What is in Shanquella Robinson’s autopsy? Document describes violent death
The autopsy of Shanquella Robinson backs up assertions from Mexican law enforcement officials, her family and lawyers, who say the 25-year-old Charlotte woman’s death was violent and not caused by alcohol poisoning.
Robinson traveled to a resort villa in San José del Cabo, Mexico with six other people on Oct. 28. She died a day later.
Mexican officials have issued an arrest warrant for a charge of femicide — similar to homicide — for Daejhanae Jackson, according to a recent letter sent to top U.S. government officials by attorneys Ben Crump and Sue-Ann Robinson. The U.S. has not issued an arrest warrant and the FBI’s investigation into Robinson’s death is ongoing.
Lawyers Robinson and Crump released publicly a copy of Shanquella Robinson’s autopsy, along with other records, on March 14.
These documents specifically classify Robinson’s death as “violent” and detail her injuries. Previously, some of Robinson’s travel mates told her mother she died of alcohol poisoning, as The Charlotte Observer has previously reported.
The newly-revealed autopsy mostly lines up with a police report excerpt that surfaced last year.
Here is what official documents from investigators and the medical examiner show.
Shanquella Robinson case: Timeline of Charlotte woman’s mysterious death in Mexico
Shanquella Robinson death investigation
Much of the previous news coverage of Robinson’s death relied on a death certificate issued by the Secretariat of Health on Nov. 4.
The autopsy was conducted by medical examiner Dr. Rene Adalberto Galvaan Osegura the day after Robinson died. The report says Robinson died of a broken neck, consistent with her death certificate which specifically names the cause of her death as “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation.”
Her family members have said her body showed obvious signs of being beaten, and injuries lined up with video footage that surfaced soon after Robinson died showing a woman attacking Robinson.
The other woman in the video was later identified by hotel staff and investigators as Jackson, according to Crump and Sue-Ann Robinson’s letter, citing information from Mexican prosecutors.
The autopsy report shows Robinson had injuries before she died, including a 3-inch bruise on her forehead.
Robinson also had bruises on her “anatomic snuffbox” which is near her left wrist, bruises on either side of her pelvis, and had internal hemorrhaging behind her right eye. These injuries occurred “more than 12 hours” before Robinson’s death, according to the report.
While a police account — previously obtained by The Charlotte Observer from Gerardo Zuñiga, an investigative reporter who works in Los Cabos for MetropoliMx — leaves out mention of obvious physical injuries, the details described in it raise questions about why Robinson’s death certificate says she died within 15 minutes of being injured.
Medical Examiner notes place her death between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Oct. 29. The police report says the doctor on scene pronounced her dead at 5:57 p.m.
The police records, and interviews with hotel staff, show Robinson was alive when medical help arrived and a doctor from a local hospital was with Robinson and others in the house for close to three hours before she was pronounced dead.
The Medical Examiner autopsy report lists her cause of death as “atlas and medullary dislocation.” This is a traumatic neck injury.
No record states unequivocally that Robinson was drunk or had alcohol poisoning. On the death certificate, there’s no box to check for information about alcohol or any other substance. In the police report, the doctor observes Robinson had “stable vital signs but (was) dehydrated, unable to communicate verbally and appearing to be inebriated.” The medical examiner’s report does not mention alcohol.
What happened in Cabo?
Video footage showing an attack where a woman identified as Robinson is severely beaten inside a bedroom is part of the ongoing law enforcement investigation. The footage shows Robinson, who is naked, not fighting back and falling to the ground.
It is unclear when the attack in the video took place, however an administrator for the villa told investigators it likely occurred between 7 and 8:30 a.m., due to the positioning of the sun, and other context in the video.
Cabo police records show Robinson received medical treatment from doctors and paramedics before she died. In that time, she experienced a seizure. And, according to the police record excerpt, her friends refused to have her transported to a medical facility and told the doctor she drank too much alcohol and needed an IV.
At 4:49 p.m. the day Robinson died, the doctor who was treating her stopped detecting her pulse.
The doctor attempted 14 CPR sessions, five doses of adrenaline and six rounds of a defibrillator but was unsuccessful, according to the police report.
The autopsy mentions burns on Robinson’s torso from the defibrillator.
