A local judge has found three men guilty of murdering two Australian brothers and their American friend in Baja California, Mexico, in April 2024.
A local judge on Friday found three men guilty of the murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend in April 2024 in the Mexican state of Baja California.
The trial for the triple homicide that shocked Mexico and drew international attention concluded Friday after Judge Raúl Hernández in the coastal city of Ensenada ruled that Jesús Gerardo García, alias "El Kekas," Irineo Francisco "N" and Ángel Jesús "N" were responsible for the murders of Australians Callum and Jake Robinson and American Carter Redd Rhoad.
The defendants, who had been in custody for more than two years, were also found guilty of armed robbery and armed carjacking.
Debra Robinson, the brothers' mother, told the courtroom the murders of her sons had taken "the future we had imagined with them," CBS News' partner network BBC News reported. Debra Robinson and her husband, Martin Robinson, were at the court in the coastal town of Ensenada throughout the trial.
"It's hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons," Martin Robinson said, BBC reported.
The three friends traveled to Baja California in April 2024 to surf, but shortly after arriving in the town of Punta San Jose, about 50 miles from Ensenada, they were reported missing. Their bodies were found on May 3 in a well.
García, identified as the perpetrator of the murders, was arrested in May 2024 in connection to the case, along with his ex-partner Ary Gisell Silva Raya, Irineo Francisco "N" and Ángel Jesús "N."
During the monthlong trial, chilling details of the brutal crime were revealed. Silva Raya testified last month during a hearing that García confessed to her that he arrived at the tent where the foreigners were staying with a 9 mm pistol.
Upon seeing him, they began throwing their belongings to prevent him from attacking them, and one of them begged for his life, which the assailant ignored, she said.
The state prosecutor's office reported that Silva Raya arrived in Punta San Jose on April 27, 2024, where she met the three foreigners and "instigated one of her companions to rob them," which was carried out the following day.
The woman, who was found in possession of one of the victims' cellphones, was sentenced in November 2025 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to "aggravated robbery with violence" and "vehicle theft with violence" in an expedited proceeding. However, García and his two accomplices decided to go to trial.
The judge will announce the final sentence on Oct. 16. The Baja California State Attorney General's Office requested for each defendant the "exemplary sentence" of 210 years in prison.