In the port city of Ensenada, a Mexican court delivered guilty verdicts against three men who murdered two Australian brothers and their American companion during a surfing trip in April 2024 — a robbery that ended three young lives in a clifftop shaft by the sea. The case draws a long, sorrowful line through the international surfing community, echoing the deaths of two Australians in Sinaloa a decade before. For the families who crossed oceans to sit in that courtroom, the verdict is a threshold, not a remedy — justice acknowledged, grief unchanged. Out of the wreckage, a foundation bearing
Three convicted in murders of Australian surfer brothers and US friend in Mexico
Three young men aged 30-33 were shot dead during a surfing trip; their bodies were found in a clifftop shaft with gunshot wounds to their heads.
A verdict is a good thing, but it doesn't bring them back.
Mark
Why did the judge rule that this was premeditated? What evidence showed planning rather than a crime of impulse?
Mimi
The source doesn't detail the specific evidence the judge weighed. We know it was a robbery that turned fatal, and the judge found the three men acted with deliberation, but the reasoning isn't laid out in what we have.
Luke
That's a critical gap. Premeditation carries different weight than a robbery gone wrong. We should know what tipped the judge's decision, but we don't.
Mark
The prosecution asked for 210 years but the state maximum is 60. What happens now?
Mimi
They'll be sentenced on October 16. The judge will decide what sentence falls within that 60-year ceiling. The prosecution's request is on record, but it's not binding.
Luke
Right—so we're waiting to see if the judge imposes the maximum or something less. That's the real story still to come.
Mark
Debra Robinson said she doesn't think about the men who killed her sons. How does a parent reach that place?
Mimi
She said she's tried to hold on to memories of her children instead, and that she doesn't want the convicted men to have any notoriety. It's a choice about where to direct her grief and attention.
Luke
That's her stated position, and it's powerful. But we can't know what she actually feels in private. What we can report is what she chose to say publicly.
Mark
Is Baja California particularly dangerous for tourists, or was this an outlier?
Mimi
The source says cartel activity doesn't usually affect tourists there, but foreign visitors have been targeted in criminal attacks on the Pacific coast. So it's not routine, but it's not unheard of either.
Luke
The 2015 killings of those two Australian surfers in Sinaloa show there's a pattern. But we should be careful not to overstate the risk—millions of tourists visit Mexico safely. This is tragic and real, but statistically rare.
Le Pouls
- Three men in their early thirties — Jake and Callum Robinson and Carter Rhoad — were shot dead and hidden in a clifftop shaft during what should have been a carefree surf trip, their deaths later traced to a robbery gone murderous.
- The trial, held in Ensenada and attended by the victims' parents who flew from Australia, carried the full weight of grief into the courtroom — Debra Robinson wept when the guilty verdict was read aloud.
- All three defendants, including ringleader 'El Kekas,' were convicted of premeditated murder; prosecutors have sought 210 years each, though the state cap limits sentences to 60 years, with sentencing set for October 16.
- Carter Rhoad's fiancée, joining by video from the United States, warned that punishment must be severe enough to deter future crimes — and revealed she has lived in paranoia and isolation since his death.
- The verdict lands not as closure but as a marker: the families are clear-eyed that Callum and Jake are still gone, and a foundation in the brothers' names is being built to carry their spirit forward where the law cannot reach.
In the port city of Ensenada, a Mexican court delivered guilty verdicts against three men who murdered two Australian brothers and their American companion during a surfing trip in April 2024 — a robbery that ended three young lives in a clifftop shaft by the sea. The case draws a long, sorrowful line through the international surfing community, echoing the deaths of two Australians in Sinaloa a decade before. For the families who crossed oceans to sit in that courtroom, the verdict is a threshold, not a remedy — justice acknowledged, grief unchanged. Out of the wreckage, a foundation bearing the brothers' names reaches toward something the law cannot provide: meaning.
In April 2024, Jake Robinson, 30, his brother Callum, 33, and their American friend Carter Rhoad, 30, were shot dead while camping at a remote beach in Mexico's Baja California state. Their bodies were found concealed in a shaft cut into a clifftop, each killed by a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators concluded the motive was robbery.
On Friday, a judge in the port city of Ensenada found all three defendants guilty of premeditated murder. Jesus Gerardo — known as 'El Kekas' — was identified as the attack's leader, alongside co-defendants Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus. Prosecutors have sought 210 years in prison for each man, though Baja California's legal maximum is 60 years. Sentencing is scheduled for October 16. A woman identified as El Kekas's girlfriend had already been sentenced to 20 years in late 2025 after admitting she instigated the robbery.
The brothers' parents, Martin and Debra Robinson, traveled from Australia to be present throughout the trial. On its final day, Debra testified about the cruelty of her sons' final hours. When the verdict came, she wept. Afterward, she spoke to reporters with a voice that was steady but hollowed out: 'I don't feel any different today as I did yesterday or I will tomorrow, because Callum and Jake are not here. A verdict is a good thing, but it doesn't bring them back.'
Martin Robinson thanked the court and the Australian embassy, while making clear that no legal outcome could restore what was lost. He announced the creation of the Callum and Jake Robinson Foundation, intended to help people 'live bigger, shine brighter and love harder' in their sons' honour. Carter Rhoad's fiancée, Natalie Weirtz, joined the hearing by video call from the United States, urging that the convicted be punished severely enough to spare other families the same pain — and disclosing that since Carter's death, she has felt paranoid and unable to move freely through the world.
The case has refocused attention on Baja California's persistent violence, and on a pattern of danger that has now claimed the lives of multiple Australian surfers in Mexico over the past decade. For the families left behind, the courtroom offered a form of reckoning — but not relief.
Three men were convicted on Friday of murdering two Australian brothers and an American friend during what was supposed to be a surfing holiday in Mexico's Baja California state. Jake Robinson, 30, and his older brother Callum, 33, along with their friend Carter Rhoad, also 30, were shot dead in April 2024 while camping in a remote beachside area. Their bodies were discovered in a shaft carved into a clifftop, each bearing gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators determined the killings were part of a suspected robbery.
Jesus Gerardo, known as "El Kekas," was identified as the leader of the attack. He and two other defendants, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus, were found guilty after a trial that began in early September in the port city of Ensenada. The judge determined all three men acted with premeditation. The prosecution has requested 210 years in prison for each defendant, though Baja California's maximum sentence is 60 years. Sentencing is scheduled for October 16.
Martin and Debra Robinson, the brothers' parents, traveled from Australia to attend the trial. On the final day, Debra testified about the loss of her sons and the manner of their deaths. When the guilty verdict was announced, she wept. "They took our sons from our lives forever," she said. "What hurts us most is that, in their final hours, they were treated with such cruelty." After the verdict, she spoke again to reporters, her voice steady but hollow. "I don't feel any different today as I did yesterday or I will tomorrow, because Callum and Jake are not here. A verdict is a good thing, but it doesn't bring them back."
Martin Robinson thanked the judge, court staff, the Australian embassy, and federal police for their work. He acknowledged that no legal outcome could restore what his family had lost. "No outcome can ever undo this tragedy," he said, "but we hope today marks an important step towards justice and allows us to continue honouring their lives and the extraordinary young men they were." He announced that the Callum and Jake Robinson Foundation would be established to carry forward their legacy, aiming to "help people live bigger, shine brighter and love harder in their honour."
Carter Rhoad's mother, Page, and his fiancée, Natalie Weirtz, participated in the hearing by video call from the United States. Weirtz spoke directly to the gravity of the conviction. "The accused are guilty and must be punished so that no other family suffers the same pain," she said. She also disclosed the personal toll the crime had taken on her. "Since Carter's death, I feel paranoid and isolated."
In November 2025, Ary Gisell Silva, identified as the girlfriend of the main defendant, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting she had instigated the robbery that led to the murders. The case has drawn renewed attention to violence in Baja California, one of Mexico's most dangerous states, where organized crime and drug trafficking have created a volatile environment. While cartel activity typically does not target tourists, foreign visitors have been caught in criminal attacks along Mexico's Pacific coast. In 2015, two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were killed while traveling through Sinaloa state; their bodies were later burned. The Robinson brothers and Rhoad's deaths represent another chapter in a pattern of violence that has touched the international surfing community.
Citations marquantes
They took our sons from our lives forever. What hurts us most is that, in their final hours, they were treated with such cruelty.— Debra Robinson, mother of Jake and Callum Robinson, testifying on the final day of trial
No outcome can ever undo this tragedy, but we hope today marks an important step towards justice and allows us to continue honouring their lives.— Martin Robinson, father of Jake and Callum Robinson, speaking outside court after the verdict
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Crime & Justice