Ashlee Jenae’s fiancé speaks out as influencer’s cause of death revealed in Zanzibar tragedy

Ashlee Jenae’s cause of death has been ruled as a suicide after the US influencer was found dead in Zanzibar in April, and her fiancé has now shared a statement.

The 31-year-old from Portland, whose full name is Ashly Robinson, was found dead in her luxury villa on 9th April while on holiday with her boyfriend Joe McCann. They had just celebrated her birthday and he proposed during the trip, and her parents told CBS News the death didn’t “make any sense”.

“Ashly was found unconscious in her villa and rushed to a local hospital, where her death was confirmed hours later. Nothing about this loss feels real. One minute she was celebrating love and life in truly Ashly fashion, and the next, she was gone. The suddenness, the unanswered questions and the distance from home have made this tragedy even more overwhelming,” her family said in a statement shared on Instagram.

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A post shared by Ashlee Jenae (@ashleejenae)

Staff at the hotel moved the couple into separate rooms the night before her tragic death due to an argument. Jenae’s fiancé was then questioned as a witness by the Zanzibar North Unguja Regional Police, and his passport was withheld while the investigation continued.

On 4th June, police found that she had died by suicide as a result of mental distress. “Through witness statements and analysis of communication devices belonging to the deceased and her fiancé, we established that she had been experiencing mental distress,” local police chief Zuberi Chembera told Tanzanian news outlet the Citizen. “SMS messages showed repeated complaints regarding her life circumstances.”

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Following the cause of death, McCann told TMZ: “Today’s official announcement from Tanzanian authorities that my soulmate Ashly Robinson died by suicide does not lessen the tragedy of her death. I miss Ashly every moment of every day and the pain of being without her will never go away. A sudden loss of this magnitude is not something I can simply get over.”

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A post shared by Ashlee Jenae (@ashleejenae)

“My priorities all along were getting Ashly home and cooperating with the authorities to ensure that the truth would be revealed. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the dedicated men and women of the Tanzania Police Force for their professional, sensitive, and thorough investigation.”

Jenae’s Instagram is now being flooded with messages from people expressing their condolences to the influencer’s family.

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Featured image credit: Instagram