Jada Strong 
We all know the saying “be careful who you trust.” In the ill-fated case of Shanquella Robinson this statement is crucial to reflect on. It gives us a reminder to be mindful of the people we interact with and choose to be our friends. In October, Robinson’s “friends” booked a trip to a resort in Cabo, Mexico. Staying at Villa Linda 23, the 25-year-old would unexpectedly pass on October 29th. The friends she had traveled with claimed that Robinson had died from alcohol poisoning, but later autopsy reports show that she had a broken neck. The whole alibi given by the suspects is rather suspicious, and what’s even harder to grasp is the fact that the group had flown back to U.S. the day after Robinson died. Let’s dig into this case, discuss the importance of knowing who your friends are, and how toxicity had a play in this gut wrenching story.
For the most part, the general public knows the hard facts about this high profile case. According to reports, one of the first important facts to note is that Robinson spoke with her mother the day before her death, which was confirmed and proved by her mother. She was describing that she was having fun, and her mother recalled there being no troublesome signs of discomfort throughout the call, and told her daughter to enjoy herself.
Important fact number two is that we know that Robinson died from a direct attack against her, although police reports indicate a different occurrence of events, which may imply a false report sent in by the so-called “friends” in this story. Witnesses at the resort alerted the staff that at 2:00 p.m. Robinson had drunk a lot of alcohol, which led to her being referred to a hospital for dehydration. Her company never took the doctors advice, resulting in Robinson dying due to cardiac arrest. When we think about it, their original alibis of what occurred could have made sense, due to a body temperature drop that happens when one obtains alcohol poisoning. The part that doesn’t exactly add up is the fact that the postmortem examination indicates defensive attacks performed against Robinson, and a neck injury that was assumed to have taken place at approximately 3:00 p.m. “When the autopsy came back, they said it didn’t have anything to do with alcohol… They said that she had a broken neck and her spine in the back was cracked. She had been beaten” Salamodra, Robinson’s mother states. All this information was gathered and analyzed by Mexican authorities, who have gone to label the young woman’s death as an attack, not an accident.
The third important fact is that there is the video that is surfacing on the internet, displaying an assault against Robinson. “It is Robinson seen in the video being thrown to the floor and beaten on the head” Bernard Robinson told CNN in an interview. Sources state that it is not clear whether that was the fatal injury that Robinson had obtained as mentioned earlier, but she did receive spinal injuries from the beating.
Anyone of us could have been Shanquella Robinson the core of the matter is people she called her friends orchestrated her death. There are enemies who disguise themselves as friends as loved ones this sent a message to us all. #JusticeForShanquellaRobinson
— Kara Hopkins (@ikara4you) November 20, 2022
The Shanquella Robinson story is proof positive of why you cannot be friends with someone who thinks you "have it all" while they don't. Their "admiration" turns into envy and then hate and eventually sabotage.
— Faye Bishop (@MsFayeBishop) November 26, 2022
Wow, uncovered video, shows 1 of her so-called MALE best-friend’s walking around filming our Shanquella WHILE SHE’S ASLEEP??…SAYING, “we got our first dead body..body, body, body, body, body. She through for,” #ShanquellaRobinson #blackgirlnews #justiceforquella #BLMofficerBJ pic.twitter.com/ia2I8YQxMU
— BLM OFFICER BJ (@BLMofficerBJ) November 22, 2022
With the video creating loads of frustration from loads of people, many on Twitter came to express their opinions about the case, and highlight the idea that you need to be aware of who your friends are. There are many claims about her relationship with these so-called friends before the trip, some saying that she payed for the trip, and some saying that they murdered her with intention of femcide. Unfortunately, we cannot separate propaganda from the true events. I hope all of you reading this take a good moral lesson from this circumstance, no matter who you are. Even though friendships can be tough and might go through rough patches, a friend that fights you or intentionally hurts you in any way is NOT your friend. We never know people’s true intentions, even if they do a good job at not displaying them. This case shows that jealous friends are not friends. On and off friends are not your friends. Friends that always have a problem with you, are not your friends. We all equally deserve to be loved and cared for, and a strong friendship or emotional attachment isn’t an excuse for physically violent or emotionally abusive actions. Know your boundaries and do whatever you can to separate yourself from anyone who directs negative energy in your life.
Robinson’s case is changing almost on a daily basis. According to TIME, one of her friends is being accused of the murder. Stay tuned to True Star for further updates. Until then, stay safe.
By Jada Strong, Freshman, Whitney Young Magnet High School
Twitter/Instagram: @JadaStrongg
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