Mexican judge gives three men 158 years in Australian, US surfers' murders

A woman participates in a protest against insecurity in Ensenada following the killing of three foreign surfers. (AFP pic) ENSENADA: A Mexican judge on Friday sentenced three men to more than 158 years' imprisonment for the murder of two Australian surfers and their American friend in 2024, in a case that drew global condemnation.

Brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33 respectively, and their friend Carter Rhoad, 30, were on a surfing trip to Mexico's Pacific coast when they were shot dead in Baja California state during an attempted robbery.

They were camping in a remote beachside area near the city of Ensenada when they were attacked on April 27, 2024.

Their bodies were found days later, dumped in a cliff-top well, with gunshot wounds to their heads.

The callousness of their killings shocked Ensenada, a surfing mecca that attracts people from around the world.

Judge Raul Hernandez ruled last week that the three Mexican defendants, identified only by their first names -- Jesus Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus -- acted with premeditation.

On Friday they were sentenced to 158 years and nine months each.

Prosecutors had requested damages of more than US$100,000, but the judge ruled against it and said any compensation would have to be pursued through civil proceedings.

"There can never be justice for the loss of a son, but we are grateful that these men will never hurt anyone else," Rhoad's mother Page said after learning the verdict.

'Such cruelty'

The Robinsons' parents had traveled to Mexico from Australia for the month-long trial and left after the verdict.

They had spoken movingly in court about their loss.

"It's hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons," Martin Robinson said.

Debra Robinson said what hurt the most was that her sons "were treated with such cruelty" in their final hours.

The families of the victims followed the sentencing hearing via video link.

The former girlfriend of Jesus Gerardo, who is accused of leading the attack, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November.

She admitted to goading her boyfriend into stealing the pickup's tires.

She said her ex-boyfriend had sneered at the surfers' pleas for their lives and bragged about items he robbed from them.

A 9mm and a .45 caliber pistol were used in the attack.

Rhoad's fiancee Natalie Weirtz and mother Page addressed the court by video link.

Weirtz called for the accused to "be punished so that no other family suffers the same pain."

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

Other foreign visitors have been targeted in attacks on Mexico's Pacific coast.

Two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were murdered in 2015 while traveling through the northwestern state of Sinaloa. Their bodies were later burned.