A court in Mexico has found three men guilty of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad, who were shot dead during a surfing trip in 2024. The verdict was delivered on Friday in Ensenada, a port city on the Pacific coast of Baja California state, in northern Mexico. The defendants, identified only as Jesús Gerardo, known as "El Kekas", Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús, cannot be fully named for legal reasons. The judge ruled that they acted with premeditation.
The Robinson brothers, aged 30 and 33, and Rhoad, 30, were camping in a remote beachside area when they were attacked in April 2024, barely 36 hours after crossing into Mexico from the United States. The court heard that they were killed in an apparent robbery of their truck. Their bodies were found with gunshot wounds to the head in a clifftop shaft or well, about a week later, when their families were able to identify them. Prosecutors named Jesús Gerardo as the leader of the attack. In November 2025, his then-girlfriend, Ary Gisell Silva, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a separate trial after admitting she instigated the robbery.
Sentencing is scheduled for 16 October. Prosecutors asked for 210 years for each defendant, according to one account, while another reported a request of 150 years. The maximum sentence in Baja California is 60 years, so the men are likely to spend the rest of their lives in prison.
The brothers' parents, Martin and Debra Robinson, travelled from Australia and attended the month-long trial, which began on 7 September. Debra Robinson told the court that the killings took "the future we had imagined with them", and said her sons were treated with cruelty in their final hours. After the verdict, Martin Robinson said: "No outcome can ever undo this tragedy, but we hope today marks an important step towards justice." He announced that a foundation in their sons' names will continue their legacy. Rhoad's mother and his fiancée, Natalie Weirtz, took part by video link from the United States. Weirtz said the accused must be punished "so that no other family suffers the same pain".
The case drew grief and condemnation in Australia and the United States. Baja California is one of Mexico's more violent states, affected by organised crime and drug trafficking, though such violence does not usually target tourists. Ensenada has a reputation as a welcoming destination for surfers, and tourism is central to the regional economy. After the killings, local surfers paddled out in tribute and called for better security, while the state governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila, said Baja California would remain a safe destination. Other foreign visitors have been attacked on Mexico's Pacific coast, including two Australian surfers killed in Sinaloa state in 2015.