Three men jailed 158 years each for killing Robinson brothers and friend
A judge in Mexico sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for killing Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad. The three victims were killed on a surf trip in Mexico in 2024, Australia's ABC News and the BBC reported. The defense plans to appeal, ABC News reported.
A judge in Ensenada, Mexico, has sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the murders of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad, Australia's ABC News and the BBC reported. The three men were found guilty last week.
The victims were killed during a surfing trip in Mexico's Baja California region in 2024, and their bodies were later found in a well, according to ABC News and the BBC. The court heard that they were killed in an apparent botched robbery of their truck on a secluded beach, the BBC reported.
The men were identified only as Jesús Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús because their full names were withheld for legal reasons, ABC News and the BBC reported. Jesús Gerardo is known as "El Kekas." Judge Raul Hernandez Arellano said the crimes were made worse because the tourists were unarmed and were attacked at night in a remote place, ABC News reported. The court also ordered 1,628,550 pesos in damages for the three victims, plus 19,542 pesos for funeral costs, according to the Baja California attorney general's office.
The defense had argued that there was not enough evidence to prove the case, and it has said it will appeal the sentences, according to ABC News, which reported that the defense has 10 days to do so.
Debra Robinson, the brothers' mother, said in court during the case that the killings had taken "the future we had imagined with them," the BBC reported. In a statement, Debra and Martin Robinson said they were satisfied with the sentences, ABC News reported. "No sentence, no matter how long, will ever bring our beautiful boys back or undo the devastating loss suffered by their family and friends," the parents said. Rhoad's mother thanked the judge, according to ABC News.
In a separate trial in November last year, the girlfriend of Jesús Gerardo was sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting involvement in the robbery, the BBC reported.
What we know: Three men each received 158 years and nine months in prison for the 2024 killings, and the defense plans to appeal.
What we don't: When an appeal would be heard and whether it could change the sentences.
Where outlets agree ABC News and the BBC report that a Mexican judge sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months each for killing Jake and Callum Robinson and Carter Rhoad.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.