3 surfers were murdered on a remote Mexican beach, their bodies dumped down a well. Now 3 men are sentenced
American Jack Carter Rhoad and Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson were shot to death while surfing and camping on Mexico’s Pacific coast in 2024
NEED TO KNOW
- Jake Robinson, 30, from Perth, Australia, his older brother, Callum Robinson, 33, who had moved from Australia to San Diego, and their friend Carter Rhoad, 30, also of San Diego, were killed during a 2024 trip to Baja California, Mexico
- On Oct. 9, three men were convicted of murdering them while trying to steal the tires from the truck they were driving
- The three men learned their fate on Friday, Oct. 16
Three surfers were murdered while vacationing on the sun-kissed coast of Baja California, Mexico, in 2024. Now, three men have been sentenced to more than 158 years in prison each for the vicious slayings.
On Oct. 9, Jesús Gerardo García, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús were found guilty in the deaths of Jake Robinson, 30, from Perth, Australia, his older brother, Callum Robinson, 33, who had moved from Australia to San Diego, and their friend Carter Rhoad, 30, also of San Diego, according to the Office of the Baja California State Attorney General, The New York Times reports.
As PEOPLE previously reported, the three friends were camping on the beach near Ensenada when the three suspects ambushed them on April 27, 2024.
The attackers pulled out a gun and shot one of the surfers after he “initially resisted the robbery,” then fatally shot the other two, Baja California prosecutor María Elena Andrade said, according to the Associated Press and Fox News.
After being reported missing, the three were found dead at the bottom of a 50-foot well in a remote part of Santo Tomas, Baja California, Mexico, on May 3, 2024.
All three had suffered gunshot wounds and were killed as part of an apparent robbery gone wrong when the suspects were trying to steal tires from the surfers’ truck, prosecutors said.
On Friday, Oct. 16, a judge in Ensenada, Baja California, sentenced the men to 158 years and nine months in prison for murder, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence, the AP reports.
In November 2025, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, the then-girlfriend of the main defendant, García, was sentenced to two decades in prison after admitting that she instigated the robbery because she said she wanted the tires. She received 14 years in jail for robbery of a vehicle with violence, along with an additional six years for robbery with violence, and was also fined 54,285 Mexican pesos (about $4,565), according to the AP.
Parents of the three surfers spoke to reporters about the devastating loss they suffered.
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“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, CBS News reports.
“They took our sons from our lives forever,” Debra Robinson said after the verdict came down on Oct. 9. “What hurts us most is that, in their final hours, they were treated with such cruelty.”
The Robinsons started a foundation in their sons’ names to “carry forward their call to Live Bigger, Shine Brighter, Love Harder,” according to the foundation’s website.
“Driven by their legacy, we’re committed to turning heartbreak into positive impact—supporting communities, expanding access to sport and adventure, and empowering people to live with courage, joy, and generosity. Current projects include diabetes advocacy and coastal cleanups.
