Three men have gone on trial in the Mexican coastal city of Ensenada, in the Pacific state of Baja California, accused of murdering two Australian brothers and their American friend during a surf trip in April 2024. Callum Robinson, 33, his younger brother Jake, 30, and their 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad were shot dead while camping at a remote beachside location on Mexico's Pacific coast. Their bodies were found days after they went missing, dumped at the bottom of a cliff-top shaft, each bearing gunshot wounds to the head. Prosecutors are seeking sentences of more than 200 years for each of the three defendants — identified as Jesús "El Kekas" Gerardo, Irineo Francisco, and Ángel Jesús — with an additional 168-year sentence sought for the alleged ringleader. They face charges including violent robbery and auto theft alongside murder.

Authorities allege the men were killed during a botched attempt to steal their pickup truck, which was found burned near the site where their bodies were hidden. The defence has argued that prosecutors lack sufficient evidence to support that theory. On the first day of proceedings, the accused were moved to a smaller courtroom after allegations that witnesses had been intimidated by people connected to the defendants. A key witness — the stepson of one defendant, testifying from an adjoining room with his face concealed — told the court he had accompanied the group to the scene and waited nearby as a "commotion" broke out. "I heard a lot of noise," he said, adding that he fled but rejoined the group, who warned him that "the same thing that happened to the gringos would happen to him" if he spoke out.

The parents of the Robinson brothers, Debra and Martin Robinson, traveled from Australia to attend the opening of the four-week, judge-only trial. Debra Robinson broke into tears in the courtroom after staring at the accused. In a statement, the couple said they wanted "the men accused of murdering our sons to see, in person, the human consequences of what happened," adding: "Callum and Jake were not simply victims in a case file — they were our sons, deeply loved by their family and friends, with lives, dreams and futures that were brutally taken away." One person has already been convicted in connection with the killings: the ex-girlfriend of one of the accused, Ari Gisell, was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison for her role in the murders.

The case shocked communities in both Australia and the United States. Callum Robinson was a member of Australia's national lacrosse team and a professional player based in San Diego. Jake had travelled from Australia for the trip and was due to begin work as a doctor upon his return. Rhoad, from California, was killed just months before his planned wedding. The killings prompted a large-scale search coordinated through social media by the victims' families and friends. While Baja California experiences significant cartel-related violence, tourists in the state's surf towns are rarely targeted in such attacks — though the case echoes the 2015 murders of two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, killed while travelling through the neighbouring northwestern state of Sinaloa. With dozens of witnesses expected over the coming weeks, the trial is being closely watched in both Australia and Mexico.