The FBI is starting to release files in response to multiple Freedom of Information Act requests by Channel 9 dating back to 2023. The FBI released two parts of documents related to the Shanquella Robinson investigation. The agency is continuing to search for responsive records and more may be released in the coming months.
RECENT COVERAGE: Two more members of ‘Cabo 6′ ask for lawsuit to be dismissed
Shanquella Robinson went to Cabo, Mexico, in 2022 with six people she considered friends. She never returned home. Her father says her travel-mates told him she died of alcohol poisoning. An autopsy in Mexico claimed she died of neck and spinal cord injuries. A video also surfaced of Robinson being attacked by someone on the trip.
No charges were filed.
About a month after she died, FBI records show they spoke to a person, whose name was redacted from the file, who referenced that fight and said, “They aren’t sure what happened.” But the unknown person claimed Robinson’s friends said she was drinking and “hit her head on the toilet.” The documents say the person also told investigators they saw pictures of Robinson’s body and said, “There are bruises on her and she looks like she was stomped on.”
The person also believed there were cameras in the house.
A lot of the information is still being protected by the FBI and was redacted in these files.
That includes interviews with people who said they had information about the case and social media accounts associated with her travel-mates. The FBI kept track of all of their social media accounts from Dropbox to Twitter.
The FBI files say agents searched Robinson’s phone. What they found in the phone is redacted. The files also state that in November 2022, authorities in Mexico told the FBI they needed to interview someone on the trip so they could get a temporary detention order. Mexican prosecutors eventually would issue an arrest warrant, but no one was ever extradited.
The Robinson family is suing all of the travel-mates, including the person they say is seen hitting Robinson in the video. Court records show she changed her name and now lives in Connecticut.
The Robinson family’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment. The FBI declined to comment further.
The former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Dena King, previously said her office will continue to review any new information that is brought to their attention about the case.
Three of Robinson’s travel-mates have asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed. A federal judge will make that determination in the future.
VIDEO: Lawyer for family of Shanquella Robinson files lawsuit against travel companions
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