A Mexican judge has sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the murders of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad. The guilty verdict was handed down last week.
The three men were identified only as Jesús Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús, because their full names could not be published for legal reasons.
How the surfers were killed in Baja California
The court heard that the three men were behind an apparent botched robbery of the group’s truck on a secluded beach in Baja California. The attack took place in 2024, while the men were on a surfing trip.
According to the court, the victims’ bodies were found dumped down a well, each with gunshot wounds to the head. The surfers had crossed into Mexico from the US only about 36 hours before they were killed. Their bodies were not found for another week, when their families were able to identify them.
Victims’ mother and a separate sentence
Debra Robinson, the brothers’ mother, told the courtroom that her sons’ deaths had taken “the future we had imagined with them”.
In a separate trial held in November last year, the girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, Jesús Gerardo, who is also known as “El Kekas”, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She had admitted to taking part in the robbery.
Shock in Ensenada and calls for better security
The killings shocked locals and tourists in the beach town of Ensenada, who were troubled by how easily the murders appeared to have been carried out and how pointless they seemed. Ensenada is known as a welcoming place for surfers, but the case showed how common extreme violence still is in Mexico.
Authorities could offer only one explanation: the surfers, all in their early 30s, had been killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Local surfers called for stronger security for residents and visitors, pointing to other recent violent incidents in the state. Tourism is a key part of the regional economy in Baja California.
