Three men in Mexico were sentenced Friday to 158 years and nine months in prison for the murders of Australian surfers Callum and Jake Robinson and their American friend, Carter Redd Rhoad.
A federal judge in Ensenada, Baja California, handed down the sentences to Jesús Gerardo García, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús after convicting them of murder, violent robbery and violent vehicle theft.
Ary Gisell Silva Raya, an accomplice linked to García, was sentenced to 20 years in November. She pleaded guilty to aggravated violent robbery and violent vehicle theft through an abbreviated trial process.
Jesus Gerardo ‘N’, known as ‘El Kekas’, one of three men found guilty of murdering Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad during a surfing trip in April 2024, is pictured in this handout image released October 16, 2026. (Baja California State Attorney General’s Office (FGE)/Handout via REUTERS)
The three men were found guilty last week in the deaths of the Robinson brothers and Rhoad. Prosecutors said the victims were targeted after the attackers sought to steal the tires from their truck.
According to Baja California prosecutor María Elena Andrade, the assailants used a gun when one of the victims resisted. “They kill the person who initially resisted the robbery, then the other two,” she said, as reported by The Associated Press.
The victims’ bodies were discovered in May 2024 inside a well in Baja California, bringing a grim end to the search for the three surfers.
Callum and Jake Robinson and Rhoad had traveled to Punta San José, roughly 50 miles from the location where their bodies were found near Ensenada, during a surfing trip in April 2024.
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Debra and Martin Robinson, parents of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, pause during a news conference after the trial of the men accused of murdering the brothers and an American friend, in Ensenada, Mexico, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)
The Robinsons’ parents attended the sentencing and described it as an important milestone after two devastating years spent seeking justice for their sons.
“Today’s guilty verdict is 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,” Martin Robinson said.
The killings drew international attention and sent shock waves through the local tourism industry, which authorities said is a major source of the region’s economy.
Antonio Otañez, president of the Baja California surfers association, welcomed the convictions but said the murders caused a “major drop” in tourism.
National Guard vehicles guard a state prosecutors investigative search at the site where three surfers were camping before disappearing during a surf trip, as the investigation continues in El Faro, Santo Tomas delegation in Ensenada, Baja California state, Mexico, on May 6, 2024. Baja California State Prosecution Office confirmed the deaths of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carte on May 5, 2024. (GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)
