Alleged killers of Australian, US surfers go on trial in Mexico

ENSENADA – The suspected murderers of two Australian surfers and an American at a Mexican surfing hot spot went on trial on Sept 7, two years after their killings in a suspected robbery.

Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33 respectively, and 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad were on a surfing trip to Mexico’s Pacific coast when they were shot dead in Baja California state.

They had been camping in a remote beachside area when they were attacked in April 2024.

Their bodies were found dumped in a cliff-top shaft several days after they went missing. They bore gunshot wounds to their heads.

Three men are on trial over their killings.

The Robinsons’ parents travelled to the port city of Ensenada for the start of the proceedings.

Bereaved mother Debra Robinson stared at the accused before bursting into tears in the courtroom.

“It’s about representing our sons, being here for them. I know they want us to be here,” her partner Martin Robinson earlier told reporters.

“We want to find out what happened. We want to find out why,” he said.

The couple did not speak to reporters after the first hearing. Martin told AFP they will do so at the end of the proceedings, which are expected to conclude within a month and a half.

Martin is expected to testify on Sept 8.

‘Good phones’

Authorities say the men were murdered during an attempt to steal their pickup truck, which was found burnt near their bodies.

Three witnesses appeared before the court on Sept 7, including the stepson of one of the defendants, identified as “Ramon”.

Testifying from an adjoining room with his face concealed, he said he accompanied the accused – known as “El Kekas” – to the crime scene.

Ramon said he was in the vehicle listening to music when the “commotion” began.

“I heard a lot of noise, got out of the pickup and ran as fast as I could to my uncle’s house, where I hid in the bathroom,” he said.

He said he rejoined the group following the crime, after they called to warn him that “the same thing that happened to the gringos” would happen to him if he said anything.

Ramon described his stepfather as violent and said that he had previously attacked his mother. She confirmed the violence in her testimony.

The girlfriend of the witness’ stepfather was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2025 after admitting she had instigated the robbery in order to steal the pickup’s tyres.

Ary Gisell Silva told a court that she had urged her boyfriend and two other men to rob the surfers, noting they had “good phones and good tyres”.

“El Kekas” previously faced charges for enforced disappearance, but these were eventually dropped.

The other two suspects were initially arrested for possession of methamphetamines. Evidence was later found linking them to the robbery and murder.

The crime sparked outrage and grief in Australia and the United States, where the surfers’ friends and families galvanised a major search on social media for their bodies.

Callum Robinson played professional lacrosse in the United States. His brother Jake was pursuing a career in medicine. Rhoad played professional football in Guatemala and ran a clothing company in San Diego. He was killed a few months before he was set to marry.

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, plagued by organised crime and drug trafficking, although cartel activity does not usually affect tourists.

Other foreign visitors have, however, been targeted in criminal attacks on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were murdered in 2015 while travelling through the northwestern state of Sinaloa in the north-west.

Their bodies were later burnt. AFP