Trial begins for men accused of killing brothers Jake and Callum Robinson in MexicoBy Carrington Clarke and Aline Corpus in Ensenada, Mexico and Lucia Stein

Posted Tue 8 Sep 2026 at 6:11amTue 8 Sep 2026 at 6:11amTue 8 Sep 2026 at 6:11am, updated Tue 8 Sep 2026 at 6:25amTue 8 Sep 2026 at 6:25amTue 8 Sep 2026 at 6:25am

In short:

The trial of three men alleged to have murdered a pair of Australian brothers and their American friend in Mexico has begun.

Jesús Gerardo, also known as “El Kekas”, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús are facing a number of charges for the alleged killing of Jake and Callum Robinson and Carter Rhoad in 2024.

What’s next?

The judge-only trial is expected to run for more than four weeks.

The parents of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson have come face to face with their sons’ alleged murderers at a court hearing in Mexico.

Martin and Debra Robinson travelled from Perth to Ensenada, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, for the trial of the three men, who are also accused of murdering the brothers’ American friend, Carter Rhoad, in April 2024.

Ms Robinson is expected to address the court today and Mr Robinson will follow tomorrow.

Jesús Gerardo, also known as “El Kekas”, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús are charged with aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery, violent robbery and grand theft auto.

The men were clad in bright orange prison jumpsuits in the small courtroom on the first day of the trial. Mr and Ms Robinson were seated a couple of metres away.

In a dramatic last-minute change to the expected running of the trial, a new judge was appointed to oversee the case. He appeared remotely because there was not enough time to get him to Ensenada to attend court in person.

The court heard the previous judge could not preside over the four-week trial because he had been in an “accident” over the weekend.

Three witnesses are due to give evidence today and dozens more are expected to be called during the trial.

Prosecutor seeks sentences of 200+ years

Jake, a 31-year-old doctor from Perth, had travelled to California to meet up with his brother Callum, 32, who had been living in the US for 12 years after moving over to play lacrosse.

They travelled south to Mexico to go camping and surfing with their friend, Carter Rhoad, 33, using a car to get around, until they were reported missing in April 2024.

Search teams discovered their bodies several days later.

Investigators said all three victims were executed with a gunshot to the head before their bodies were dumped in a well, where the body of a local farmer was also found.

The brothers’ burnt-out car was dumped on a ranch, with its tyres missing. Their campsite was also burnt out.

The ex-girlfriend of one of the men was the first to stand trial over the incident and was sentenced to 20 years in jail last year.

A prosecutor has asked for 210-year jail sentences for each of the accused, and an additional 168-year sentence for Mr Gerardo, who is also charged with forced disappearance.

All three defendants, whose full names have been withheld under Mexican legal conventions, rejected plea deals that would have seen them serve jail terms between 47 and 52 years.

Parents want to put ‘human face on terrible tragedy’

Trial by jury in criminal cases is uncommon in Mexico, where verdicts and sentences are usually decided by a trial magistrate or panels of magistrates.

But the trial of the three men is being overseen by a single judge.

Once the court case wraps up, the judge will have 24 hours to make a judgement. He will then have a week to hand down his verdict.

Before they flew to Mexico, Mr and Ms Robinson said they felt it was “vitally important” to be in court for the trial.

“We want the men accused of murdering our sons to see, in person, the human consequences of what happened,” they said in a statement to the ABC.

“Callum and Jake were not simply victims in a case file — they were our sons, deeply loved by their family and friends, with lives, dreams and futures that were brutally taken away.

“Our presence is a way of putting a human face on this terrible tragedy. We want the accused to understand that their actions have caused unimaginable heartbreak and have left a permanent hole in the lives of everyone who loved Callum and Jake.”