The three surfers first went missing in April of 2024. Photos: Instagram
Three men are on trial after being charged with murdering a trio of surfers in Baja California. Two years after Australians Jake and Callum Robinson and American Jack Carter Rhoad were found executed after going on a surf trip to Ensenada, proceedings have begun against Jesús Gerardo García, aka “El Kekas,” Irineo Francisco N. and Ángel Jesús N. (the last names of the latter two have been redacted per Mexican criminal procedure).
In April 2024, the Robinsons and Rhoad were reported missing after going on a camping trip in Ensenada. Several days later, their bodies were found dumped in a cliff-top shaft with gunshot wounds to the head. Authorities believed the killing was the result of an attempted robbery gone wrong, in which the assailants wanted to take the surfers’ car and steal its tires.
The Robinsons’ parents traveled to Ensenada for the proceedings. “It’s about representing our sons, being here for them. I know they want us to be here,” Martin Robinson told reporters. “We want to find out what happened. We want to find out why.”
Three witnesses appeared before the court on Monday, one of whom was the stepson of one of the defendants. He described going with the accused to the crime scene and waiting nearby during the attack. “I heard a lot of noise,” he said, then elaborated that he had ran away, but joined the group again after they called him. Afterwards, they threatened that the same thing that had happened to the surfers would befall him if he told anyone.
Another defendant has already been sentenced in relation to the murders. García’s former partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty last year to instigating the robbery that led to the executions.
