A South Jersey family is pushing for answers after the sudden and unexplained death of 31-year-old Ashly Robinson during a trip to Zanzibar, Tanzania. Robinson, known online as Ashlee Jenae, had traveled to the island to celebrate her birthday and what her family described as a new chapter in her life. According to her parents, the influencer had recently become engaged during the trip and appeared happy in conversations with them just days before her death.
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“My daughter Ashly, she’s no longer here with us, and we’re trying to find out why,” said her mother, Yolanda Denise Endres, in an interview with ABC 6.
Family members say the timeline surrounding Robinson’s death raises serious concerns. Endres recalled that her daughter called on April 8, explaining she and her fiancé had argued and were staying in separate rooms. The following day, Endres received a call from the fiancé.
“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 said. “I said what happened, and he told me, it had been 11 hours prior.”
Hours later, the family was informed by the resort that Robinson had died.
Medical reports reviewed by the family noted an unidentified mark around Robinson’s neck, with one account stating she was found hanging on a door. A second hospital later listed her cause of death as cerebral hypoxia due to strangulation and suffocation.
“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.
Robinson’s father described the emotional toll, saying, “Uncertainty. Mystery. Anger. Sadness. It’s like a part of me has been taken.”
The family says they have contacted local authorities, the U.S. embassy, and the consulate but have received limited information. They are now considering traveling to Zanzibar themselves as they continue to seek clarity.
“She was loved. She was not just going to be discarded and forgotten about,” Endres said.
