Brothers’ parents describe ‘hell’ of losing two sons at Ensenada trial
A Mexican judge has convicted three men of the April 2024 murders of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad, who were shot during a surfing trip in the state of Baja California.
The defendants — Jesus Gerardo, known as “El Kekas”; Irineo Francisco; and Angel Jesus — were found guilty on Friday in the port city of Ensenada. Gerardo, whom prosecutors accused of leading the attack, has not had his surname disclosed for legal reasons.
Jake Robinson, 30, and Callum Robinson, 33, had traveled to Mexico’s Pacific coast with Rhoad, 30, for a surfing trip. The three were camping in a remote beachside area in April 2024 when they were attacked in what authorities described as a suspected robbery. Their bodies were found in a clifftop shaft with gunshot wounds to their heads.
The trial began on 7 September. Martin and Debra Robinson, the brothers’ parents, traveled from Australia to attend the proceedings. On the final day of the trial, Debra Robinson testified: “They took our sons from our lives forever. What hurts us most is that, in their final hours, they were treated with such cruelty.”
Martin Robinson, addressing the court at the start of the trial, described his sons’ murders as “hell.” “It’s hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons,” he said.
Carter Rhoad’s mother, Page, and his fiancée, Natalie Weirtz, participated in the hearing by video link from the United States. “The accused are guilty and must be punished so that no other family suffers the same pain,” Weirtz told the court. “Since Carter’s death, I feel paranoid and isolated.”
The deaths of the three surfers prompted an outpouring of grief and condemnation in Australia and the United States. Baja California, where the attack took place, is one of Mexico’s most violent states, plagued by organized crime and drug trafficking, though cartel activity does not usually affect tourists.
Other foreign visitors have, however, been targeted in criminal attacks on Mexico’s Pacific coast. In 2015, two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were killed while traveling through the north-western state of Sinaloa. Their bodies were later burned.