Three Men Sentenced to 158 Years Each for 2024 Murders of Two Australian and One American Surfers in Mexico

A Mexican judge in Ensenada on Friday sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the 2024 murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend during a surf trip in Baja California. CNN described the case as one that tarnished Mexico’s image by exposing the risks foreigners face when visiting the tourism-dependent country.

The ruling came a week after the men were found guilty of homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence, according to Reuters. The defendants, identified as Jesus Gerardo Garcia, known as “El Kekas,” Irineo Francisco “N” and Angel Jesus “N,” were also ordered to pay compensation to the victims’ families, a Baja California judiciary official said.

The victims were Australian brothers Jake Robinson, 33, and Callum Robinson, 30, and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, according to Reuters.

The trip to Punta San Jose ended in killings over a pickup truck

The three friends traveled to Mexico in late April 2024 to surf at Punta San Jose, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Ensenada, according to CNN. They camped on the beach on the night of April 27, 2024.

State prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade said the attackers wanted to steal the tires from the men’s pickup truck and that the victims resisted. “The attackers pull out a gun they were carrying and kill the person who initially resisted the robbery, then turn on the other two,” she said, according to CNN.

After the men were reported missing, a search aided by the FBI found their bodies on May 3 at the bottom of a well more than 15 meters (50 feet) deep, each with gunshot wounds to the head, Reuters reported. The pickup truck they had been traveling in was found burned several kilometers away, authorities said.

The families watched the sentencing remotely

Garcia had been identified by the state prosecutor’s office as the suspected gunman and was arrested on May 5, 2024, according to CNN. State authorities said he had a criminal history in Ensenada involving alleged drug dealing, unlawful entry into a home, domestic violence and vehicle theft.

Garcia’s former partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, was arrested with a cellphone belonging to one of the victims in her possession, CNN reported. She took an abbreviated trial and was sentenced in November to 20 years in prison for aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence.

Page Rhoad, the mother of the American victim, followed the sentencing hearing over Zoom. “There will never be justice for the loss of a child, but these men will never hurt anyone else again,” she said, according to Reuters.

Martin and Debra Robinson, the parents of the brothers, also watched the hearing remotely after returning to Australia, Reuters reported. In an interview as they left one of the 24 hearings that made up the trial, they described their sons’ deaths as “hell” and an “incredibly difficult” experience.

Antonio Otanez, president of the Baja California surfers’ association, said “justice has been served” but acknowledged the killings had caused a “major drop” in tourist visits, particularly by surfers, to the region, according to CNN. After the killings, the U.S. State Department urged Americans to reconsider travel to Baja California because of crime and kidnapping risks, Reuters reported.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN and Reuters.