Suspect connected to US tourist who died in Mexico will NOT be federally prosecuted
U.S. officials in North Carolina will not federally prosecute the person suspected of murdering a Charlotte-area woman who vacationed in Mexico last year, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors say they presented the findings of their investigation to the family of Shanquella Robinson, who was seen being beaten in a viral video at a resort development in San Jose del Cabo last fall.
As the video circulated on social media, suspicions arose that Robinson may have been murdered by her traveling companions.
Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release Wednesday that the available evidence and autopsy results do not support a federal prosecution.
Investigators could not prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that a federal crime had been committed, the release said.
Shanquella Robinson, 25, was killed in late October 2022 while traveling to Mexico with friends
An autopsy was performed in North Carolina by the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Local prosecutors in the state of Baja California Sur filed charges late last year against the American woman — whom they would not name — suspected of murdering Robinson on October 29.
They issued an arrest warrant for the suspect, who had already left Mexico with other traveling companions after Robinson was found dead in a rented villa.
Mexican federal prosecutors are trying to have her extradited to face charges in Mexico.
Sue-Ann Robinson, the family’s attorney, said at a news conference Wednesday in Charlotte that the US autopsy results, which have not been publicly released, revealed inconsistencies with a previous autopsy conducted in Mexico, which determined the cause of death. a serious spinal disorder. cord or neck injury.
She criticized federal officials for the speed with which they conducted their investigation, saying people on social media should not have “created the movement behind the case.”
“American citizens can’t go to Mexico, commit a crime we’ve all seen on video and then come back to America and say, ‘We’re on base.’ Were safe. We will not be charged with a crime,” she said.
“That can’t be the message the US authorities want to send.”
Federal officials say they will review and investigate any new information that becomes available.
Last month, Robinson family lawyers called on US President Joe Biden to extradite the alleged killer, now named by the family, to Mexico.
Mexican authorities have currently issued an arrest warrant for Daejhanae Jackson, 26, in connection with Robinson’s October 2022 death.
Salamondra Robinson (right) and another Robinson family member remain distraught and search for answers about the young woman’s death
Shanquella was caught on video laughing with her traveling companions the day prior to her untimely passing
In a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, attorneys for the Robinson family asked for immediate diplomatic intervention in the transnational case.
Jackson was identified as the woman seen in a video brutally attacking Robinson at the villa rented by a group of friends in Cabo for one of their birthdays.
Although the family and letter identified Jackson as the prime suspect in their daughter’s death, the suspect’s identity has not yet been made public by police.
An autopsy report prepared on October 30, 2022 in Mexico by medical examiner Dr. Rene Adalberto Galvaan Osegura noted that Shanquella’s body had a head wound 3 and concluded that Shanquella’s cause of death was a broken neck,” the letter said.
“The president or the secretary of state must intervene and request the extradition of the suspect or suspects or concurrent jurisdiction and press charges in the United States,” said attorneys Benjamin Clump and Sue-Ann Robinson – who is not related to the victim.
The letter explained that Jackson and two other people on the trip took Robinson’s luggage to her home in Charlotte, North Carolina and expressed their condolences to Robinson’s mother, telling her that her child had died of alcohol poisoning.
Robinson’s attack in Mexico was filmed while she lay naked in a bedroom.
The 25-year-old tries to get away from her attacker and replies “no” – before the woman throws her to the floor next to the bed.
The woman then punches her and knees her in the head before yelling at Robinson, “Get up, I’m tired of the s***.”
A representative from 32 Villa Linda, the property where the group was staying, told WJZY that the janitor contacted a doctor who tried to revive Robinson.
She was pronounced dead at 3 p.m. local time, reportedly about 15 minutes after she was struck.
After the video was made public in November, a femicide investigation was launched in Mexico.
Lawyers for the Robinsons are now asking the Biden administration to step in and help.
The 18-page letter received by the Biden administration stated that Jackson was the primary point of contact for the group’s seven traveling companions.
Robinson, according to the letter, “seemed out of place” and seemed “out of place” the day before a call came to her mother that she had suffered alcohol poisoning in the room.
The letter also contains, according to a Fox News report, that a hotel staff witness identified Jackson as the aggressor in the video.
The witness added that Jackson “manipulated me” with information she provided at the crime scene to “leave the country as quickly as possible.”
Robinson’s mother was initially told that her daughter died of alcohol poisoning
A video posted online shows Robinson being brutally beaten by a person later identified as Daejhanae Jackson
Ben Crump and Frontline Law attorney Sue-Ann Robinson hold a press conference to demand diplomatic intervention to prioritize justice for Robinson’s death. Robinson was killed in October while vacationing in Mexico
Attorney Sue-Ann Robinson during the presser. According to Mexican prosecutors, one of Robinson’s friends was the direct aggressor in her death. Friends of Robinson initially claimed her cause of death was alcohol poisoning, but an autopsy revealed it was “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation.”
Robinson was pronounced dead after two sets of medical professionals responded to the scene over the course of several hours.
An associate said Jackson gave him an “indifferent” hug when he offered his condolences and claimed he later heard “laughter” coming from the room after he walked out to give the group space.
The next day, the group left the hotel, and Jackson did not respond to a text message from an employee asking where she was until October 31, when she informed the employee that the group had gone home, according to the witness statement.
“If a US citizen commits murder in Mexico and returns to the United States, as you know, he may be subject to criminal charges in the United States under federal law or state law, depending on the circumstances of the crime,” said the letter. .
“Federal charges are filed in cases where the crime involves interstate commerce or federal law enforcement.
“We know that in a transnational case where evidence was possibly transported and interested parties communicated with each other via cell phones, federal charges could be brought against those responsible for Shanquella’s death,” it continued.
The letter went on to say that the family has encountered “numerous obstacles” in obtaining information, including during a subsequent trip to Mexico, whereupon Sue-Ann Robinson said the U.S. consulate suggested that family members contact the individuals directly. . was traveling with for answers.
“This is certainly an unacceptable response to share with an American family about their daughter’s murder,” said Sue-Ann Robinson.
Fox reported that the State Department said it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad, but does not comment on the private correspondence of U.S. citizens as a general matter of privacy.”
“The Department is not confirming or commenting on investigations due to privacy and law enforcement concerns. In addition, as has long been customary, the ministry does not comment on extradition issues.”