By Lizbeth Diaz and Yolanda Morales
MEXICO CITY, Oct 16 (Reuters) - A Mexican judge on Friday sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the killings of two Australian brothers and their American friend during a 2024 surf trip to the state of Baja California, a judicial official said.
The defendants, identified by authorities simply as Jesus Gerardo "N," known as "El Kekas," Irineo Francisco "N" and Angel Jesus "N," were found guilty a week ago of homicide, aggravated robbery,
robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence.
The victims were Australian brothers Jake Robinson, 33, and Callum Robinson, 30, and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30.
The judge also ordered the defendants to pay compensation to the victims' families, said an official from the Baja California state judiciary.
In November, Gisell Silva was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence, in a fast-track proceeding. The woman, then 23, was arrested a few days after the foreigners’ bodies were found in a water well.
The Robinson brothers and Rhoad were camping and surfing near Punta San Jose, about 80 km (50 miles) south of Ensenada, when they were reported missing in late April 2024.
After a days-long search, aided by the FBI, their bodies were found on May 3 at the bottom of a well. The victims were each found with gunshot wounds to the head, and the pickup truck they were traveling in was found, burned, several kilometers away, authorities said.
“There will never be justice for the loss of a child, but these men will never hurt anyone else again,” said Page Rhoad, mother of the slain American, via Zoom after the sentencing.
Martin and Debra Robinson, parents of Jake and Callum, followed the sentencing hearing remotely after returning to Australia last week, following the initial guilty verdict. In an interview as they left one of the 24 hearings that made up the trial, they described their sons’ deaths as “hell” and an “incredibly difficult” experience.
While the Ensenada area is considered relatively safe, Baja California ranks among Mexico’s most violent states. Following the killings, the US State Department urged Americans to reconsider travel to the state due to crime and kidnapping risks.
($1 = 18.4810 Mexican pesos)
(Reporting by Lizbeth Díaz, Writing by Raúl Cortés; Editing by Iñigo Alexander and William Mallard)
