Three Mexicans jailed for 158 years each for killing Australian, US surfers
Three Mexican men have been sentenced to more than 158 years in prison each for the murder of two Australian brothers and their American friend during a surf trip on Mexico’s Baja California coast in 2024. A judge in the coastal city of Ensenada, in Baja California state, ruled on Friday that Jesus Gerardo Garcia, alias “El Kekas”, Irineo Francisco “N” and Angel Jesus “N” would each serve 158 years and nine months in prison for homicide, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence.
The defendants were found guilty a week earlier of the murders of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, aged 33 and 30 respectively, and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30. The case drew attention to the risks foreigners face when visiting Mexico and impacted the country’s tourism industry.
Previously, the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office had requested an “exemplary sentence” of 210 years in prison for each defendant. Antonio Otanez, president of the Baja California surfers’ association, welcomed the outcome, saying “justice has been served.” He acknowledged that the killings had caused a “major drop” in tourist visits, particularly by surfers, to the region known for its beautiful beaches.
The Robinson brothers and Rhoad travelled to Mexico in late April 2024 to surf at a beach in Punta San Jose, near the popular tourist city of Ensenada. The three friends camped on the beach on the night of April 27, 2024. Authorities launched a multi‑day search with help from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation after the men were missing for several days. The bodies were found on May 3 in a well more than 15 metres (50 feet) deep, all with gunshot wounds to their heads.
Last week, the brothers’ father, Martin Robinson, 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.”