Shanquella Robinson‘s family is demanding President Joe Biden and the U.S. State Department assist them in their fight for justice. The North Carolina native passed away in October while on a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with a group of six people.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, Tamika Mallory, Shanquella’s mother, Sallamondra Robinson; and others implored the U.S. to exercise diplomatic intervention to ensure an arrest is made in the case during a press conference on Friday (March 3). Crump said Shanquella was more than just another victim in the news headlines. He noted that she was a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, a clothing boutique owner, a hairstylist, and worked for an insurance agency.
“It has been 126 days since she died. That’s 18 weeks,” he said. “Video footage of her being beaten literally to death was released on Nov. 16, 2022, 108 days ago. Fifteen weeks and three days, and still, with all this visual evidence, nobody has been arrested. Nobody has been arrested.”
As previously reported by REVOLT, a day after arriving in Cabo (Oct. 29), members of the group informed Shanquella’s family that she was unconscious and suffering from alcohol poisoning. Local medical personnel instead determined that she was dead. An autopsy later revealed that she died of severe trauma to her neck and spinal cord. Soon after, viral footage of her unclothed and being beaten by a female surfaced online.
“The people who knew what happened to my daughter are living their lives,” said Sallamondra at the press conference. “They have returned to work, and my family is left to wait and wait to beg for answers.” Mexican authorities identified a female suspect and issued an arrest warrant in November, but there have been no public updates to the case in months.
“I plan on talking to the highest levels of our government to say Shanquella Robinson is not irrelevant, and you all need to give her the same dignity and respect as any citizen in the United States with merit,” added Crump.
Channa Lloyd, ABC News legal analyst and contributor, told the network, “It is now up to the United States government to make the determination as to whether or not they will prosecute the crime here in the U.S. or whether they’ll extradite this individual back to the Mexican government for prosecution.”
Friday’s press conference can be viewed below.