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Shanquella Robinson’s Family Honors Her Birthday

She would have been 26 years old.

Shanquella Robinson was celebrated by her family and friends on what would have been her 26th birthday.

According to The Charlotte Observer, Robinson’s birthday is Jan. 9, but she was honored on Jan. 8 with loved ones releasing pink, white, and yellow balloons at Beatties Ford Memorial Garden in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was organized by Mario Black with Million Youth March of Charlotte & Salisbury, who has been demanding justice for Robinson.

"Our hope is justice," Black told WFAE. "And this is one way of keeping it going, keeping it alive, to let them know that we haven't forgotten. We're not going to let up until justice is served."

Robinson, 25, traveled to Mexico with four women and two men who were college friends. She was discovered unconscious on Oct. 29 in a rented tourist property in San Jose del Cabo, in Baja California Sur more than 1,000 miles south of San Diego. Her family said her friends told them she died of alcohol poisoning. However, a video went viral on social media of someone in the traveling party attacking Robinson in a bedroom while she was naked. A man who appeared to be filming the shocking assault is heard questioning Shanquella, saying, “Quella' can you at least fight back?” The time and date of the filming have not been verified.

A representative for Villa Linda 32, the property where the group was staying, told WJZY that the concierge contacted a doctor who attempted to revive Shanquella, but to no avail. She was declared dead at 3 p.m. local time.

It took a month before details emerged to make it clear that Robinson was likely a homicide victim and did not succumb to alcohol poisoning, as her travel companions allegedly told the family.

An investigation is still ongoing. Salamondra Robinson, Shaquella’s mother, told The Charlotte Observer that she doesn't know of any arrests being made, “We’re waiting to see and I know it will happen. In God’s time, it will happen. That’s all I’m waiting on.”

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