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Three men have been convicted in the brutal killings of two Australian brothers and their American friend, whose disappearance on a Mexico surf trip sparked an international search before their bodies were found dumped in a well.
A judge in Ensenada on Friday found Jesús Gerardo García, known as “El Kekas,” Irineo Francisco “N,” and Ángel Jesús “N,” guilty of murdering Callum and Jake Robinson, along with their friend Carter Rhoad, in Baja, California, in April 2024, The Associated Press reported.
The men were also convicted of armed robbery and armed carjacking. Judge Raúl Hernández is scheduled to announce their sentences Oct. 16, with the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office seeking 210 years in prison for each defendant, according to the AP.
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Martin and Debra Robinson, parents of murdered Australian surfers Callum and Jake Robinson, speak to reporters. Three men were convicted in the brothers’ killings and the murder of their American friend Carter Rhoad. (Karen Castaneda/AP Photo)
The verdicts followed a month-long trial that included testimony about one victim pleading for his life before the killings.
García’s former partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, testified that he told her he approached the surfers’ tent carrying a 9mm pistol, the AP reported. The men threw their belongings toward him in an effort to stop the attack, and one begged to be spared, she said.
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According to her testimony, García ignored the plea.
The friends had traveled to Baja, California, to surf and were reported missing after arriving in Punta San Jose, about 50 miles from Ensenada. Their bodies were discovered in a well May 3, 2024.
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Demonstrators march in Ensenada, Mexico, after Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad were killed during a 2024 surfing trip. (Karen Castaneda/AP Photo)
Authorities initially said the men were killed after confronting thieves who wanted the tires from their pickup truck.
Chief state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez said at the time that investigators believed the thieves spotted the truck and tents, then encountered resistance from the surfers during the attempted theft.
García allegedly told his girlfriend he had done something to “three gringos” before admitting, “I killed them,” according to the BBC’s account of a May 2024 court hearing.
She also said he showed her a vehicle fitted with tires allegedly stolen from the victims’ truck.
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Debra and Martin Robinson, parents of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, leave the courthouse after the trial of the men accused of murdering the brothers and an American friend, in Ensenada, Mexico, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (Karen Castaneda/AP Photo)
Silva Raya was found with one victim’s cellphone. Prosecutors said she met the surfers April 27, 2024, and urged one of her companions to rob them, the AP reported.
She pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November 2025. García and the other two men went to trial.
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The guilty verdicts brought a measure of relief to the Robinson family more than two years after the brothers’ deaths.
Their father, Martin Robinson, described the decision as a significant moment in the family’s painful pursuit of justice, according to the AP. He said the outcome could not undo their loss but offered a step toward justice as they continued honoring the three men.
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Martin and Debra Robinson, whose sons Callum and Jake were killed on a surfing trip in Mexico, walk together outside a building. The brothers and their American friend Carter Rhoad were found dead in a well in May 2024. (Karen Castaneda/AP Photo)
The brothers’ mother, Debra Robinson, spoke about their love of surfing during a tribute on a San Diego beach shortly after their bodies were found.
“Our hearts are broken, and the world has become a darker place for us,” she said at the time. “They were young men enjoying their passion of surfing together.”
She recalled that Jake, a doctor, sought work at hospitals near surfing beaches and urged others to honor her sons by embracing life.
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“Live bigger, shine brighter, and love harder in their memory,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.