Nearly four years after Shanquella Robinson’s death shocked the nation, her family is still fighting to hold the people who traveled with her accountable. While the criminal case has stalled on both sides of the border, the civil lawsuit continues to gain traction as defendants make repeated attempts to avoid facing a jury.
According to WSOC-TV, a Mecklenburg County judge recently denied an effort by defendant E’Mani Green, formerly known as Daejhanae Jackson, the woman seen assaulting Robinson in the widely circulated video, to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit over questions of legal service. Green, who has since changed her name and relocated to Connecticut, remains one of the six defendants named in the family’s lawsuit. The next major legal battle centers on defendant Khalil Cooke, whose attorneys argue the case should be heard in Mexico instead of North Carolina. A judge is expected to decide that issue in the coming weeks.
WCNC reports Cooke’s motion is just the latest attempt by members of the so-called “Cabo Six” to derail the Robinson family’s case before it reaches trial. The lawsuit accuses the group of wrongful death, negligence, battery, and conspiracy stemming from the October 2022 trip to Cabo San Lucas, where Robinson died after suffering severe neck and spinal injuries. Her companions initially claimed alcohol poisoning was to blame, but that explanation quickly unraveled after disturbing video footage surfaced showing Robinson being brutally assaulted before her death.
Although Mexican authorities once announced an arrest warrant connected to the case, no one has ever been criminally prosecuted in either Mexico or the United States. That reality has left Robinson’s family relying on the civil courts in their search for accountability. With judges continuing to reject several dismissal efforts, the lawsuit remains one of the few avenues left to uncover what happened during Robinson’s final hours and determine whether those who returned home without consequences will finally be forced to answer for their alleged roles in her death.
