OMM Newsroom
A Mexican judge has sentenced three men convicted of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad to 158 years and nine months in prison each, BBC World reported.
The men were killed during an apparent attempted robbery of their truck on a secluded beach in Baja California in 2024, while on a surfing trip, the court heard during the trial.
The killings drew international attention, particularly in Australia, because the area is generally considered safe from the violence seen elsewhere in Mexico. The guilty verdict was handed down last week.
Debra Robinson, the brothers’ mother, told the courtroom that her sons’ murders had taken “the future we had imagined with them”.
The convicted men’s full names could not be published for legal reasons. They were identified only as Jesús Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús.
In November last year, the girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, Jesús Gerardo, also known as “El Kekas”, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a separate trial. She had admitted involvement in the robbery.
The court heard that the victims’ bodies were found in a well, with gunshot wounds to their heads. They were in their early 30s and had been killed less than 36 hours after crossing into Mexico from the United States. Their families identified the bodies after they were found a week later.
The killings shocked residents and tourists in the beach town of Ensenada, who were disturbed by the apparent ease and pointlessness of the murders. Ensenada is known as a welcoming destination for surfers, but the killings highlighted the persistence of extreme violence in Mexico.
Authorities said the surfers had been killed after being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Local surfers called for greater security for residents and visitors, citing other recent cases of violence in the state. Tourism is a key part of Baja California’s regional economy.
