(WASHINGTON) — While the investigation of Shanquella Robinson still has no conclusion, a letter sent from her family’s attorneys to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken describes new details leading up to the death of Robinson, including a statement from a villa concierge to the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office stating that she seemed “out of place” leading up to her death.
The letter, brought to legislators by attorneys Ben Crump and Sue-Ann Robinson, urged White House officials to find those responsible for the death of the 25-year-old.
“My clients recognize that the U.S. government has many priorities and responsibilities, but believe that intervening, in this case, would not only serve the interests of justice, but also send a clear message that transnational criminal activities will not be tolerated,” the letter stated.
Robinson, a native of Charlotte, NC, traveled to San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, last October with six other people. Less than 24 hours after the group landed, she was found dead.
Accompanying the letter, there is a detailed first-hand account submitted to Mexican authorities from the villa concierge who acted as a translator for the group during their trip. The concierge’s name was redacted in the documents provided by the family lawyers.
In the concierge’s official statement to the Mexican authorities, he noted Robinson’s noticeable discomfort in the time leading up to her death.
“She seemed to not fit in with others,” the concierge statement detailed when discussing Robinson before she joined the others for dinner on their first night at the villa. “When I introduced myself, she did not greet me or smile. She was indifferent, nothing to do with the atmosphere of celebration. She was out of place at that party.”
The next day, the concierge received a text from one of the other travelers with Robinson asking where the nearest medical service was and found out later that day that she passed away, according to the concierge statement.
In a viral video that circulated shortly after Robinson’s death, Robinson is seen being severely beaten by another woman in a hotel room and is not fighting back. At least two other people are in the room watching and recording at the time of the incident.
While some of those who traveled with Robinson allegedly blamed her death on alcohol poisoning, a later autopsy concluded that Robinson died from fatal trauma to her neck and spine.
“No one has been arrested,” her mother Sallamondra Robinson said during a press conference earlier this month. “The people who knew what happened to my daughter are living their lives. They have returned to work, and my family is left to wait and wait to beg for answers.”
According to the concierge statement to Mexican authorities, when the concierge returned to the villa after Robinson’s death, he gave condolences to the main guest, the one who inquired about medical services, and described portions of the interaction as “very cold.” According to the statement, when the concierge left the room, he heard laughter.
Later that night, the concierge was contacted by the guests for transportation to dinner, and after travel arrangements were set, the travel group rerouted the car to a hotel by the airport instead, according to the statement from the concierge.
“When I saw the video in social media, I realized that practically the main guest … manipulated me with the information she provided of what happened to leave the country as soon as possible,” the concierge statement said.
This development comes after Robinson’s family, and their attorneys held a press conference in Washington, D.C., demanding diplomatic intervention by President Biden and the State Department.
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