New information is coming to light in a case that has garnered attention nationwide. A police report says Shanquella Robinson was alive when medical help first arrived at the villa where she was staying with a group of people last month in Cabo, Mexico. A Charlotte newspaper obtained the report, which differs from details previously received from 25-year-old Robinson’s death certificate that said she died within 15 minutes of being injured. Instead, the police report excerpt shows a doctor from a local hospital was with Robinson and others in the house for close to three hours before she was pronounced dead.
Robinson is a Charlotte native who traveled to Cabo on Oct. 28 with a group of friends. She died a day later. The death certificate from Mexican authorities did not mention Robinson’s physical injuries, which family members have said existed on her body prior to her burial. Grave injuries to her back and neck were determined to be the cause of death after an autopsy by officials in Mexico. The police report says she also suffered cardiac arrest.
Since her death, and after a video of one of her friends fighting her went viral, the FBI and Mexican police authorities have launched investigations into how she died. The lack of conclusive evidence and conflicting explanations has led to her story going viral, invoking global outcry with countless people closely following Robinson’s death. The hashtag #JusticeForShanquella has been trending on Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok. No arrests were reported have been made so far. Robinson’s family became suspicious of her friends’ claims that she died of alcohol poisoning when a Mexican autopsy report showed that her cause of death was “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation.” Atlas Luxation is a form of neck injury.
What happened?
Video shows Robinson walking through the villa excitedly looking for her friends. Details from there are sketchy. But here’s the timeline according to the report:
Oct. 29 timeline
2:13 p.m. – Wenter Donovan, one of six friends who traveled with Robinson, called for medical help at Villa Linda 32, a property run by company Cabo Villas.
3:13 p.m. – Dr. Karolina Beatriz Ornelas Gutiérrez, from a local hospital, arrived to treat Robinson. According to the Charlotte Observer, Gutiérrez says she was told that Robinson had “drunk a lot of alcohol” and needed to “be given an IV.” Gutiérrez says Robinson had stable vital signs but was dehydrated, unable to communicate verbally and appeared to be inebriated. The report said Gutiérrez believed Robinson needed to be transferred to a hospital but her friends insisted that she be treated in the villa.
4:13 p.m. – Robinson begins having a seizure. The convulsions from the seizure lasted less than a minute.
4:14 p.m.: Gutiérrez requests that the friends take Robinson to the hospital. They decline and insist on her being treated at the villa.
4:45 p.m. – Wenter Donovan calls 911 for an ambulance while doctor administers CPR.
5:25 p.m. – Police arrive.
5:30 p.m. – Paramedics arrive and administer 14 rounds of CPR, five doses of adrenaline and six discharges (AED shocks) without success.
5:47 p.m. – Shanquella declared dead.
How did Shanqulla die?
Sallamondra Robinson, Shanquella’s mother, says each friend from the trip has a different story and they initially told her that her daughter had alcohol poisoning. Robinson’s family became suspicious of her friends’ claims that she died of alcohol poisoning when a Mexican autopsy report showed that her cause of death was “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation.” Atlas Luxation is a form of neck injury.
Mexican authorities are investigating Robinson’s death as a possible femicide, the State Attorney General’s Office of Baja California Sur announced. Femicide is “the gender-based murder of a woman or girl by a man. The FBI began investigating Robinson’s death amid the conflicting reports.
A video has gone viral and shows a naked woman, barely verbal, being hit and punched in the face multiple times by another woman until she falls to the ground. A person not seen in the video is heard saying “Quella can you at least fight back?” Sallamondra Robinson confirmed its her daughter in the video being beaten.
Desperate for answers
Robinson’s sister Quilla Long said in a statement published to gofundme, the family will continue to investigate what happened and they are raising funds for legal fees. “
The United States State Department released a statement claiming “no clear evidence of foul play,” yet there is a video circulating of a woman violently attacking Shanquella,” Long said. “This statement is unacceptable, and we are beyond devastated. We continue to fight for the truth.”
As of Monday morning, the page had raised $354,422. This included a $50,000 donation from Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving. Hundreds of community members attended Robinson’s funeral on Nov. 19 and loved ones wore pink in her honor. Her casket, wrapped with photos of her, was pulled into the Macedonia Baptist Church by a horse-drawn carriage. Her loved ones signed the casket before she was laid to rest.
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