Judge convicts 3 Mexicans in the killings of 2 Australian brothers and American friend on surf trip

Ensenada, Mexico (AP) — A local judge convicted three Mexicans on Friday for the murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend during a surf trip in April 2024 in the Mexican state of Baja California. Judge Raúl Hernández found Jesús Gerardo García, alias “El Kekas,” Irineo Francisco “N,” and Ángel Jesús “N” guilty of the triple homicide and additional charges of armed robbery and armed carjacking.

The defendants had been in custody for over two years. The trio arrived in Baja California to surf but were reported missing shortly after arriving in Punta San Jose, a town about 50 miles from Ensenada. Their bodies were discovered on May 3 in a well. A prosecution source testified that García confessed to his girlfriend, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, about his presence at the tent where the foreigners were staying with a 9mm pistol.

Despite pleading guilty to aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence, Silva Raya was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November 2025. The Baja California State Attorney General's Office sought the maximum sentence of 200 years in prison for the convicted defendants.