A judge in the Mexican coastal city of Ensenada has sentenced three men to more than 158 years in prison each for the 2024 murders of two Australian brothers and an American tourist during a surfing holiday.
The court in Baja California state ordered Jesus Gerardo Garcia, alias “El Kekas”, Irineo Francisco “N”, and Angel Jesus “N” to each serve 158 years and nine months on Friday. The three defendants were convicted a week earlier on charges of homicide, robbery with violence, and vehicle theft with violence.
Prosecutors from the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office had sought sentences of 210 years for each defendant, calling for exemplary punishment in the case.
The victims—Callum Robinson, 33, his brother Jake Robinson, 30, and their 30-year-old friend Jack Carter Rhoad—travelled to Mexico in late April 2024 to surf at Punta San Jose, a beach near Ensenada. The three friends camped along the coast on the night of April 27 before disappearing.
Following a multi-day search assisted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, authorities located their bodies on May 3 inside a well more than 15 metres deep. All three men had suffered gunshot wounds to the head.
The murders disrupted the regional tourism industry by highlighting the dangers faced by international visitors. Antonio Otanez, president of the Baja California surfers’ association, welcomed the ruling and stated that “justice has been served,” while noting that the killings caused a major drop in visitors, particularly surfers travelling to the area's beaches.
Following the convictions, the father of the two Australian victims, Martin Robinson, described the court's decision as a significant milestone for the families. He said the “guilty verdict is a significant moment in our long and painful journey to seek justice for our beautiful sons, Callum and Jake, and their friend Carter Rhoad, whose lives were so cruelly taken from them in 2024.”
