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

A judge in Mexico has found three men guilty of murdering two Australian brothers and their American friend during a surfing trip in April 2024. The victims, Callum and Jake Robinson and Carter Redd Rhoad, were reported missing shortly after arriving in the town of Punta San Jose, about 50 miles from Ensenada, in the Mexican state of Baja California. Their bodies were found on May 3 in a well with gunshot wounds to their heads.

The defendants, Jesús Gerardo García, alias El Kekas, Irineo Francisco N, and Ángel Jesús N, were also found guilty of armed robbery and armed carjacking. According to CBS News, they had been in custody for more than two years. The trial concluded with the judge ruling that the three men were responsible for the murders.

The victims' families, including the parents of the Australian brothers, Debra and Martin Robinson, were present in court throughout the trial. Debra Robinson described the impact of the murders on her family, saying they had lost "the future we had imagined with them." Martin Robinson added that it's hard for a parent to lose a son, and they had lost two sons. The defendants are yet to be sentenced, but BBC News reports they are likely to spend the rest of their lives in a Mexican prison.

Brief written by urgent.news from Japan Today, CBS News, Sky News, Winnipeg Free Press, BBC News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.