Mexico homicide trial continues over killing of Australian surfers and US friend

Three men are on trial in Mexico over the killing of brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend Jack Carter Rhoad, with the hearing entering its second day as the victims’ father testified.

Authorities say the three men were killed in April 2024 during an attempted theft of the victims’ pickup truck; their bodies were found dumped in a cliff-top shaft with gunshot wounds to the head, and the pickup was later located burned near the scene. There are three deceased: two Australians, aged 30 and 33, and a 30-year-old US citizen.

Victim father Martin Robinson told the court his life had become “hell” and described identifying Callum by a forearm tattoo and Jake using photographs. Page Rhoad, the victim’s mother, compared the crime to an execution and said she misses her son every day.

A protected witness testified earlier that they accompanied one defendant to the scene, fled after hearing gunshots and were later threatened into silence. The disappearances and deaths prompted widespread public outrage in Australia and the United States and a large social-media search for the bodies.

The trial is expected to continue until the end of September. Jack Rhoad’s widow, Natalie, is scheduled to testify on Wednesday.