Zanzibar authorities have said that Ashlee Jenae, a 31-year-old Miami-based lifestyle influencer who was found dead in a Tanzania hotel just days after her engagement, died by suicide. TMZ reported that North Unguja Regional Police Commander Benedict Mapujira said that Ashlee died after allegedly hanging herself inside her room at the Zuri Zanzibar resort on April 9.

Mapujira said that hotel staff had already intervened earlier in the day after Ashlee and her fiancé, Joe McCann, got into a dispute, The Citizen reported. The couple even moved into separate rooms.

Mapujira said resort employees became worried about Ashlee’s condition and contacted authorities after she was believed to be at risk of harming herself.

“The fiancé, as it was reported, had disagreements, and later hotel management decided to separate their rooms, so the woman had her own room, and the man had his own room,” he said.

According to police, Robinson was still alive when officers were called. She was transported to a hospital, where she died the next day.

The most critical detail here is that Robinson was still alive when police were called to the scene. That single fact fundamentally changes how the entire sequence of events is understood. It confirms that the incident did not result in an immediate death, but instead unfolded over a period of time during which she was still alive, discovered, and emergency services were able to respond.

This creates a clear window between the initial incident and her eventual death — meaning this was not an instantaneous fatal outcome. Rather, there was a period during which her condition evolved, emergency responders intervened, and medical professionals attempted to treat her.

It raises important questions about her condition at the scene: Was she conscious? Was she able to communicate? Were there additional injuries beyond the primary cause of the incident? These factors can significantly influence how authorities reconstruct the timeline and assess intent or possible external involvement. Such observations often become part of official reports and can heavily shape how investigators interpret what happened.

Her transfer to a local hospital and her death the following day further clarify another key aspect. Medical personnel would have documented her vital signs, injuries, and response to treatment. In many cases, hospital records become crucial evidence, sometimes revealing details that are not immediately visible at the scene. The fact that she died the next day suggests complications — potentially related to oxygen deprivation, internal injuries, or delayed physiological responses.

It is also highly likely that the hospital’s surveillance system captured footage of her arrival, her critical condition, and the medical response that followed. While such footage is almost never made public, it would almost certainly be reviewed by investigators. Alongside medical records, this visual evidence can help confirm the timeline, verify the sequence of events, and strengthen official conclusions.

In cases like this, the combination of on-scene observations and hospital documentation often forms the backbone of the official narrative — even when much of that evidence remains undisclosed to the public.

At the same time, this detail can complicate public perception. People often expect a straightforward cause-and-effect story, but a delayed death introduces uncertainty. It creates room for multiple interpretations, especially when combined with other unclear elements in the timeline. In short, the fact that she was alive when found does not just add context — it opens the door to deeper questions about what exactly happened during those critical hours.

Joe McCann was also reportedly by Ashlee’s side as she was rushed into the hospital. In the aftermath of the ordeal, he appeared visibly shaken and deeply concerned for his fiancée as medical teams worked frantically to save her.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police in Zanzibar, who also serves as the Deputy Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Zuberi Chembera, previoudly said that the hotel management had received a report from a guest in room number 24, saying they heard an altercation coming from room number 25, where Joe and Ashlee were staying. The disturbance prompted the management to decide to shift Joe to room number 65, located about an eight-minute walk from their original room.

Before the incident, Ashlee has reportedly requested a charging cable from a hotel employee because she faced issues with her own. The employee was asked to return after ten minutes, and when he did, he found Ashlee hanging from a clothesline. She was rushed to a hospital, where she died.

Ashlee’s loved ones have rejected the suicide claim, including her close friend, PR executive Savannah Britt, who wrote on X, “We need justice for my friend Ashlee Jenae who was found dead in her hotel in Tanzania and her fiance Joe McCann claims she hung herself. Anyone who knows Ash knows she would NEVER commit suicide. We need answers now!”

Ashlee’s family said in a statement that that “one moment she was celebrating love and life in true Ashly fashion, and the next, she was gone,” adding that the “unanswered questions” surrounding the case have made the loss harder to deal with.

The Citizen later reported that police in the Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar were holding Joe. His passport was also “withheld,” the local police said in a statement, according to the BBC. He was understood to be speaking to police as a witness.