Parents of Australian brothers killed in Mexico to visit scene as they await verdict

Ensenada, Mexico: The grief-stricken parents of Jake and Callum Robinson will return to the remote location on Mexico’s north-west coast where their sons died for a private memorial ceremony as they await a verdict next week in the murder trial of the three accused killers.

Debra and Martin Robinson are expected to make the journey on Thursday (Mexican time) from Ensenada to the beachside spot where the Mexican nationals are accused of killing the Australian brothers and their American friend, Carter Rhoad, in April 2024.

On Wednesday, the judge overseeing the trial scheduled closing arguments for next Thursday, with a verdict to be delivered the following day – just hours before the Robinsons are due to return to Perth after spending the past four weeks in Mexico for the trial.

Debra Robinson stood in court on Wednesday to thank the judge and ask for a verdict to be delivered before she and her husband head home. She told the court they had flights booked for next Friday night.

“If there is any possibility of the verdict being delivered before then – even if the sentencing occurs at a later date – we would be extraordinarily grateful,” she said as her voice quivered.

“It would mean so much for us, as parents of Jake and Callum, to be here for the verdict. We have travelled such a long way to seek justice for our sons and Carter.”

The judge scheduled the verdict for 10am next Friday, when the court would not ordinarily sit.

Following the hearing, Debra Robinson said it had been “an incredibly difficult and emotional few weeks”.

“We are deeply grateful for all the support and kindness we have received since we have been here,” she said outside court.

“To everybody back home in Australia and around the world, we feel your love and your arms around us. It is giving us strength during some difficult days.

“As you know, we don’t want to comment on the proceedings while the trial is ongoing out of respect for the court and its process. We will wait for the verdict before we speak any further.

“Right now, our focus is on Callum, Jake and Carter – on honouring them, their memory and seeing the process through.”

The Robinsons have attended every day of the four-week trial, sitting within a few metres of the three men accused of murdering their sons, inside a small, beige courtroom under fluorescent white lights.

On Wednesday, the accused sat in bright orange prison jumpsuits with their ankles cuffed to each other, as two police stood behind them.

It was initially thought a verdict could be delivered as soon as this week. At Wednesday’s hearing, which lasted less than an hour, the defence opted not to cross-examine two key witnesses: a former girlfriend of alleged ringleader Jesus Gerardo, also known as “El Kekas”, and her son.

Both are in witness protection and cannot be identified. No further witnesses are due to appear.

The prosecution alleges the Robinson brothers and Rhoad, all in their early 30s, were killed in a robbery gone wrong in a remote beachside area of Baja California, where they were camping during a surfing holiday.

The accused allegedly sought to steal the men’s ute. When the campers tried to defend themselves, the attackers pulled out a gun and shot them before throwing their bodies down a well, the prosecution alleged.

Lawyers for the defendants argued there was not enough evidence to prove the three men were involved in the deaths of the Robinson brothers and Rhoad.

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

El Kekas and the two other accused men, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus, have been charged with aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery committed at night, violent robbery and vehicle theft with violence. Prosecutors have asked for 200-year sentences for each of them.

There is no jury: the verdict will be delivered by a judge alone. He has presided over the trial since the original judge was involved in an accident the weekend before proceedings began.

Australian consular staff are providing support to the Robinson family in Ensenada, and it is expected that Australia’s ambassador to Mexico, Crispin Conroy, will travel to the Pacific Coast city for the verdict.

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