Shanquella Robinson’s death reportedly being investigated as a homicide after disturbing video surfaces

The death of Shanquella Robinson under mysterious circumstances is now being investigated as a homicide.

Shanquella Robinson’s death being probed as a homicide

Robinson was found dead at a Mexican resort from what authorities initially determined to be alcohol poisoning — but a new video has surfaced showing her being assaulted, changing the trajectory of the investigation.

The 25-year-old Charlotte, NC native, traveled on Oct. 28 with six friends to the resort city of San José del Cabo, where they stayed at the Fundadores Beach Club, WBTV reported.

The following day, Robinson was found dead at Villa Linda 32, and authorities launched a criminal investigation, according to WSOC-TV.

Her parents soon received a frantic phone call from Robinson’s friends, who told them she had died.

“They said she wasn’t feeling well, that it was alcohol poisoning,” Robinson’s mom, Sallamondra Robinson, told Queens City News.

She added, “Each one of the people that was there with her was telling different stories.”

Shortly after Robinson’s death, the U.S. State Department told Queen City News that there was no clear evidence that foul play was involved in Robinson’s death.

The family told WBTV that Mexican authorities also told them that Shanquella initially died of alcohol poisoning.

But the death certificate contradicts those claims, revealing that the cause of death was a “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation,” a nervous system dysfunction caused by misalignment of the top cervical vertebrae.

Alcohol is not mentioned on the death certificate.

The document lists the approximate time between injury and death as 15 minutes.

Robinson was found unconscious in a living room on the afternoon of Oct. 29, the death certificate says.

New video

On Wednesday (Nov. 16), a video surfaced showing a woman attacking Robinson.

Sallamondra Robinson told Good Morning America that someone had “called us [the family] and said that someone was fighting her over there.”

The mother identified the people in the video as the “friends” her daughter accompanied on the trip to Cabo.

The original source of the video is unclear, however, Sallamondra Robinson believes it was taken during the Cabo trip. In the video, a person can be heard asking if Shanquella “could at least fight back.”

“It was never a fight. She didn’t fight, they attacked her,” she told the WSOC.

Shanquella’s travel companions, who were not identified by the news station, could not be reached, the outlet reported. Four numbers were disconnected and two numbers went to voicemail. Text messages to those numbers were not returned.

Homicide investigation

The FBI has now opened a criminal investigation. FBI officials said they are aware of the new footage that has made its rounds on social media and encouraged “anyone with related photos or video to contact” the agency, WTIV reported.

On Thursday, the State Attorney General’s Office in Mexico confirmed the autopsy results and said that “an investigation was initiated for femicide,” ABC News reported.

Femicide is considered a hate crime in which a girl or woman is killed because of their gender.

No one has been charged with any crimes relating to the incident.

Celebration of life

Shanquella Robinson’s funeral will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19.

The wake will be from 11 a.m. until noon followed by the funeral at Macedonia Baptist Church, 1300 Hatteras Ave. in Charlotte. It is open to the public.