Mexican Court Gives 158-Year Sentences For Slayings Of U.S., Australian Surfers
Judge Raul Hernandez on Friday, October 16, 2026 sentenced three Mexican men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the 2024 murders of two U.S. brothers and an Australian man near Ensenada, Mexico.[1]
Prosecutors said the victims were Jake and Callum Robinson of the United States and Australian surfer Carter Rhoad.[1] Prosecutors told the court the killings began during an attempted theft of the surfers' pickup truck tires at a remote campsite.[1] They said the men were shot in the head and that the attackers burned the victims' tents and truck before hiding the bodies.[1]
In late April 2024 the victims were attacked at a campsite near Ensenada, and investigators later recovered their remains from a covered cliff-top well that prosecutors said was extremely hard to locate.[1] Prosecutors also said a fourth, older body was found in the same well.[1]
Prosecutors had sought more than $100,000 in damages, but Judge Hernandez denied that request and said any compensation must be pursued in separate civil proceedings.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Friday, October 16, 2026, Judge Raul Hernandez sentenced three Mexican men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the 2024 murders of Jake and Callum Robinson and Carter Rhoad.
- The surfers were attacked at a remote campsite near Ensenada in late April 2024 during an attempted theft of their pickup truck's tires, then shot in the head and dumped in a cliff-top well.
- Prosecutors said the attackers burned the victims' tents and truck and hid the bodies in a covered well that was extremely hard to locate; a fourth, older body was also found in the well.
- Prosecutors' request for more than $100,000 in damages was denied, with the judge ruling any compensation must be pursued in separate civil proceedings.
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