Three men have been sentenced to 158 years and nine months each for the murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend.
Australian brothers Jake Robinson, 33, Callum Robinson, 30, and Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, from the US were shot dead in a botched robbery during a 2024 surf trip to the state of Baja California.
The defendants, Jesus Gerardo Garcia, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus, were found guilty of homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence in a trial that concluded on Friday.
Mr Rhoad and the Robinsons were camping in a remote beachside area near the northern city of Ensenada when they disappeared on 27 April 2024.
Their bodies were found a week later on 3 May in a remote 15m-deep (50ft) clifftop well with gunshot wounds to the heads. The pickup truck they were travelling in was found, burned, several kilometres away, authorities said.
The deaths of the trio shocked Mexico and sparked an outpouring of grief and indignation in Australia and the United States.
During a trial in November last year, Ary Gisell Silva, the former girlfriend of the alleged ringleader, Garcia, was found guilty of crimes related to "violent robbery" and sentenced in a separate trial to 20 years in prison.
Silva had admitted she instigated and participated in the robbery of the tourists’ belongings, which subsequently led to their murder.
According to the prosecution, the attackers "intentionally surprised the surfers and shot them with firearms, taking their lives". The judge ruled the three Mexican defendants acted with premeditation.
The families of the victims followed the sentencing hearing via video link. Ms Page Rhoad, Jack Rhoad's mother, said "there will never be justice for the loss of a child, but these men will never hurt anyone else again", via Zoom after the sentencing.
Mr Martin and Mrs Debra Robinson, parents of Jake and Callum, followed the sentencing hearing remotely after returning to Australia last week, following the initial guilty verdict.
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Speaking outside court following the verdict last week, Martin and Debra Robinson paid tribute to their sons Callum and Jake and their friend Jack.
"Today's guilty verdict is a significant moment in our long and painful journey to seek justice for our beautiful sons, Callum and Jake, and their friend Jack Carter Rhoad, whose lives were so cruelly taken from them in 2024," Mr Robinson said.
Following the murders, the Baja California surfing community gathered in Ensenada to protest the safety issues in the state.
(c) Sky News 2026: Three men sentenced to more than 158 years in prison for murders of Australian and US surfers
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