Three men found guilty of murdering two Australian surfer brothers and US friend
The bodies of Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend Carter Rhoad were found at the bottom of a well.
Three men have been convicted of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad during a surfing trip in Mexico in 2024.
At trial, the court heard that the tourists were killed in what appeared to be a botched robbery of their truck in a remote beach area. Their bodies were later discovered dumped down a well, with gunshot wounds to the head.
The killings shocked people around the world, especially in Australia, because the coastal area is generally considered safer than other parts of Mexico, where violence is more common.
The verdict was delivered on Friday in the Mexican state of Baja California.
Martin and Debra Robinson, the parents of the two Australian brothers, attended the trial in the coastal town of Ensenada throughout the proceedings and gave emotional testimony during closing arguments on Thursday.
"It's hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons," said their father, Martin.
Rhoad's family members followed the trial by video link.
Speaking to media outside court a week ago, Debra Robinson said the couple were "deeply grateful" to Australians for the overwhelming support they had received and that they "feel the love and their arms around us".
Over the month-long trial, prosecutors had asked for 150 years in prison for each of the three defendants.
In November last year, the girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, Jesús "El Kekas" Gerardo, was sentenced in a separate trial to twenty years in prison. She had admitted involvement in the robbery.
At the time, the murders stunned locals and tourists in Ensenada, who were disturbed by the apparent ease and sheer pointlessness of the killings.
The beach town is known as a welcoming place for surfers, and the horrifying murders showed how common such extreme violence still is in Mexico.
The only explanation authorities seemed able to offer was that the surfers — all in their early thirties — had been killed simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They were killed barely 36 hours after crossing into Mexico from the US. Their bodies were not found until a week later, when their families were able to identify them.
At the time, the surfing community in Ensenada turned out in large numbers to honor the men by paddling out at one of the area's best-known surf spots and throwing flowers into the sea.
Local surfers also called for stronger security for residents and visiting tourists, pointing to other recent incidents of violence in the state. Tourism is a major part of Baja California's regional economy.
As calls for action grew, Baja California governor Marina del Pilar Ávila sought to calm public fears about the widespread violence in her state.
"Baja California is and will continue to be a state with safe tourism for the thousands of people who visit us from the rest of the country and the world", she said.
"I send my condolences and solidarity to the families at this difficult time."