A Mexican judge in Ensenada sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each on Friday for the April 2024 murders of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and American Jack Carter Rhoad during a surf trip in Baja California.
Jesus Gerardo Garcia, alias "El Kekas", Irineo Francisco "N" and Angel Jesus "N" were convicted of homicide, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence. The judge's ruling came a week after they were found guilty.
The Robinson brothers, aged 33 and 30, and Rhoad, 30, travelled to Mexico in late April 2024 to surf at Punta San Jose near Ensenada. They camped on the beach on April 27. After the men went missing for several days, authorities launched a multi-day search with FBI assistance. Workers found the three bodies on May 3 in a well more than 50 feet deep, each with gunshot wounds to the head.
The Baja California State Attorney General's Office had requested sentences of 210 years for each defendant, making the judge's award of 158 years and nine months shorter than the prosecution sought.
Martin Robinson, the brothers' father, said in a statement last week that the guilty verdict marked "a significant moment in our long and painful journey to seek justice for our beautiful sons, Callum and Jake, and their friend Carter Rhoad, whose lives were so cruelly taken from them in 2024."
Antonio Otanez, president of the Baja California surfers' association, said justice had been served. He noted the killings had caused a "major drop" in tourist visits to the region, particularly among surfers drawn to beaches in the area.
The case drew international attention and exposed risks to foreigners visiting Mexico for recreation. Tourism to the Baja California coast declined after the murders became public.