The three men were convicted of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad during a surfing trip in Baja California in April 2024.

A Mexican court has sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend during a surfing trip in Baja California in 2024.

The sentences were handed down on Friday, October 16, by a judge in Ensenada, a coastal city in the northwestern Mexican state, following the defendants’ convictions a week earlier.

The victims were identified as Australian brothers Jake Robinson, 33, and Callum Robinson, 30, and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30.

The three men sentenced were Jesús Gerardo García, known as “El Kekas”, Irineo Francisco “N” and Ángel Jesús “N”. They were convicted of homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence, according to Reuters.

The court also ordered the defendants to pay compensation to the victims’ families, a judicial official told Reuters.

The three friends travelled to Baja California in late April 2024 for a surfing trip. They were camping near Punta San José, about 80 kilometres south of Ensenada, when they were reported missing.

Authorities launched a search, with assistance from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. Their bodies were discovered on May 3, 2024, at the bottom of a well more than 15 metres deep.

The victims had gunshot wounds to the head, while their pickup truck was later found burned several kilometres away.

Prosecutors said the attackers sought to steal the tyres from the surfers’ vehicle and resorted to violence when the victims resisted the robbery.

García was identified as the principal perpetrator, while Francisco and Ángel Jesús were convicted alongside him.

Ary Gisell Silva Raya, García’s former partner, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November 2025 after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence.

She had been arrested days after the victims’ bodies were discovered, with authorities reporting that a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims was found in her possession.

The three men, however, proceeded to trial and were found guilty in October 2026.

The case attracted international attention and raised concerns about the safety of foreign visitors in parts of Mexico.

Page Rhoad, the mother of the American victim, said after the sentencing that although the punishment could not undo the loss, she was relieved that the men would no longer be able to harm others, Reuters reported.

The parents of the Australian brothers also followed the proceedings as the case reached its conclusion.

The Baja California State Attorney General’s Office had sought a sentence of 210 years for each defendant.

The defence has indicated that it intends to appeal the sentences, according to Australia’s ABC News.