Killing of Shanquella Robinson

Shanquella Brenada Robinson (January 9, 1997 – October 29, 2022) was an American businesswoman, founder of a women's fashion clothing line, hairstylist and social media personality from North Carolina, United States, who was murdered while on vacation in Mexico.

She died on October 29, 2022, shortly after travelling with a friend and a group of loose acquaintances to the Mexican resort town of Cabo San Lucas.

There was considerable public interest and intrigue surrounding the cause of her death.

In addition, substantial collaborative efforts of citizen journalism and amateur news bloggers played an important role in bringing attention to Robinson's death, to the point of Mexican authorities facing enhanced scrutiny, particularly because the municipal Police Department initially treated the death as a case of conventional tourist alcohol intoxication.

A video later surfaced which showed Robinson being attacked in a rental villa prior to her death.

The circumstances leading to her mysterious death, as well as the medical treatment, police report, and forensic inquiries into the cause of her untimely passing, have led to an ongoing high-profile, transnational criminal investigation within the United States and Mexico.

Robinson was a graduate of the historically black college Winston-Salem State University.

She ran several boutique beauty and children's hair-braiding businesses, under her "Exquisite Kids" and "Exquisite Boutique" brands, in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

On October 28, 2022, Robinson travelled to Mexico for a short vacation with a friend and five travel companions: 3 women and 3 men, some of whom have been identified as Khalil Cooke, Malik St Patrick Dyer, Wenter Essence Donovan, Alysse Michelle Hyatt, Daejhanae Jackson, and Nazeer Wiggins.

They were also nicknamed the "Cabo Six".

The group checked into a rental luxury apartment in the Puerto Los Cabos resort, at the resort town of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

On October 29, a day after the group's arrival, at around 2:13 p.m., a doctor from the American Medical Centre, Cabo San Lucas was requested because a resident at the resort was feeling unwell.

At around the same time, Shanquella's mother, Salamondra Robinson, received a phone call from one of her daughter's travel companions saying that her daughter had taken ill and that a doctor was on the way to tend to her welfare.

Dr. Karolina Beatriz Ornelas-Gutiérrez from the American Medical Centre arrived within an hour and found "a female in stable condition but dehydrated, disorientated, verbally unresponsive, unable to communicate, and appearing to be intoxicated."

The explanation given to the doctor was that Robinson "drank a lot of alcohol."

The doctor recommended that Robinson be admitted into the hospital, but her travel companions insisted she be treated in the apartment room.

During medical treatment, the doctor attempted to administer an IV-drip.

However, Robinson's condition worsened when she suffered a tonic–clonic seizure (a stiffening of the body, arms and legs) around 4:13 p.m., about one hour after the doctor's arrival.

An ambulance was called around 4:20 pm after Robinson began having trouble breathing, with her pulse dropping as well.

Robinson then suffered a cardiac arrest.

Ambulant paramedics called to the scene around 4:49 pm tried to resuscitate Robinson, administering fourteen CPR rounds of cardiac-vascular compressions and intrathoracic pressure to her chest, in an attempt to (re-)establish venous blood-oxygen saturation and blood flow, as well as injecting five doses of adrenaline and six electrical discharges from a defibrillator.

However, they were unable to revive any return of heartbeat, pulse, blood flow, pupillary reflexes or other human vital signs.

Shanquella Robinson was declared clinically dead at 5:57 pm, according to the police report.

Police officers "Omar" and "David" of the Los Cabos Municipal Police Department were the two first responding officers at the scene around 5:25 pm.

They were briefed by Dr. Ornelas-Gutiérrez, who informed the officers that medical treatment was requested for a young lady who had ingested "too much alcohol."

She briefed the officers that she had found a female in stable but unresponsive condition, and that she had planned to admit her to hospital on an IV-line, which her travel companions objected to, claiming they instead requested that the young lady be treated in the hotel room, after which her condition worsened, even after arrival of ambulant paramedics.

After Robinson was declared dead, the investigating police officers notified the General Prosecutors Office (attorney general) in the state of Baja California Sur, reaching state attorney Julio Daniel around 6:35 pm and informing him of the death of a foreign citizen.

They were instructed to file reports and investigation forms before handing the case to ministerial police.

Based on eyewitness accounts and after consultation with Dr. Ornelas-Gutiérrez, the police report concluded that a "deceased person (cardiopulmonary arrest)" had died of alcohol poisoning, and that she died two hours and 45 minutes after the doctor was called to the residence.

There was no observation of internal or external injuries in the police report.

Based on this police report and the investigations of the Mexican authorities, the US State Department initially released a statement reporting that "Mexican authorities said there was no clear evidence Robinson was murdered".

On November 5, a notarized English translation of Robinson's death certificate, based on an autopsy report from forensic doctor Rene A. Galvan-Oseguera from the Secretariat Of Health, Baja California Sur, dated November 4, 2022, was released.

The autopsy report described Robinson's death 15 minutes after suffering a severe spinal cord injury and an atlas luxation, which is a dislocation or separation of the skull base from the atlas bone, the first bone of the neck (spinal column).

The forensic doctor made the following forensic observations in the official autopsy report: Date and time of death: October 29, 2022 – 15:00 p.m..

Cause of death: Severe Spinal Cord Injury and Atlas Luxation.

Approximate time between injury and death: 15 minutes

Situation, circumstance or reason in which the injury occurred: Person found unconscious in her living room.

Was it accidental or violent death? Yes The autopsy report mentioned neither cardiac arrest nor alcohol poisoning.

On November 16, the U.S. Department of State responded they were aware of the incident, releasing following statement: "'We are aware of these reports. Protecting the welfare of U.S. citizens overseas is among our top priorities. Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, we have no further comment at this time,' the department stated."

As Salamondra Robinson, Shanquella's mother, disclosed during an ABC News Good Morning America interview, her family became suspicious of the claims of her daughter's travel companions after each one of them returned with a different story, and each story with inconsistencies.