Three men found guilty of murdering two Australian surfer brothers and US friend

ByWill Grant BBC's Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent.

Key points

• Three men have been discovered guilty of murdering Australian brothers, Jake and Callum Robinson, and their American friend Carter Rhoad during a surfing trip in Mexico in 2024.
• The verdict was handed down on Friday in the Mexican state of Baja California.
• During the month-long trial, the prosecution had sought 150 years in prison for each of the three defendants.
• In November last year, the girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, Jesús "El Kekas" Gerardo, was sentenced in a separate trial to twenty years in prison.
• Their killings took place barely 36 hours after they crossed into Mexico from the US.

During the trial, the court heard the tourists were killed in an apparent botched robbery of their truck in a secluded beach area. Their bodies were afterwards identified with gunshot wounds to their heads, dumped down a well.

As the coastal area is usually safe from the violence in other parts of Mexico, the murders sent shockwaves worldwide, particularly in Australia.

For context, the verdict was handed down on Friday in the Mexican state of Baja California.

In practice, the parents of the two Australian brothers, Martin and Debra Robinson, have been at the court in the coastal town of Ensenada throughout the trial and they delivered emotional testimony during closing arguments heard earlier on Thursday.

"It's hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons, " remarked their father, Martin. Family members of Rhoad joined the trial by video link.

Speaking to media outside court a week ago, Debra Robinson remarked the couple were "deeply grateful" to Australians for the outpouring of backing they had received and that they "feel the love and their arms around us".

In November last year, the girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, Jesús "El Kekas" Gerardo, was sentenced in a separate trial to twenty years in prison. She had admitted to involvement in the robbery.

At the time, the murders shocked locals and tourists in Ensenada who were disturbed at the apparent ease and sheer pointlessness of the killings.

In practice, the beach town has a reputation as a welcoming spot for surfers and the chilling murders made public much concerning how commonplace such extreme violence remains in Mexico.

In practice, the only explanation the authorities appeared able to offer was that the surfers – all in their early thirties – had ultimately been murdered for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Their killings took place barely 36 hours after they crossed into Mexico from the US. Their bodies, nevertheless, were not identified for another week when their families were able to identify them.

At the time, the surfer community in Ensenada turned out in force to commemorate the men by paddling out at one of the area's best known surfing spots and throwing flowers into the sea.

Local surfers additionally called on greater security for residents and visiting tourists, citing other recent examples of violence in the state. Tourism is a key part of the regional economy in Baja California.

Against the backdrop of the demands for action, the governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila, tried to ease public fears concerning the widespread violence in her state.

"Baja California is and will continue to be a state with safe tourism for the thousands of people who visit us from the rest of the country and the world", she remarked.

"I send my condolences and solidarity to the families at this difficult time."

Taken together, the developments around three men found guilty of murdering two Australian surfer brothers and US point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.