{"id":319839,"date":"2026-04-17T00:48:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T19:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=319839"},"modified":"2026-04-17T00:48:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T19:18:41","slug":"u-s-tourist-held-in-zanzibar-after-his-fiancee-dies-following-arguments-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/u-s-tourist-held-in-zanzibar-after-his-fiancee-dies-following-arguments-national\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. tourist held in Zanzibar after his fiancee dies following arguments – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Police in Zanzibar are holding an American citizen whose partner died in mysterious circumstances following a dispute on the hotel where they were staying.<\/p>\n

Joseph Isaac McCann, 45, was questioned by police on Monday, 4 days after his partner, Ashly Robinson, 31, higher often called influencer Ashlee Jenae, died.<\/p>\n

The deputy director of investigations in Zanzibar, Zuberi Chembera, refused to comment on the case on Thursday, in response to The Associated Press, saying that the investigation was ongoing. Investigators did say they\u2019re holding McCann\u2019s passport<\/a> until Robinson\u2019s autopsy results are complete, reports CBS News.<\/p>\n

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Police said witness accounts indicate the couple arrived on the Zuri Hotel in Zanzibar on April 4 and had been arguing ceaselessly until the night of April 8, when hotel management separated them and asked McCann to maneuver to a separate villa a few 10-minute walk away.<\/p>\n

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A couple of hours later, a hotel employee found Robinson unresponsive in a closet with a belt round her neck, police said. She was taken to a hospital, where she died the next day.<\/p>\n

Zanzibar\u2019s police told the BBC<\/a> that Robinson had attempted to take her own life.<\/p>\n

The hotel, Zuri Zanzibar, told the BBC that it was deeply saddened by the \u201ctragic incident involving one in all our guests.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hotel said it was co-operating with authorities and the U.S. embassy but didn’t comment further, citing privacy concerns.<\/p>\n

McCann has not released a public statement on the time of this writing and no arrests have been made. Zanzibar police previously told local media<\/a> that investigators had found \u201cno immediate sign of criminality\u201d and McCann had not been detained, saying circumstances outlined by police \u201cdidn’t justify legal motion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson shared multiple social media posts during her trip, including her last post on April 5, which showed her feeding a giraffe while ringing in her thirty first birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cChapter 31 and I\u2019m exactly where i have to be,\u201d she wrote within the caption.<\/p>\n

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Robinson\u2019s family demands answers<\/h2>\n
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In a press release posted to Instagram<\/a>, Robinson\u2019s family said their daughter \u201cwas on what must have been one in all the happiest trips of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe and her fianc\u00e9, Joe McCann, were staying in a luxury villa on the Zuri Zanzibar, continuing what we believed was her dream trip. But just days later, that dream changed into our family\u2019s worst nightmare. Ashly was found unconscious in her villa and was rushed to an area hospital, where her death was confirmed hours later,\u201d the family wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe suddenness, the unanswered questions, and the space from handmade this tragedy much more overwhelming for our family,\u201d they continued. \u201cPresently, there’s an energetic investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ashly\u2019s suspicious passing. Although we’ve many questions, we’re placing our trust within the officials in Zanzibar and are working closely with them as we seek clarity and answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family also asked that \u201cany information in a roundabout way provided by our family be treated as unverified and never considered factual presently.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Robinson\u2019s parents spoke to ABC News<\/a> from Delaware and said they’ve not received clear information from officials in Tanzania or from McCann about what happened to their daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter Ashly, she\u2019s now not here with us, and we\u2019re trying to seek out out why,\u201d said her mother, Yolanda Denise Endres.<\/p>\n

\u201cUncertainty. Mystery. Anger. Sadness. It\u2019s like an element of me has been taken,\u201d said her father, Harry Robinson.<\/p>\n

In accordance with her family, Robinson was celebrating her birthday together with her boyfriend of 1 12 months, who had proposed two days prior.<\/p>\n

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