Three convicted in Baja killings of Australian, U.S. surfers

A judge in Ensenada, Mexico, convicted three men on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, of murdering Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and their American friend Carter Redd Rhoad during a surf trip to Baja California in April 2024.

Prosecutors have asked for a 210-year sentence for each man, and Judge Raúl Hernández will announce the final sentences on Oct. 16, according to reports from The Associated Press and CBS News.

The men were also found guilty of armed robbery and armed carjacking. They are Jesús Gerardo García, who goes by the alias “El Kekas” and was identified as the killer, and two co-defendants identified by the AP only by a first name and the letter N: Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús. The AP reported that all three had been in custody for more than two years and that the trial lasted about a month.

The three friends travelled to Punta San José, a remote stretch of coast about 80 kilometres from Ensenada, and were reported missing soon after they arrived. Their bodies were found in a well on May 3, 2024. García and the two co-defendants were arrested that month, along with García’s former partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya.

Silva Raya was sentenced in November 2025 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence, the AP reported. Prosecutors say she arrived at Punta San José on April 27, 2024, and encouraged a companion to rob the men. She testified that García told her he arrived at the victims’ tent with a 9-mm pistol and that one of the men begged for his life.

The brothers’ parents spoke to reporters after the verdict. “It’s hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons,” Martin Robinson said, according to CBS News. His wife, Debra Robinson, said the killings took “the future we had imagined with them.” Martin Robinson told the AP the verdict was “a significant moment in our long and painful journey to seek justice,” adding: “They will never be forgotten.”

Neither the AP nor CBS reported any reaction from the Australian or U.S. governments, and no Canadians were reported to be involved in the case.

For Canadians, the case is a reminder of the risks the federal government already flags for Mexico. The Government of Canada’s travel advisory for Mexico tells travellers to “exercise a high degree of caution” because of “high levels of criminal activity and kidnapping.” It says levels of crime, “particularly violent crime, are high throughout Mexico,” and advises travellers to avoid going out after dark and to avoid travelling by road after dark. Baja California is not among the states for which the advisory recommends avoiding non-essential travel, though it describes the situation as tense in the border areas between Mexico and the United States.

The sentencing hearing on Oct. 16 will settle how long the three men spend in prison. Prosecutors from the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office have asked for what they called an “exemplary” sentence.

Via The Associated Press (read the original) and CBS News.

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