Trial Begins Over Surfers’ Murders in Mexico

Three men accused of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad went on trial in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. The surfers were camping near a remote Pacific coast beach in April 2024 when prosecutors say the defendants attacked them during an attempt to steal their pickup truck. The vehicle was later found burned, while the victims’ bodies were discovered several days later in a cliff-top shaft with gunshot wounds to their heads. The Robinson brothers’ parents attended the opening of the proceedings, saying they wanted to represent their sons and learn what happened. Debra Robinson became emotional when she looked at the accused in court. Three witnesses testified, including the concealed stepson of one defendant, who said he accompanied the men to the crime scene and heard a commotion before fleeing. He also testified that the defendants threatened to kill him if he spoke about the incident. Ary Gisell Silva, the girlfriend of one defendant, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting that she helped initiate the robbery. Prosecutors said she noticed the surfers’ valuable phones and tires and encouraged the group to target them. The killings generated widespread grief in Australia and the United States. Callum had played professional lacrosse in the United States, Jake was preparing to begin a medical career in Australia, and Rhoad was engaged to be married. The case has also renewed concerns about violence affecting foreign visitors in Mexico, particularly in Baja California and along the Pacific coast. Although organized crime and drug trafficking are prevalent in Baja California, authorities say tourists are not usually targeted. In 2015, Australian surfers Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman were also murdered while traveling through the region.

Three men went on trial in Ensenada, Mexico, on Sept. 7, 2026, over the April 2024 killings of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend, Jack Carter Rhoad. The victims, all aged around 30, were on a surfing trip along Mexico’s Pacific coast when they were attacked while camping in a remote beachside area in Baja California. Their bodies were found several days later in a cliff-top shaft, with gunshot wounds to their heads. Authorities allege that the men were killed during an attempt to steal their pickup truck, which was later found burned near the bodies. The Robinsons’ parents, Debra and Martin Robinson, attended the opening of the proceedings in Ensenada. Debra cried after staring at the accused, while Martin said they wanted to represent their sons and learn what happened and why. Three witnesses testified, including the stepson of one defendant, who said he accompanied the accused to the crime scene and heard a commotion. Testifying with his face concealed, he said the group threatened him, warning that the same thing that happened to the foreigners would happen to him if he spoke about the killings. Ary Gisell Silva, the girlfriend of the witness’s stepfather, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2025 after admitting that she encouraged the robbery because the surfers had valuable phones and tyres. The killings generated widespread grief in Australia and the United States and prompted a major social-media search for the missing men. The article also describes the victims’ lives: Callum played professional lacrosse in the United States, Jake was pursuing medicine, and Rhoad was killed months before his planned wedding. Baja California is among Mexico’s most violent states because of organised crime and drug trafficking, although tourists are not usually affected. The report notes that other foreign visitors have been attacked on Mexico’s Pacific coast, including two Australian surfers murdered in Sinaloa in 2015.

The trial has begun in Ensenada, Baja California, of three men accused of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend, Jack Carter Rhoad, during a suspected robbery in April 2024. The three men were on a surfing trip along Mexico’s Pacific coast and were camping in a remote beachside area when they allegedly encountered the attackers. Their bodies were discovered several days later in a cliff-top shaft, each with gunshot wounds to the head. Their pickup truck was found burned near the bodies. The parents of the Robinson brothers traveled from Australia to attend the proceedings. In court, their mother, Debra Robinson, stared at the defendants before breaking down in tears. Her partner, Martin Robinson, said they wanted to represent their sons and learn what had happened and why. Three witnesses testified on the first day of the trial. One was the stepson of a defendant, who testified from a separate room with his face concealed. He said he accompanied the accused to the crime scene and waited nearby while a “commotion” took place. After hearing what he described as a great deal of noise, he fled, but later returned when the group called him. He also said the defendants threatened him, warning that he would suffer the same fate as the foreign victims if he spoke. The killings generated widespread grief in Australia and the United States. Callum Robinson had played professional lacrosse in the US, Jake was studying medicine, and Rhoad was killed only months before his planned wedding. The case has also drawn attention to violence in Baja California, a state affected by organized crime and drug trafficking. Although tourists are not usually targeted by cartel activity, foreign visitors have been attacked elsewhere along Mexico’s Pacific coast, including two Australian surfers murdered in Sinaloa in 2015.