Three men stand trial in Mexico surfer killings

Three men accused of killing two Australian brothers and their American friend during a surf trip in Mexico have gone on trial in Ensenada, two years after the victims were found shot and dumped in a shaft near the Pacific coast.

Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, ages 30 and 33, and their friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, from California, disappeared in April 2024 while camping in a remote beachside area of Baja California state. Their bodies were found May 3, 2024, at the bottom of a well or cliff-top shaft with gunshot wounds to the head, days after they were reported missing.

Mexican prosecutors say the men were killed during an attempted robbery targeting their pickup truck, which was later found burned near their bodies. According to the prosecution, the attackers “intentionally surprised the surfers and shot them with firearms, taking their lives” on April 28, 2024. The defendants also face charges of violent robbery and auto theft.

The accused men have been identified by the BBC as Jesús “El Kekas” Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús. Prosecutors are seeking prison terms of more than 200 years for each defendant, the BBC reported, as well as an additional 168-year sentence for the alleged ringleader. The defense has argued there is not enough evidence to prove the prosecution’s robbery theory.

The Robinson brothers’ parents, Martin and Debra Robinson, traveled to the coastal city for the proceedings. CBS News reported that Debra Robinson stared at the accused in court before bursting into tears.

“It’s about representing our sons, being here for them. I know they want us to be here,” Martin Robinson told reporters. “We want to find out what happened. We want to find out why.”

In a statement reported by Australia’s ABC and cited by the BBC, Martin and Debra Robinson said attending court was “incredibly important and overwhelmingly difficult.”

“We want the men accused of murdering our sons to see, in person, the human consequences of what happened,” they said. “Callum and Jake were not simply victims in a case file – they were our sons, deeply loved by their family and friends, with lives, dreams and futures that were brutally taken away.”

Three witnesses appeared on the first day of testimony, according to CBS News, including the stepson of one defendant, who testified from an adjoining room with his face concealed. He described his stepfather as violent and said he accompanied the accused to the crime scene, waiting nearby when a “commotion” began.

“I heard a lot of noise,” he said, adding that he ran away but later rejoined the group after they called him. He testified that they warned him “the same thing that happened to the gringos would happen to him” if he spoke out.

The BBC reported that the accused were moved to a smaller courtroom amid accusations that some witnesses had been intimidated by people associated with the defendants. Dozens of witnesses are expected to give evidence during the four-week, judge-only trial.

Ari Gisell, also identified by CBS News as Ary Gisell Silva, the girlfriend or ex-girlfriend of one of the accused, was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison after admitting involvement in the crime. CBS News reported that prosecutors presented evidence that she first made contact with the tourists, noticed they had valuables and urged her boyfriend and two other men to rob them for their “good phones and good tires.”

The killings shocked Australia, the United States and residents of Ensenada. Callum Robinson played professional lacrosse in the United States and was a member of Australia’s national lacrosse team. Jake Robinson had traveled from Australia and was due to begin work as a doctor after returning home. Rhoad was killed months before his wedding. His fiancée previously told the court, according to the BBC: “He was my safety in the world. My life is now a nightmare.”

Baja California is among Mexico’s most violent states and has been affected by organized crime and drug trafficking, though tourists are rarely targeted in violent attacks in its surf towns. Other foreign visitors have been killed on Mexico’s Pacific coast, including Australian surfers Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, who were murdered in Sinaloa in 2015.