Three Mexican Men Guilty of Killing Australian Brothers and American on Surf Trip
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What happened
A judge in Ensenada, Mexico, on Friday found Jesús Gerardo García, known as El Kekas, Irineo Francisco N, and Ángel Jesús N guilty of murdering Australian brothers Callum Robinson, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, and American Carter Redd Rhoad, 30. The three friends disappeared after arriving in Punta San Jose, Baja California, on a surfing trip in April 2024; their bodies were found on May 3, 2024, in a well near their burned pickup truck. After a month-long trial, the men were also convicted of armed robbery and armed carjacking. Prosecutors said García shot the victims when they resisted an attempt to steal parts from their truck; his former partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, testified that he approached their tent with a 9mm pistol and ignored a plea for one victim’s life. Sentencing is set for Oct. 16, with the Baja California attorney general seeking 210 years in prison for each defendant; Silva Raya was sentenced in November 2025 to 20 years after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery and violent vehicle theft.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 3 articles
3 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 3 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Martin Robinson, María Elena Andrade Ramírez, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, Judge Raúl Hernández and Debra Robinson
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 1 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: court ruling, court testimony
- Credits another outlet 0 of 3
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- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 10, 00:15 UTC by CBS News, naming its source. First document the next day, from Fox News (court ruling).
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only right-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
The Guardian reported it on 2026-09-28.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has not reported these convictions at all. Right-leaning coverage says an Ensenada judge found the defendants guilty of murdering Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and American Carter Rhoad after a Baja California surfing trip. The same coverage adds armed robbery and armed carjacking. NY Post and Fox News both describe the bodies being found in a well. They also note prosecutors are seeking 210 years. A reader of only left-leaning outlets would not know a verdict was returned.
Right-leaning write-ups diverge on the confession. Fox News, unlike the NY Post, quotes García saying, "I killed them." The other piece instead notes that the surfers' pickup was badly burnt.
What evidence showed the co-defendants took part in the killings rather than only the robbery?
Bottom line
Left-leaning outlets have not mentioned the Ensenada guilty verdicts at all. The NY Post reported that prosecutors want 210 years for each defendant.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- An Ensenada judge found Jesús Gerardo García, Irineo Francisco, and Ángel Jesús guilty of murdering Callum and Jake Robinson and Carter Rhoad
- Ary Gisell Silva Raya was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November 2025 after a guilty plea
- Prosecutors said Silva Raya met the surfers on April 27, 2024, and urged a companion to rob them
- Prosecutors said the attackers wanted tires from the surfers' pickup truck
- García approached the surfers' tent with a 9 mm pistol
- One of the tourists pleaded for his life during the attack
The Right View
Right-leaning outlets including the New York Post and Fox News reported the guilty verdicts as a major development in a 2024 triple homicide, stressing the victims’ identities as two Australian brothers and an American friend killed on a Baja surfing trip, the recovery of their bodies from a well, and testimony that one tourist begged for his life. Coverage highlighted the Robinson family’s pursuit of justice, father Martin Robinson’s description of the verdict as a significant moment, and prosecutors’ request for 210-year sentences, along with Silva Raya’s earlier 20-year sentence and the account that the men were killed after confronting thieves who wanted tires from their pickup. Center-source CBS News reported the same verdict, trial length, family presence in court, and sentencing date, including mother Debra Robinson’s statement that the murders took the future the family had imagined with their sons.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it rests on a completed criminal trial, a named judge’s guilty findings, named defendants and victims, a state prosecutor’s case, recorded testimony, a prior related sentence, and a set sentencing date—checkable court and official facts, not one party’s uncorroborated word. Established is that a Mexican court found the three men guilty of murder, armed robbery, and armed carjacking in the April 2024 deaths of Callum Robinson, Jake Robinson, and Carter Rhoad, whose bodies were recovered from a well on May 3, 2024; Silva Raya’s 20-year sentence after a guilty plea is also established. How the killings unfolded was presented at trial as evidence and formed the basis of the convictions. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for the Oct. 16 sentencing, the written judgment, and any appeals or further statements from Baja California authorities.
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