Three men each sentenced to 158 years over murders of Robinson brothers and Carter Rhoad in Mexico

Mixed · 2A Mexican judge has sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the murders of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their US friend Carter Rhoad. 1 2 Mixed · 2The men were identified only as Jesús Gerardo (known as "El Kekas"), Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús, because their full names were withheld for legal reasons; they were found guilty of aggravated homicide and several related offences last week. 2 1 Mixed · 2The sentencing took place on Friday 16 October in Ensenada, and the judge also ordered the defendants to pay compensation to the victims' families, according to a Baja California state judiciary official cited by Reuters. 3 4

Mixed · 2The three victims were killed during a surfing trip in Baja California in April 2024, in what the prosecution described as a robbery gone wrong. 2 1 Left · 1The defence had tried to argue there was not enough evidence to prove the case. 2 Centre · 1The court heard that the victims' bodies were found dumped down a well with gunshot wounds to the head; the killings happened about 36 hours after they crossed from the US, and the bodies were not found for another week. 1

Mixed · 2AP and Reuters reported that the bodies were found on 3 May 2024 at the bottom of a well after a days-long search that the FBI aided, and that the victims' pickup truck was found burnt several kilometres away. 4 3 Centre · 1State prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade alleged the attackers wanted to steal the tyres from the pickup and shot the person who resisted, then the other two; the suspected gunman, Jesus Gerardo Garcia, was arrested on 5 May 2024 and authorities said he had a criminal history in Ensenada. 3 Left · 1Jake, 31, was a doctor due to start a new job at a Geelong hospital, and Callum, 32, was a lacrosse player who had moved to the US; friends and family reported them missing when they failed to check into their accommodation. 2

Centre · 1In November last year, the girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, Jesús Gerardo, was sentenced in a separate trial to 20 years in prison after admitting involvement in the robbery, according to the BBC. 1 Mixed · 2The woman, named as Ary Gisell Silva Raya (Gisell Silva in Reuters), was found with a victim's mobile phone and was sentenced in a fast-track proceeding after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence. 3 4 Centre · 1The BBC reported that the brothers' mother, Debra Robinson, told the courtroom the murders had taken "the future we had imagined with them", and that the killings shocked Ensenada and prompted local surfers to call for greater security. 1

Right · 1After the sentencing, Page Rhoad, mother of the American victim, said by Zoom: "There will never be justice for the loss of a child, but these men will never hurt anyone else again." 4 Mixed · 2Antonio Otanez, president of the Baja California surfers' association, welcomed the outcome, saying "Justice has been served", but said the killings caused a "major drop" in tourist visits, particularly by surfers; Reuters noted that Baja California ranks among Mexico's most violent states and that the US State Department urged Americans to reconsider travel there after the killings. 3 4