The sister of a beloved internet star who died six days after her boyfriend proposed during a ‘dream’ vacation to Zanzibar has spoken out about the ‘suspicious’ case.
Popular lifestyle influencer Ashly Robinson was reported dead on April 9 while staying in a five-star luxury hotel on the island off east Africa, according to her family.
The New Jersey native, who goes by Ashlee Jenae on social media, got engaged to her boyfriend Joe McCann during a safari on April 3, as chronicled in a jubilant video shared with her 110,000 Instagram followers.
Footage shows McCann getting down on one knee before they kissed and held hands while walking among giraffes, zebra and wild cats on the animal tour.
Less than a week later, Robinson was found dead. McCann said she hung herself at the Zuri Zanzibar hotel where they were staying, while a hospital listed her cause of death as cerebral hypoxia by strangulation and suffocation.
Nobody has been arrested or charged in connection to the death. Robinson’s heartbroken relatives are demanding answers, after releasing a statement describing the death as ‘suspicious’.
Her sister Alyssa Endres, 20, told the Daily Mail that her sister was a ‘beautiful’ and high-spirited person, true to the vibrant life she portrayed on social media.
Endres said a suicide would have been ‘extremely’ out of character for her sibling, and makes no sense given the context.
Beloved internet star Ashly Robinson has died just two days after her boyfriend proposed to her while on a dream vacation in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of east Africa
The influencer’s boyfriend Joe McCann proposed to her during a safari days before she died
‘She was beautiful inside and out, and everyone who knew her knew that,’ Endres told the Daily Mail on Tuesday.
‘Everyone that is standing beside us is really supporting us through all of this because everyone knew that she was a beautiful person, and all she could bring was life to everyone.’
The family also released a statement describing her death as ‘suspicious’.
‘Nothing about this loss feels real,’ the statement reads. ‘One moment she was celebrating love and life in truly Ashly fashion, and the next, she was gone.
‘The suddenness, the unanswered questions, and the distance from home have made this tragedy even more overwhelming for our family.
‘At this time, there is an active investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ashly’s suspicious passing.
‘Although we have many questions, we are placing our trust in the officials in Zanzibar and are working closely with them as we seek clarity and answers.’
The influencer’s parents, Yolanda Denise Endres and Harry Robinson, said she had been traveling with her boyfriend of one year and appeared to be having the time of her life on the island off Tanzania when they received the news of her death.
Robinson was reported dead on April 9 while holidaying on the island off east Africa
The New Jersey native, who goes by Ashlee Jenae on social media, got engaged to her boyfriend Joe McCann during a safari on April 3, as shown in a jubilant video shared with her 110,000 Instagram followers. The newly-engaged couple is shown above days before she died
New Jersey influencer Ashly Robinson was reported dead on April 9 while holidaying with her fiancé on the island off east Africa, according to her family
‘She was starting the next chapter of her life. She called us to FaceTime us to share with us her travel and her vacation,’ Endres told ABC13.
Robinson’s social media posts echoed the same sentiment.
‘Chapter 31 and I’m exactly where I need to be,’ she wrote on her final post dated April 7, after describing her vacation as ‘a dream’ three days prior.
But her mother said Robinson called on April 8 to tell her parents that she had argued with her fiancé, and they had moved to separate rooms.
The next day, Endres said she received a disturbing call from McCann.
‘He told me that Ashly did something to herself and she was being taken to the hospital, and he told me she was stable,’ Endres told ABC13.
‘I said what happened, and he told me, it had been 11 hours prior.’
Several hours later, the luxury villa where the couple had been staying broke the news that Robinson had died.
A hospital report seen by ABC13 stated that Robinson had a mark on her neck, and that her fiancé had ‘found she hung herself on the door’.
Popular lifestyle influencer Ashly Robinson was reported dead on April 9 while staying in a five-star luxury hotel on the island off east Africa, according to her family
The influencer’s boyfriend Joe McCann proposed to her during the vacation in Zanzibar
McCann and Robinson had been together for about a year, according to her heartbroken family
Robinson was later taken to another hospital, which listed her cause of death as cerebral hypoxia by strangulation and suffocation.
Endres said there were no signs that her daughter would have taken her own life.
‘She’s never done anything that would ever ever lead me to believe that she would do something to harm herself like that. She was happy,’ Endres said.
‘She was loved. She was not just going to be discarded and forgotten about,’ the heartbroken mother added.
The family said they are considering traveling to Zanzibar to seek answers, as police have not given any information beyond confirming the death.
Nobody has been arrested or charged in connection with Robinson’s passing.
The US State Department confirmed the death in Zanzibar.
‘The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans,’ a spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
‘We offer our sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones on their loss. Due to privacy and other considerations, we have no further comment.’
