CNN
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Mexican prosecutors have obtained an arrest warrant for the boyfriend 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.” called
Shanquella Robinson, 25, was on a trip with college friends from Winston-Salem State University when she was found dead in a vacation rental, her father, Bernard Robinson, said.
Robinson arrived in Mexico on Oct. 28 with six friends, according to a statement issued Thursday by Mexican prosecutors, who are working with their country’s attorney general and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the extradition process.
Prosecutors said the death was a “direct assault, not an accident” and involved one of the victim’s female friends.
Mexican officials did not name the suspect but confirmed he is a US citizen believed to be in the US. 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 Department of Justice for comment.
Daniel de la Rosa, the attorney general of the Mexican state of Baja California, told local media on Wednesday that the extradition process for the suspect is ongoing.
“An arrest warrant has already been issued for the crime of femicide against the victim and against her friend, who was responsible for these actions,” de la Rosa said Wednesday.
The death was not the result of an “argument” but “the direct aggression of this man,” de la Rosa said.
“We are already following all the relevant procedures, both the Interpol file and the extradition request,” he said.
Robinson last spoke to her mother, Salamondra, on the phone on the morning of Oct. 28, her father told CNN last week. Shanquella Robinson was found dead at her vacation home the next day, U.S. and Mexican officials said.
The cause of death was “severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation,” meaning instability or excessive movement in the uppermost cervical vertebrae, according to a copy of his death certificate obtained by CNN affiliate WBTV. She was found unconscious in the living room of the rental home on Oct. 29, the document said.
The death certificate classified Robinson’s death as “accidental or violent” and estimated the time between injury and death at 15 minutes.
A video posted online shows a physical altercation between Robinson and another man inside the room. It’s not clear when the video was taken or if it captured the moment he was fatally injured.
Robinson can be seen in the video being thrown to the floor and hit in the head, Bernard Robinson told CNN.
It is unclear what caused the altercation and how many people were in the room at the time. It is also unclear whether anyone tried to interfere.
The FBI’s Charlotte field office has opened an investigation into Shanquella Robinson’s death, it confirmed Friday.
His family was waiting for more information from friends and Mexican authorities, his father said a week ago.
“You’ve taken my only pearl,” he told CNN over the phone. “You made a big hole in my heart. All I can do is fight for him; I will not let him die in vain.”
