Three men jailed for 158 years each over murders of Australian and US surfers in Baja California
Por Namita Singh — – World RSS Feed
Three men jailed for 158 years each over murders of Australian and US surfers in Baja California
Two Australians and one American victim were shot dead in 2024 in a botched robbery
Namita Singh Saturday 17 October 2026 08:10 BST
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Three men have each been sentenced to more than 158 years in prison after they were convicted of murdering two Australian brothers and their American friend during a 2024 surf trip to the state of Baja California.
The defendants were found guilty a week ago and convicted on charges related to homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence.
The victims were Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, 30 and 33 respectively, and their American friend Carter Rhoad, aged 30.
The three tourists were travelling through Mexico when they were shot dead on 27 April 2024 in a botched robbery targeting their truck while they were camping in a remote beachside area near Ensenada city, the court heard.
At a sentencing hearing on Friday, judge Raul Hernandez Arellano said that the crimes were made worse by the fact that the tourists were unarmed and attacked at a remote location at night. The three convicts had time to think through the crime and they proceeded anyway, he said.
open image in galleryThe murder sent shockwaves around the world, with tourists in the beachtown of Ensenada disturbed at the apparent ease and sheer pointlessness of the killings.
The brothers had been initially reported missing by family and friends after they were unable to contact them. The family grew concerned after they found that the brothers did not check into their accommodation as planned.
Their bodies, along with Rhoad were recovered on 3 May from a clifftop well, after a days-long search aided by the FBI. All three had suffered gunshot wounds to their heads.
The pickup truck they were travelling in was found burned, several kilometres away, authorities said.
“There will never be justice for the loss of a child, but these men will never hurt anyone else again,” said Page Rhoad, mother of the slain American, told Reuters after the sentencing.
Debra Robinson, the mother of the brothers, said that the murder of her sons took away “the future we had imagined with them”.
open image in galleryThe defence team indicated its intention to appeal against the sentence and have to do so within 10 days.
The Mexican judge also ordered the defendants, identified by authorities simply as Jesus Gerardo “N,” known as “El Kekas,” Irineo Francisco “N” and Angel Jesus “N,” to pay compensation to the victims’ families, said an official from the Baja California state judiciary.
In November last year, Gisell Silva, the girlfriend of the ringleader Jesus Gerardo, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence, in a fast-track proceeding.
The woman, then 23, was arrested a few days after the foreigners’ bodies were found in the well.
open image in galleryMs Robinson and her husband Martin returned to Australia last week after the guilty verdicts, and followed the sentencing hearing remotely.
In an interview as they left one of the 24 hearings that made up the trial, which began on 7 September, they described their sons’ deaths as hell.
“No sentence, no matter how long, will ever bring our beautiful boys back or undo the devastating loss suffered by their family and friends,” the parents said in a statement.
The family has also established a foundation in the name of their sons saying it aims to “help people live bigger, shine brighter and love harder in their honour”.
open image in gallery“However, we take some comfort in knowing that these men will be removed from society and will never have the opportunity to inflict this kind of unimaginable pain and suffering on other families,” they said, according to ABC.
“While nothing can change what happened, we hope this outcome allows us to take a small step forward, knowing that justice has been served.”
Their elder son, Callum, had moved to the US as a professional lacrosse player and worked in coastal cleanups.
The younger brother, Jake, was due to join Geelong Hospital after returning to Australia and was remembered for his academic leaning, passion for sport, including cricket and surfing as well as his compassion. He had to travelled to California in 2024 to see his brother before they travelled to Mexico.
While the Ensenada area is considered relatively safe, Baja California ranks among Mexico’s most violent states. Following the killings, the US State Department urged Americans to reconsider travel to the state due to crime and kidnapping risks.
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