A huge development has emerged in the suicide of Miami lifestyle influencer Ashlee Jenae. Ashlee, 31, was found unresponsive at the Zuri Zanzibar resort in Tanzania on April 5.
She died days after her fiancé, Joe McCann, proposed to her in Tanzania.
Police in Zanzibar confirmed Ashlee and Joe were involved in a “major fight” before she was found unconscious. The fight was so serious that hotel security moved them to separate villas.
According to North Unguja Regional Police Commander, Benedict Mapujira, the domestic incident prompted the resort’s security team to step in and assign them to separate villas for Ashlee’s safety.
The domestic incident was reported to the Nungwi Police Station.
A day later, Ashlee was found unresponsive in her private villa and rushed to the local hospital, Mapujira stated. She was pronounced dead.
Local media outlets reported that the police investigated Ashlee’s death as a suicide by hanging. But no official cause of death has been made public.
The news that Ashlee and Joe had a fight before she died raised red flags with Ashlee’s family in Miami.
In a statement on Sunday, family members said Ashlee (born Ashly Robinson) was celebrating her 31st birthday with Joe in Tanzania.
Ashlee had FaceTimed her family to share news of her engagement.
“But just days later, that dream turned into our family’s worst nightmare,” the family wrote. “Ashly was found unconscious in her villa and was rushed to a local hospital.”
Ashlee’s family said Joe called them 11 hours later to inform them that she had died. That delay has raised concerns.
According to her mother, Joe told them that “something had happened” and that Ashlee had “done something to herself,” but he did not provide specific details.
Joe is founder of the cryptocurrency investment firm Asymmetric Financial, backed by investors like Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon. He has not been arrested nor detained by Zanzibar authorities.
When asked if they suspect his involvement, Ashlee’s family emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and they are waiting for official confirmation.
In an interview, the family insisted she would never commit suicide.
In February, Ashlee posted a gallery of photos from her trip to New Orleans with Joe. She captioned the post, “Came for the beads, stayed for the feels.”
Instagram followers noted that one of the photos showed framed art that featured a collection of ropes twisted into various knots.
One person wrote: “She died by being hung right and these different rope knots are on the photos and somebody in the comments said rip 7 weeks ago is crazy.”
Another person wrote: “The second pic with the different ways of how to tight attached a rope.”
