A federal judge in Ensenada, in Mexico’s Baja California state, sentenced three men Friday to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the 2024 murders of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad. The men were also convicted of robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence.
The defendants were identified as Jesús Gerardo García, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús. Their convictions came the previous week. Mexican authorities said the killings were carried out to steal the tires from the group’s truck.
Baja California prosecutor María Elena Andrade described the sequence of events, according to the Associated Press: One man resisted the robbery and was shot, after which the attackers killed the other two. The supplied account does not provide further details about the evidence presented at trial or the defendants’ responses to the verdicts.
The three victims had traveled to Punta San José for a surfing trip in April 2024. Their bodies were found in a well in Baja California the following month. The well was in Ensenada, about 50 miles from Punta San José, according to the report.
A fourth person, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, was convicted in November of aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence. She received a 20-year prison sentence after agreeing to an abbreviated trial, the source reported. It did not state that she was convicted of the murders.
The Robinson brothers’ parents attended Friday’s sentencing. Their father, Matin Robinson, said the verdict represented an important point in the family’s long effort to obtain justice for his sons and Rhoad. His statement described the deaths as a profound loss for the family.
The case drew international attention and affected the area’s tourism economy, according to the report. Antonio Otañez, president of the Baja California surfers association, welcomed the outcome but said the incident had brought a substantial decline in tourism. The supplied material did not include figures measuring that decline or specify a time period for it.
