‘We want to find out why’: Parents face men accused of killing Australian brothers as Mexico trial begins

The mother of two Australians killed on a surf trip in Mexico says her sons would want their parents to be there, as a replacement judge begins presiding over a trial of three men accused of murdering the brothers and their American friend.

Jake, 30, and Callum Robinson, 33, were allegedly murdered, along with their friend Carter Rhoad, 30, while on a surfing trip in the state of Baja California on Mexico’s Pacific coast in April 2024.

The Perth brothers had been camping in a remote beachside area when they were attacked. Their bodies were found dumped in a clifftop shaft several days after they went missing. They had gunshot wounds to their heads.

Three men – Jesus Gerardo, also known as El Kekas, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus – are on trial over their killings.

The Robinsons’ parents travelled to the port city of Ensenada for the start of the proceedings on Monday (Mexico time).

Debra Robinson told media outside the court that it was very important for the pair to attend.

“We’re doing this because we believe Callum and Jake would want us to be here,” she said.

“We want to find out what happened. We want to find out why,” Martin Robinson said.

A total of 35 witnesses are expected to be called during the trial, and the Robinsons are expected to address the court.

A judge appeared remotely on the first day of the trial, after a previous judge had to withdraw from the four-week trial due to an injury.

Their replacement did not have enough time to travel to the location to attend in person, the ABC reported.

Authorities say the men were murdered during an attempt to steal their ute, which was found burned near their bodies.

The girlfriend of one of the accused was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year after admitting she had instigated the robbery to steal the ute’s tyres.

Ary Gisell Silva told a court that she had urged her boyfriend and two other men to rob the surfers, noting they had “good phones and good tyres”.

The crime sparked outrage and sadness in Australia and the US, where the surfers’ friends and families galvanised a major search on social media for their bodies.

Callum Robinson played professional lacrosse in the US, while Jake was pursuing a career in medicine. Rhoad was killed a few months before he was set to marry.

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, plagued by organised crime and drug trafficking, although cartel activity doesn’t usually affect tourists.

Other foreign visitors have, however, been targeted in criminal attacks on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were murdered in 2015 while travelling through the northwestern state of Sinaloa.

Their bodies were later burned.

with AFP

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Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.AdvertisementAdvertisement