"Cabo Six" Lawsuit Update: Jurisdictional Dispute Delaying Legal Proceedings in Shanquella Robinson Case
There have been several recent developments in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Shanquella Robinson. One of the pressing issues is whether the case will be heard in Mexico or the U.S.
In March 2025, Tales From the Underworld covered the disturbing story of 25-year-old Shanquella Robinson, who died under suspicious circumstances while on a trip to Mexico with friends. Since then, there have been several new developments in the case.
The case gained national attention in mid-November 2022, when a disturbing video began circulating on social media. It showed a naked woman, identified as Shanquella, being violently attacked in what appeared to be the villa where she had been staying in Cabo.
The attacker, believed to be her travel companion Daejhanae Jackson (now legally known as E’mani Green), was seen punching her repeatedly, grabbing her by the neck, and slamming her to the ground, while others in the room recorded the assault rather than stepping in to help.
The footage spread across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram within hours, sparking outrage and disbelief. Viewers were horrified not only by the violence itself but by the inaction of those who watched and filmed. Hashtags like #JusticeForShanquella started trending on platforms such as Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook, amplifying calls for transparency and accountability in the case.
Backstory
In late October 2022, 25-year-old Shanquella Robinson traveled to San José del Cabo, Mexico, with a group of six friends for what was supposed to be a luxury getaway. They arrived on October 28, 2022, and checked into a private villa. Less than 24 hours later, on October 29, 2022, Shanquella was dead.
At first, her friends told her family that she died from alcohol poisoning. However, that story didn’t sit right, especially when the autopsy results came back. The official report from Mexico, released on November 4, 2022, found the cause of death was from a severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation (a broken neck).
It was determined that the death was violent rather than accidental, as the report made no mention of alcohol as a contributing factor.
However, a second autopsy performed in Charlotte told a different story. It found no fractures in the spine or skull and described the cause of death as undetermined, noting blunt-force trauma to the forehead, mild swelling of the brain, and oxygen deprivation injuries, but no broken bones.
On November 23, 2022, just weeks after Shanquella’s death, Mexican authorities took a major step. The attorney general for Baja California Sur announced they had issued an arrest warrant for one of Shanquella’s travel companions, identified in Mexican documents as the “direct aggressor” seen in the viral assault video. The charge was femicide, a classification in Mexico for the killing of a woman because of her gender.
Mexican law enforcement also asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice and formally sought the suspect’s extradition from the United States. Mexican prosecutors publicly stated that they had "almost everything" needed to bring the case to trial except for the suspect in custody.
That put pressure on U.S. authorities to cooperate, since the person of interest was believed to be back on American soil. On April 12, 2023, the FBI's Charlotte Field Office and U.S. Attorneys from two North Carolina districts informed Shanquella’s family that after a thorough review, they would not pursue federal charges.
Investigators determined that the evidence did not meet the high standard needed to prove a federal crime “beyond a reasonable doubt,” despite reviewing both autopsy reports. They did not dispute that Shanquella died under suspicious circumstances, only that U.S. law didn’t provide a clear path for prosecution.
On October 25, 2024, nearly two years after Shanquella’s tragic death, her mother, Sallamondra Robinson, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Mecklenburg County Superior Court in Charlotte. The lawsuit names each of the six people who traveled with her (widely referred to online as the “Cabo Six”) and also includes the U.S. State Department and the FBI as defendants.
Sallamondra sought more than $25,000 in damages from each, claiming that they failed in their duty in several ways, including battery, civil conspiracy, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other things. The lawsuit reignited public interest in the case. Local and national outlets covered the story, while social media lit up again with posts, hashtags, and calls for accountability.
Recent Developments
On May 14, 2025, a federal judge in Charlotte held a crucial hearing to decide one of the lawsuit's most important questions of where the wrongful death case would be tried, either in the United States, where the defendants live, or in Mexico, where Shanquella died.
Attorneys for the "Cabo Six" argued that Mexico has the stronger claim because the incident happened there. While the Robinson family's lawyer, Sue-Ann Robinson, insisted the case should stay in the U.S. to make the legal process more accessible and to avoid the complications of pursuing justice in another country.
"A U.S. citizen should not be allowed to go overseas, harm another U.S. citizen, and come back…and say they won't be held liable," she said outside the courthouse. The hearing later ended without a final ruling, leaving the case in limbo.
On June 13, 2025, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell issued a mixed ruling in the Robinson family’s wrongful death lawsuit. The judge dismissed part of the claims against the U.S. government, specifically, certain allegations against the FBI and State Department. However, the claims against the “Cabo Six” remain active, which means that the family can still pursue them in court.
Just days later, on June 18, one of the “Cabo Six,” now known as E’mani Green (formerly Daejhanae Jackson), who was identified by Mexican authorities as the alleged aggressor in the viral video, filed her own court response. Green denied all allegations, including wrongful death, battery, negligence, conspiracy, and emotional distress, and then raised legal objections of her own.
She argued that the complaint wasn’t properly served to her and that it was filed after the statute of limitations had passed. So, she asked the judge to dismiss the case against her entirely. Meanwhile, other members of the group, like Alysse Hyatt, Wenter Donovan, Malik Dyer, and Khalil Cooke, have also filed motions. They are pushing to either dismiss the case outright or transfer it to Mexico.
In the weeks that followed, the Robinson family’s legal team filed formal responses opposing these dismissal motions. They argued that all six travel companions played some role directly or indirectly in Shanquella’s death or in covering up the truth, and that they must answer for it in a U.S. court. The family’s attorneys also pointed out that being forced to litigate in Mexico would place an unfair burden on them, citing legal, financial, and language barriers.
The case has shown just how complicated international justice can be. The legal process has been slow, tangled in jurisdiction debates, motions to dismiss, and cross-border bureaucracy. Mexico has formally charged a suspect and issued an arrest warrant, but without extradition cooperation from the U.S., the case cannot move forward.
Despite this, Shanquella’s family continues to keep her memory alive as they seek justice and accountability for those involved. As her mother, Sallamondra, has said many times, "We're not giving up.”
Sources:
Lara, Kates. “Betrayed by Her Friends: Pursuing Justice for Shanquella Robinson.” Tales From the Underworld - Authentic True Crime, Tales From the Underworld - Authentic True Crime, 11 Mar. 2025, https://www.talesfromtheunderworld.com/p/betrayed-by-her-friends-pursuing
Lomis, Spencer Chrisman and Connor. “Judge Partially Dismisses Shanquella Robinson Lawsuit Filed against FBI, State Department.” WBTV3, 13 June 2025, https://www.wbtv.com/2025/06/13/judge-partially-dismisses-shanquella-robinson-lawsuit-filed-against-fbi-state-department/
Puente, Nathaniel. Defendant in Shanquella Robinson Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claims She Was Acting in Self-Defense, WCNC, 10 July 2025, https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/cabo-six-lawsuit-response-shanquella-robinson/275-468adcfe-eb89-44d2-a33b-9d21c79d8bff