Mexican Killers of U.S. and Australian Surfers Sentenced to 158 Years

A Mexican judge on Friday sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for killing two Australian brothers and their American friend during an attempted robbery in 2024.

Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33, and their friend Carter Rhoad, 30, had traveled to Mexico’s Pacific coast for a surfing trip when they were shot in Baja California.

The three men had been camping at a remote beach near Ensenada when they were attacked on April 27, 2024.

Their bodies were discovered several days later in a cliff-top well. Each had suffered gunshot wounds to the head, with investigators identifying a 9mm pistol and a .45-caliber weapon as the firearms used.

Judge Raul Hernandez found that the three defendants, identified only by their first names—Jesus Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus—had acted with premeditation. Jesus Gerardo, also known as “el Kekas,” had a criminal record before the killings.

The court handed down sentences of 158 years and nine months for each man on Friday. Prosecutors had requested more than $100,000 in damages, but the judge rejected the claim, saying the families would need to seek compensation through civil proceedings.

“There can never be justice for the loss of a son, but we are grateful that these men will never hurt anyone else,” Rhoad’s mother, Page, said after the verdict.

Killers wanted to steal truck tires 

The attack took place on April 28 or 29, according to the account cited in court documents. The Baja California state prosecutor’s office said police found bloodstains and drag marks at the group’s last known campsite.

Chief state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez said the suspects likely spotted the pickup truck and tents while driving past and decided to steal the vehicle’s tires and other parts. She said there was no indication the surfers were singled out because they were tourists.

Jesus Gerardo’s former girlfriend, Ary Gisell Silva, said she had encouraged him to steal the vehicle’s tires. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November. Silva said Gerardo mocked the victims’ pleas for their lives and later boasted about what he had taken from them.

Prosecutors said the attackers then moved quickly to destroy evidence. They set fire to the tents and truck before taking the bodies to a well at “a site that is extremely hard to get to,” roughly four miles away.

Investigators said the well had been concealed beneath boards and was “literally almost impossible to find.” Removing the bodies took two hours, Andrade Ramírez said.

A fourth body, which had been in the well for considerably longer, was also recovered. Andrade Ramírez said the defendants may have been responsible for that death as well, but they have not been charged in connection with it.

“Such cruelty” 

The Robinson brothers’ parents traveled from Australia to attend the month-long trial and departed after the sentencing. During the proceedings, they gave emotional testimony about the loss of their sons.

“It’s hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons,” Martin Robinson told the court.

Debra Robinson said the family was especially devastated by the knowledge that her sons “were treated with such cruelty” in their final moments.

The victims’ families watched the sentencing hearing through a video link.

Rhoad’s mother and his fiancée, Natalie Weirtz, also addressed the court remotely. Weirtz urged the judge to ensure the defendants “be punished so that no other family suffers the same pain.” She and Rhoad had planned to marry only a few months after his death.

Baja California is among Mexico’s most violent states, with organized crime and drug trafficking contributing to the danger, although tourists are not typically affected by cartel activity. The brutality of the surfers’ deaths nevertheless stunned Ensenada, a popular surfing destination for visitors from around the world.

Other international visitors have also been targeted in attacks along Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were murdered in 2015 while traveling through the northwestern state of Sinaloa. Their bodies were later burned.