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Shanquella Robinson 'MURDER': NC woman's death NOT due to ‘alcohol poisoning’ as homicide probe begins

Shanquella Robinson's postmortem reports show she had 'severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation'

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: A woman from North Carolina was discovered dead at a Mexican resort from what investigators initially thought was alcohol poisoning. However, a new video has emerged showing her being pummeled, and her death is now being probed as a homicide.

Shanquella Robinson, 25, resident of Charlotte, came to San Jose del Cabo with six friends on October 28 and stayed at the upscale Fundadores Beach Club. Robinson was discovered dead the following day at Villa Linda 32, a CaboVillas.com rental, and officials opened a criminal inquiry, according to WSOC-TV.

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Soon after, Robinson's friends called her parents in a panic to inform them that she had died recently, Sallamondra Robinson, Robinson's mother, revealed to the news outlet, "They said she wasn’t feeling well, that it was alcohol poisoning." The family informed Shanquella's death was ruled an alcohol poisoning by Mexican officials. However, the death certificate now lists "severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation," or instability of the first two neck vertebrae, as the cause of death, according to reports. As per the broadcaster, there was no mention of alcohol in the report.

The death certificate states that Shanquella was discovered unconscious in the living room and estimates the duration between the accident and death to be around 15 minutes. A horrifying video that purportedly depicts Shanquella being beaten inside a hotel room has added to the mystery's complexity. Someone can be heard questioning if she "could at least fight back" in the upsetting video.

Sallamondra told the news publication that she identified the persons in the clip as friends who traveled to Mexico with her daughter, however, it was unclear when and where the unconfirmed video was shot. The mother added that she thought the video had been taken on that tragic journey. "It was never a fight. She didn’t fight, they attacked her,” she added.

The station said that it was unable to contact Shanquella's traveling companions, who went unnamed. Two calls went to voicemail, while four numbers were disconnected. These numbers did not respond to text messages. According to ABC News, the Baja California Sur State Attorney General's Office confirmed the postmortem findings on November 17 and declared that "an investigation was initiated for femicide."

Expert on femicide in that part of Mexico, Michael Lettieri, told that the case "is supposed to be investigated in a very particular way that’s sensitive to the gender dynamics of the crime.” He added that when a woman is slain, police in Mexico are frequently obligated to open a femicide inquiry and look into whether the victim was killed because of her gender or if domestic abuse was involved. 

The distraught parents expressed their annoyance at the initial contradictory information as well as their satisfaction that law enforcement is conducting a criminal probe. “It’s like a nightmare. I can’t even sleep,” Shanquella’s father, Bernard Robinson stated. “I just want some truth because this doesn’t add up right,” he added. “By the grace of God, I think I am going to get to the bottom of this. God ain’t gonna fail. It’s going to come out. I’m not giving up. I am very confident that I am going to have peace of mind," he further added.

The group traveled to Mexico, according to Sallamondra, to celebrate a birthday. “I looked at some of her posts that she had put up,” she noted. “She was really having a nice time and I don’t know where it went wrong from there," she said. Robinson's mother added, “She told me they had a chef. They were getting ready to eat. They were eating tacos or a salad or something, and I said, ‘OK. I love you. Have a good night, and I will talk to you tomorrow,'” she told the outlet.

“I never talked to my child again. She never made it back home. They said she wasn’t feeling well. She had alcohol poisoning,” the mother said, referring to the friends. “They couldn’t get a pulse. Each one of the people that was there with her was telling different stories,” she asserted.

According to WTIV, the FBI acknowledged knowledge of the viral video and urged "anyone with related photos or video to contact" the organization. The FBI's Charlotte office has been in contact with the family, according to a representative for ABC News. The inquiry is underway, according to the State Attorney General's Office of Baja California Sur, and "to the extent that the legal framework allows it, the results will be informed.”