A judge in Mexico on Friday sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison apiece for the 2024 murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend. The case drew international attention and damaged Mexico’s reputation as a tourist destination by highlighting the dangers some foreign visitors face in the country.
The punishment was handed down one week after the men were convicted, bringing to a close a lengthy court case surrounding the deaths of Australians Callum and Jake Robinson and American Carter Redd Rhoad.
The victims’ bodies were discovered in May 2024, after authorities had arrested at least four people suspected of involvement in the killings.
In Ensenada, a coastal city in the state of Baja California, Judge Jesús Gerardo García—better known as “el Kekas”—along with Irineo Francisco “N” and Ángel Jesús “N,” received identical sentences. Each was convicted of murder, violent robbery and the theft of a vehicle through violence.
Antonio Otañez, head of Baja California’s surfers’ association, praised the verdict and said that “justice has been served.”
At the same time, he said the murders had led to a “major drop” in tourism, especially among surfers who once visited the area’s renowned beaches.
The following is a timeline of the major developments in the case:
Surfing trip ends in tragedy
In late April 2024, the Robinson brothers, Callum and Jake, traveled to Mexico with their American friend to surf at Punta San José, a beach roughly 50 miles from Ensenada in Baja California.
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On the night of April 27, the three men chose to camp along the beach, apparently unaware of the risks in the isolated area.
Investigators said attackers approached them in the early hours, shot all three and later threw their bodies into a well more than 50 feet deep. Search teams located the remains on May 3, several days after the men disappeared.
Two days later, on May 5, 2024, the Baja California prosecutor’s office announced the arrest of García, or “el Kekas,” whom authorities identified as the suspected shooter.
Officials said García had previously been linked to alleged drug trafficking, unlawful entry, domestic violence and vehicle theft in the Ensenada area.
Authorities also detained García’s former partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, as well as two alleged associates, Irineo Francisco “N” and Ángel Jesús “N.”
Silva Raya was found with a cellphone belonging to one of the victims. She accepted an abbreviated legal proceeding and was sentenced in November to 20 years for aggravated violent robbery and vehicle theft involving violence.
The prosecution’s account and evidence
Baja California prosecutor María Elena Andrade said the group had intended to steal the tires from the visitors’ pickup truck and that the victims fought back.
“The attackers pulled out a gun and killed the person who first resisted the robbery, then turned on the other two,” Andrade said.
