CNN
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Mexican prosecutors have obtained an arrest warrant for the friend of a North Carolina woman found dead while on vacation in Cabo San Lucas last month, and on Thursday ruled the death the result of a “direct assault.”
Shanquella Robinson, 25, was traveling with college friends from Winston-Salem State University when she was found dead at the vacation rental property, said her father, Bernard Robinson.
Robinson, along with six friends, arrived in Mexico on October 28, according to a statement Thursday by Mexican prosecutors working on extradition proceedings with his country’s attorney general and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Evidence showed the death was the result of a “direct assault, not an accident” and involved one of the victim’s female friends, prosecutors said.
Mexican officials have not named the suspect but have confirmed that he is a US citizen who is believed to be in the United States. No one has been charged in the case, and authorities have not released the names of Robinson’s friends.
CNN has reached out to the US State Department, the FBI and the US Justice Department for comment.
A CNN legal analyst explains the extradition agreement between the US and Mexico
02:08
– Source: CNN
Daniel de la Rosa, Attorney General of Mexico’s Baja California Sur, told local media on Wednesday that extradition proceedings were underway for the suspect.
“An arrest warrant has already been issued for the crime of femicide against the victim for harming the victim and his friend, allegedly responsible for these acts,” de la Rosa said on Wednesday.
De la Rosa said the death was not the result of a “fight” but “direct aggression by this person”.
“We are already carrying out all the relevant procedures, both the Interpol file and the extradition request,” he said.
Robinson last spoke to his mother, Salamondra, on the phone on the morning of Oct. 28, his father told CNN last week. The next day, Shanquella Robinson was found dead at her vacation rental, US and Mexican authorities said.
The cause of death was “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation,” which is instability or excessive movement in the uppermost neck vertebrae, a copy of his death certificate obtained by CNN affiliate WBTV. She was found unconscious in the living room of the rented accommodation on October 29, the document said.
The death certificate classified Robinson’s death as “accidental or violent”, with the estimated time between injury and death being 15 minutes.
Video posted online shows a physical altercation between Robinson and another man inside the room. It is not clear when the video was taken or if it shows the moment she was fatally injured.
Bernard Robinson confirmed to CNN that the video shows Robinson being thrown to the floor and hit in the head.
It’s unclear what caused the altercation or how many people were in the room at the time. It is also unclear whether anyone tried to intervene.
The FBI Charlotte Field Office has opened an investigation into the death of Shanquella Robinson, it confirmed Friday.
Her family was waiting for more information from her friends and Mexican authorities, her father said a week ago.
“You took my only jewel from me,” he told CNN by phone. “You have left a big hole in my heart. The only thing I can fight for is; I will not let him die in vain.”
