel companions after Robinson was found dead. Mexican federal prosecutors are trying to get her extradited to face charges in Mexico.

Shanquella Robinson's family attorney issues a statement

Sue-Ann, the family's attorney, said at a news conference on Wednesday, April 12, that the autopsy results, which were not revealed publicly, showed inconsistencies with a previous autopsy conducted in Mexico, which stated that Robinson died due to a severe spinal cord or neck injury. She criticized federal officials for the speed at which they conducted their investigation, saying people on social media should not have had to "create the movement behind the case."

"United States citizens cannot go to Mexico, commit a crime that we all saw on video and then come back to America and say, 'We're on base. We're safe. We're not going to be charged with a crime,''' she said, per Daily Mail, adding, "That cannot be the message that US authorities want to send."

Federal officials say they will review and examine any new information that becomes available.