On April 5, 2025, Ashly Robinson, known to her 100,000+ Instagram followers as Ashlee Jenae, posted what would be her final photo dump. She was feeding a giraffe in Zanzibar, Tanzania, surrounded by rose petals spelling out “HBD Ashlee.” Her caption read: “Chapter 31 and I’m exactly where I need to be.”
She had just gotten engaged. She was on her dream birthday trip. She was glowing. Four days later, she was dead.
WHAT THE POLICE SAY
Zanzibar authorities ruled Ashly’s death a suicide, stating she and her fiancé, Joe McCann, had a dispute on April 8 that led to the hotel separating them into different rooms. A hospital report noted an unidentified mark around her neck and listed her cause of death as cerebral hypoxia by strangulation and suffocation. McCann reportedly notified her family, but only 11 hours after the incident occurred. The family learned of her death not from him, but from the hotel.
WHAT HER FAMILY SAYS
Her sister Alyssa spoke to Ashly the day before she died. By her account, everything was completely normal. Ashly was happy, excited about her engagement, and looking forward to coming home. “She’s never done anything that would ever lead me to believe she would do something to harm herself,” Alyssa said. “None of this makes sense.”
THE QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN
McCann’s passport has been confiscated. Autopsy results are pending. The family is pushing for a review of the resort’s surveillance footage. Ashly Robinson’s last post radiated joy. Her family says that joy was real, and that the full truth of what happened in that villa has yet to come out.
