As it was previously reported, prosecutors told the family of Shanquella Robinson on Wednesday that the evidence they have isn’t enough for prosecution in Robinson’s death.
The 25-year-old former student at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, died in October while staying in a luxury rental property in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. Robinson’s friends initially told her mother that she’d died of alcohol poisoning, but her death certificate recorded that the cause was a spinal cord and neck injury. A video that went viral online showed one of her friends physically assaulting her during the vacation and it led to people including her family calling on authorities to investigate Robinson’s death.
The family attorney previously claimed that Mexican authorities concluded their investigation and went through proper channels for extradition. However, the U.S. authorities made no arrests and the Department of Justice finally provided a reason why.
The DOJ said on Wednesday that no federal charges will be filed in connection to Robinson’s death, claiming in a news release that “available evidence does not support prosecution.” Family attorney Sue-Ann Robinson said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that an autopsy of Shanquella Robinson conducted by the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner found Robinson’s spine intact. The family sought the autopsy in the US following questions about her death. The medical examiner said that based on the results, Robinson’s cause of death is currently undetermined.
The Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office provided a copy of the autopsy to WBTV, which stated the following results:
* No skull fractures are present
* No evidence of injury to [the] upper airway section and no hemorrhage in the surrounding neck muscle or fracture/hemorrhage of the mid-to-lower cervical and upper thoracic vertebral column.
* Removal and sectioning of the organs reveal no evidence of other trauma or disease process.
* No fractures of the ribs or the remainder of the vertebral column.
* Slight lateral scoliotic curvature is present in the upper-to-mid thoracic spine.
* No evidence of hemorrhage or disruption of any of the musculature, ligaments, or spinal elements.
* No fractures are seen on the posterior of the spinal column.
* No evidence of any disruption of the spinal column alignment or subluxation.
Officials representing the Robinson family said that her case “was not taken seriously” from the beginning, calling the results announced on Wednesday “disheartening.”
“Black and brown people always have to carve their own path to justice,” attorney Sue-Ann Robinson said. She went on to say Wednesday afternoon that she believes there is still some sort of disconnect between the U.S. and Mexican authorities.
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“It’s going to take more than just the local FBI field office in Charlotte, with all due respect to all the work they do. It’s going to take more than that. It’s going to take a high level of diplomatic intervention. Heads of state are going to have to talk to heads of state and say ‘This is what it is, this is what happened, it’s on video,’ U.S. citizens can’t do this, this can’t occur, we need to resolve this,” Attorney Sue-Ann Robinson added.
The family said that although this is a setback, this does not bring their search for justice to an end.