'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A video of Shanquella Robinson being physically assaulted by a friend has been circulating across the internet. Although the former’s friends claimed that Robinson died from poisoning, her mother revealed that the 25-year-old sustained other bodily injuries possibly leading to her death.
Trigger warning: The following article contains topics related to physical assault. Reader's discretion is advised.
On October 28, Shanquella Robinson left for Cabo, Mexico along with a group of friends. Within 24 hours of landing at the location to celebrate one of her friend’s birthdays, the businesswoman shockingly passed away. Her friends told her parents, Salamondra and Bernard, that she died from alcohol poisoning.
Later, the victim’s family contacted the FBI branch in North Carolina who investigated Shanquella Robinson's death. The family decided to do so after each of Robinson's friends narrated a different version of the events that transpired in Mexico.
The FBI found that Robinson did not die from alcohol poisoning. Salamondra revealed:
“When the autopsy came back, they said it didn’t have anything to do with alcohol… they said that she had a broken neck and her spine in the back was cracked. She had been beaten.”
In a death certificate obtained by news outlets, it was revealed that Robinson died from “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation.”
What is atlas luxation? Shanquella Robinson passed away from spinal cord injury and trauma to the neck
According to VCA animal hospitals, Atlantoaxial luxation or atlas luxation is a condition where instable or excessive movement is present in the first two vertebrae of the neck. The first two bones in the neck are called the atlas and the axis. The atlas is the first bone present in the neck and is located closest to the skull.
Atlas luxation can be caused by either a traumatic injury or can be a heridatory factor. For such an injury to be caused, the two bones placed on the spinal cord move against each other in an unstable manner.
One can assume that Robinson’s injuries were sustained as she was physically assaulted by her friend. In the video, which has since gone viral on social media, Robinson can be seen naked and getting beaten by her friend multiple times.
Others who accompanied her during the trip took videos of the assault and cheered on for the aggressor. At one point in the video, a man can be heard saying- “at least fight back.”
According to WJZY, Robinson was “found unconscious in her living room.” Salamondra shared that her daughter’s body was found by a maid. However, Cabo Villas reported that the friend group called for a doctor to perform CPR on Robinson.
The Atlanta Black Star reported that Shanquella Robinson was pronounced dead at 3 pm, around 15 minutes after she sustained the spinal injuries.
WJZY reported that law enforcement in Mexico wrote “Yes” in a death certificate which asked whether the death of “accidental or violent.” It remains unclear which one was to be selected.
US Department of State officials in Mexico have not commented on assumptions of there being foul play in Shanquella Robinson’s death. However, Robinson’s parents have expressed doubts over the friends involved in the death of their daughter. Bernard said in an interview that the friends must all “be in jail right now in Mexico.”
