Mexico surfer murders: Three men get over 158 years each

Three men convicted of killing Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad have each received prison sentences of 158 years and nine months from a Mexican judge, BBC News reported. The verdict came last week in the case involving the friends’ deaths during a surfing trip to Baja California in 2024. Legal restrictions prevented publication of the convicted men’s full names; they were identified as Jesús Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús.

The court heard that the surfers, all in their early 30s, were killed on an isolated beach during what appeared to be an attempted robbery of their truck that went wrong. They had entered Mexico from the United States barely 36 hours earlier. Their bodies were recovered from a well about a week after the killings, with gunshot wounds to the head, and their families subsequently identified them. Addressing the court, the Robinson brothers’ mother, Debra Robinson, described the loss of the future her family had expected to share with her sons. In a separate trial in November 2025, the girlfriend of Jesús Gerardo, the alleged ringleader also known as “El Kekas”, received a 20-year prison sentence after admitting involvement in the robbery.

The killings deeply unsettled residents and visitors in Ensenada, a beach town known for welcoming surfers, and drew particular anguish in Australia. The area is generally regarded as safer than parts of Mexico more affected by violence. Local surfers sought stronger protection for both residents and tourists, pointing to other recent violence in Baja California, where tourism is an important source of economic activity. The account provided no details of a possible appeal or other proceedings following the sentences.