‘Hell’: Father of surfers killed in Mexico testifies at trial

Martin Robinson, the father of the two Australian surfers who were killed in Mexico two years ago, testified in court on Tuesday that his life had been turned into "hell." The trial of three suspects in the murder of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33, and their 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, who were on a surfing trip to Mexico's Pacific coast in April 2024, continued into its second day.

Authorities claim the three were killed in an attempted robbery, with their bodies discovered in a cliff-top shaft, suffering gunshot wounds to their heads.

"Life is hell," Martin Robinson expressed to the court, emphasizing the immense difficulty of losing two sons and the dreams they had ahead. He described the challenges of identifying his sons' bodies - Callum by a tattoo on his forearm, and Jake through photographs, with identifying Rhoad's body proving particularly difficult. Rhoad's mother, Page, likened the crime to an execution, stating she misses her son every day and is uncertain if she will ever regain her balance.

According to authorities, the men were killed during an attempted theft of their pickup truck, which was subsequently found burned near their bodies. A protected witness testified on Monday that they had accompanied one of the defendants to the crime scene and fled upon hearing gunshots. They were later coerced into maintaining silence.

The grieving family's statements garnered widespread sympathy in Australia and the United States, leading to a significant social media effort to locate their bodies. Martin Robinson expressed a lack of resentment towards the perpetrators but was unable to comprehend how they could take the lives of two beautiful individuals. The trial, which is expected to conclude by the end of September, will hear Rhoad's widow, Natalie, testify on Wednesday.