The trial has begun for three men accused of murdering two Australian brothers and their American friend, who were on a surfing trip in Baja California, Mexico. The killings, which occurred in April 2024, are believed to have been part of a robbery.
Australian brothers Jake Robinson, 30, and Callum Robinson, 33, along with their 30-year-old American companion Jack Carter Rhoad, were fatally shot while camping at a remote beachside location. Their bodies were discovered days later in a clifftop shaft, with evidence of gunshot wounds to the head.
Callum Robinson had played professional lacrosse in the United States, while Jake was pursuing a career in medicine. Rhoad was reportedly close to getting married.
The parents of the Robinson brothers traveled to Ensenada for the trial's commencement. "It's about representing our sons, being here for them. I know they want us to be here," Martin Robinson told reporters. His wife, Debra, reportedly stared down the alleged killers inside the courtroom.
Authorities allege the surfers were targeted for their pickup truck, which was found burned near where their bodies were discovered. The girlfriend of one of the accused has already been sentenced to 20 years in prison. She confessed to instigating the robbery with the aim of stealing the truck's tires, noting the victims possessed "good phones and good tyres."
The crime drew widespread outrage and sadness in Australia and the United States, prompting extensive social media searches by friends and families for the missing surfers.
Baja California is known for organized crime and drug trafficking, though tourists are not typically targeted. This incident echoes previous attacks on foreign visitors along Mexico's Pacific coast, including the 2015 murders and subsequent burning of bodies of two other Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.