A family in Charlotte, North Carolina, is searching for answers after their loved one died during a trip to Cabo, Mexico. According to Queen City News, Shanquella Robinson never came back home after going to Cabo to celebrate a birthday with her friends.
Shanquella’s mother, Salamondra Robinson, recalled the last phone conversation she had with her 25-year-old daughter.
“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.’ I never talked to my child again. She never made it back home,” Salamondra told Queen City News.
The grieving mother said her daughter died within 24 hours after arriving in Mexico. Salamondra recalls the terrifying phone call she received from Robinson’s friends after the tragedy happened.
“They said she wasn’t feeling well. She had alcohol poisoning,” Salamondra said. “They couldn’t get a pulse. Each one of the people that was there with her was telling different stories.”
The FBI, along with Mexican officials, later told a different story to the family.
“When the autopsy came back, they said it didn’t have anything to do with the alcohol,” Salamondra said. “[They] said that she had a broken neck and her spine in the back was cracked. She had been beaten.”
A video posted to social media shows Robinson fighting with another woman in what appears to be a hotel room. Another person in the room, who recorded the fight, stood back and told Robinson to “at least fight back.”
Officials at the U.S. State Department in Mexico refute the claim that Robinson was murdered. Speaking with Queen City News, the officials said there was no clear evidence of foul play.
Salamondra said her daughter’s body remained behind while her friends came back home. Robinson’s body returned to the U.S. about two weeks after her death.
The family vows to continue their effort to find justice.
“I know that’s not going to bring my child back, but I want something done about it,” Salamondra said. “She had a heart of gold. She loved everybody, and pretty much everybody loved her.”
