More than two years after three foreign surfers were found dead in northern Baja California, the case has entered a new judicial phase in Ensenada.
The oral trial against three men accused in the killings of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend, Jack Carter Rhoad, began Monday at 9 a.m. at the Ensenada courthouse.
The brothers’ parents, Debra and Martin Robinson, returned to Baja California to attend the proceedings. “We want to know what happened,” Martin Robinson told reporters upon arriving at the courthouse with his wife.
The trial comes after a case that drew international attention to Baja California in 2024 and prompted Australian media to travel to Ensenada to follow the proceedings.
The Trip That Ended in Tragedy
Jake and Callum Robinson, both from Australia, were traveling through Baja California with their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad when their families lost contact with them in late April 2024.
The three had been camping at Punta San José, south of Ensenada, during their surfing trip. Investigators believe the killings took place sometime between the night of April 27 and the early hours of April 28.
Concern grew after the three men failed to arrive at their planned accommodation and their families stopped hearing from them.
On April 30, a missing-person report was filed. Debra Robinson also turned to social media to ask for help locating her sons.
The Search Leads Investigators to the Coast
Authorities eventually found evidence connected to the three men in the La Bocana de Santo Tomás area.
Their Chevrolet Colorado pickup was also found burned, adding another key piece of evidence to the search.
On May 3, authorities located the bodies of the three men inside a roughly 15-meter-deep well. Their families later identified them.
The investigation determined that all three had died from gunshot wounds.
What Prosecutors Have Alleged
From the early stages of the investigation, Baja California’s Attorney General’s Office (FGE) identified an attempted robbery as its main theory for why the three foreigners were attacked.
Three men are now facing the oral trial over the deaths of Jake and Callum Robinson and Jack Carter Rhoad.
A separate case has already resulted in one sentence. Ary Gisell Silva Raya was sentenced to 20 years in prison through an expedited procedure for aggravated robbery and incitement to vehicle theft.
That sentence, however, did not correspond to the three killings.
The Case Now Goes Before the Court
The start of the oral trial marks the latest stage in a case that began with a missing-person report and an international search along Baja California’s coast.
Debra and Martin Robinson are now in Ensenada to follow the proceedings involving the three men accused of killing their sons and their friend.
Australian media have also traveled to the city to cover the trial as the case moves toward a judicial determination of responsibility for the three deaths.
