The fiancée of a popular lifestyle influencer, who was discovered deceased in Zanzibar shortly after her engagement, is currently under investigation.
Ashlee Jenae, whose real name was Ashly Robinson, was found unresponsive in her villa at the Zuri Zanzibar resort on April 9. She was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead a few hours later.
According to Tanzanian authorities, the preliminary assessment suggests a suicide. However, on Tuesday, the Tanzania Police Force revealed that her fiancée, 45-year-old Joe McCann, is still being interrogated, and his passport has been confiscated.
Officials have indicated that Robinson’s death may be connected to a heated argument between the newly engaged couple at the resort. The altercation reportedly escalated to a point where resort staff felt compelled to relocate McCann to a separate room for safety reasons.
McCann, known as a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, stated that he returned to their room with a security guard to check on Robinson, where he discovered her hanging from a door.
However, Robinson’s parents allege that McCann delayed informing them of the incident by 11 hours and has been evasive about the details surrounding the tragic event in the days following her death.
They have publicly disputed claims that Robinson would take her own life, as Savannah Britt, a public relations executive and close friend of the deceased, wrote on social media: ‘Anyone who knows Ash knows she would NEVER commit suicide.
‘We need answers now!’
Ashlee Jenae – real name Ashly Robinson – was found unconscious in her villa at the Zuri Zanzibar resort and was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was later confirmed dead
The influencer had travelled to Zanzibar with her fiancé, Joe McCann, 45, to celebrate her birthday. He is now being questioned about her death
Robinson had accrued over 80,000 followers on Instagram by documenting what she called a ‘soft life’ philosophy of positivity, as reported by NeedToKnow.
She also often shared loved up photos of herself and her fiancé McCann to her social media.
The influencer documented their lavish life together, which appeared to include frequent vacations.
She had jetted to the holiday destination with her fiancé Joe McCann to celebrate her birthday on April 5.
McCann, the founder of crypto fund Asymmetric Financial, had also proposed to her during a safari on the trip.
In her final post, she wrote: ‘Chapter 31 and I’m exactly where I need to be.’
Before their trip, the couple enjoyed front row seats to a Portland Trail Blazers as well as a ski trip to Bend, Oregon.
Robinson celebrated her one-year anniversary with McCann on November 3.
‘Chapter 31 and I’m exactly where i need to be,’ she captioned one upload which showed her kissing McCann
Robinson shared numerous photos of her relationship with Joe McCann on her social media
At the time, she documented their milestone with a photograph of them standing together in front of a body of water.
She captioned the post: ‘365 down. Here’s to forever.’
One day before her death, Robinson uploaded photos and video footage of their Zanzibar vacation.
‘If this is a dream, no one wake me up,’ she captioned one carousel which showed her and McCann posing for among zebras.
Following the news of Robinson’s death, her social media pages were flooded with tributes.
Commenting underneath her final Instagram post, uploaded on April 5, one said: ‘My heart is broken hearing what happened.
‘I was just congratulating you a few days ago, this doesn’t feel real.’
Another wrote: ‘May you rest in peace Ashlee. May God bring justice and peace to you and your family. Such a bright and beautiful light inside and out.’
A third penned: ‘Rest in peace, my friend I told you that I wanted to meet you, but I will miss you dearly. RIP, my friend, your life was taken too short.’
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
