The FBI announced this week that it has decided not to prosecute the killing of Shanquella Robinson, Fox News reported.
“Based on the results of the autopsy and after a careful deliberation and review of the investigative materials by both U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, federal prosecutors informed Ms. Robinson’s family today that the available evidence does not support a federal prosecution,” the FBI said in a statement Wednesday.
“The death of Ms. Robinson has been incredibly difficult for her family and the community. As a matter of policy, federal officials generally do not issue public statements concerning the status of an investigation. However, given the circumstances of Ms. Robinson’s death and the public concern surrounding this investigation, it is important to reassure the public that experienced federal agents and seasoned prosecutors extensively reviewed the available evidence and have concluded that federal charges cannot be pursued.”
When speaking of “the results of the autopsy,” the FBI appears not to be referring to the original autopsy performed following the 26-year-old North Carolina hairdresser’s death in Los Cabos, Mexico. That autopsy concluded that the cause of Robinson’s death was “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation” along with “instability of the first two neck vertebrae.”
When a video surfaced on social media of Robinson being beaten by a friend as other friends watched, Mexican authorities declared Robinson’s death a homicide and issued an arrest warrant for an American woman named Daejhanae Jackson. Mexican authorities also filed an extradition request so that Jackson can stand trial in Mexico for the charge against her.
The FBI statement does not appear to address the matter of extradition, and the United States and Mexico have an extradition treaty dating back to 1978. The FBI directed extradition questions to the Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on whether the U.S. government is cooperating with Mexico on the extradition process.
Robinson’s family has repeatedly pleaded with the Biden administration to take action and help with the extradition process.
“We don’t want to leave room for the administration to say they didn’t know how to help,” attorney Sue-Ann Robinson, who is not related to Shanquella Robinson, said last month.
“The president or the secretary of state must step in and ask for the extradition of the suspect or suspects or concurrent jurisdiction and file charges in the United States,” the attorney added.
The case has received enormous media attention yet the family remains frustrated by the lack of result so far. “We’re disappointed, but we’re not deterred,” attorney Robinson said in a press conference Wednesday, adding that she believes the situation is a reminder that “Black and brown victims” of crime have to work harder to have their voices heard in the United States, Fox reported.
Regarding the United States and its alleged proclivity to ignore crimes against black and brown victims, the attorney compared the case to that of George Floyd, although some may recall that case receiving attention in the United States. A distinction between the two cases is that the suspected killer in the Floyd case was white, whereas Robinson’s suspected killer is black. Floyd’s killer was convicted and is in prison.
If authorities announce that Daejhanae Jackson is indeed being extradited to face charges in Mexico, Jackson likely will have an attorney of whom the press will ask for comment, one perhaps from the perspective of how the United States treats black and brown criminal suspects.
The autopsy to which the FBI statement refers appears to be its own, performed later and after the victim had been embalmed. The FBI declared the cause of death to be “undetermined.”
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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