Mexico Court Gives Three Men 158 Years for Killing Two Australian Surfers, an American

A Mexican judge on Friday sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the murders of two Australian surfers and their American friend during an attempted robbery in 2024. The ruling closes the trial in a case that shocked Ensenada, a surfing destination that draws visitors from around the world.

The victims were brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33, and their friend Carter Rhoad, 30. They were on a surfing trip on Mexico's Pacific coast, camping in a remote beachside area near Ensenada in Baja California, when they were shot dead in late April 2024. Their bodies were found days later, dumped in a cliff-top well, with gunshot wounds to the head. A 9mm and a .45-caliber pistol were used.

Judge Raul Hernandez ruled that the three defendants, identified only by their first names, Jesus Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus, acted with premeditation. Jesus Gerardo, known as "el Kekas," had a criminal record before the attack. Prosecutors had sought more than $100,000 in damages, but the judge rejected that and said any compensation would have to be pursued through civil proceedings.

The chief state prosecutor, María Elena Andrade Ramírez, has said the killers likely drove past, saw the group's pickup truck and tents, and wanted to steal the tires and other parts. She said it was unlikely the three were targeted because they were tourists. Jesus Gerardo's former girlfriend, Ary Gisell Silva, admitted to goading him into stealing the tires and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November.

Prosecutors said the attack was followed by a hurried effort to destroy evidence. The tents and truck were burned, and the bodies were dumped in a well about 4 miles away, in what investigators called an extremely hard-to-reach site. The well had been covered with boards and was, in Andrade Ramírez's words, "literally almost impossible to find." She said it took two hours to remove the bodies. Investigators also found a fourth body that had been there much longer, and the prosecutor said the men may have been behind that killing, though they have not been charged in it.

The families followed the hearing by video link. The Robinsons' parents had traveled to Mexico from Australia for the month-long trial and left after the verdict. "It's hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons," Martin Robinson said. Rhoad's mother, Page, said that while there can never be justice for the loss of a son, the family is grateful the men will never hurt anyone else. Rhoad's fiancée, Natalie Weirtz, told the court she wanted them to be punished so no other family suffers the same pain. The two had been set to marry just a few months after he was killed.

Baja California is one of Mexico's most violent states, plagued by organized crime and drug trafficking, although cartel activity does not usually affect tourists. Other foreign visitors have been attacked on the Pacific coast. Two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were murdered in 2015 while traveling through the northwestern state of Sinaloa, and their bodies were burned.