Trial over alleged murders of Australian surfer brothers starts in Mexico
The bodies of Jake and Callum Robinson and their US friend were found with gunshot wounds to their heads.
Trial begins in Mexico over alleged murders of Australian surfer brothers
Callum (left) and Jake Robinson were on a surfing trip in Mexico when they were allegedly killed during a suspected carjacking last year
Three men have gone on trial in Mexico over the alleged murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend in 2024.
The bodies of Callum Robinson, his younger brother Jake, and their friend Carter Rhoad from California — all in their early 30s — were discovered at the bottom of a well with gunshot wounds to their heads, days after they disappeared during a surf trip in Baja California.
Prosecutors are seeking prison terms of more than 200 years for the defendants, who also face accusations of violent robbery and auto theft.
The brothers’ parents were in court on Tuesday in the coastal town of Ensenada, telling the media that it was "incredibly important and overwhelmingly difficult".
"We want the men accused of murdering our sons to see, in person, the human consequences of what happened," Martin and Debra Robinson said in a statement, according to Australia's national broadcaster, the ABC.
"Callum and Jake were not simply victims in a case file - they were our sons, deeply loved by their family and friends, with lives, dreams and futures that were brutally taken away."
On the first day of proceedings, the accused — Jesús "El Kekas" Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús — were transferred to a smaller courtroom amid claims that some witnesses had been intimidated by people linked to the defendants.
Dozens of witnesses are expected to testify during the four-week, judge-only trial.
The 2024 alleged killings of the Robinson brothers and their US friend shocked Australians and many residents of the usually peaceful town of Ensenada.
Even with high levels of cartel violence in the northern Mexican border states, tourists are seldom targeted in such violent attacks in Baja California's surf towns.
The ex-girlfriend of one of the accused, Ari Gisell, became the first person convicted in connection with the tourists' killings last year and received a 20-year prison sentence for her role in their murders.
Mexican prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of more than 200 years for each defendant, along with an additional 168-year sentence for the alleged ringleader.
Prosecutors say the victims were killed in a botched robbery, while the defence said there was insufficient evidence to prove that theory.
Callum Robinson played for Australia's national lacrosse team and lived in San Diego, where he was a professional lacrosse player.
His younger brother Jake had travelled from Australia for the surf trip and was due to begin work as a doctor when he returned, while their friend Rhoad was killed a few months before his wedding.