Three men accused in the 2024 killings of two Australian brothers and their American friend went on trial Monday in Mexico’s Baja California state, according to court officials.
The defendants face charges of murder and aggravated robbery in connection with the deaths of the three victims, who disappeared while camping and surfing at a remote beach in Baja.
Jesús Gerardo García, also known as “El Kekas,” appeared in court in the coastal city of Ensenada alongside two other defendants identified as Irineo Francisco N. and Ángel Jesús N. They are charged in the deaths of Callum Ryan Robinson, 33, Jake Martin Robinson, 30, and Jack Carter Rhoad, 30.
The surnames of the latter two defendants were not released, in accordance with Mexican criminal procedure.
The victims’ bodies were discovered several days after they vanished, discarded in a shaft near a cliff top. Authorities said each had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
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Martin Robinson, the father of the Australian brothers, attended the hearing with his wife.
“I know they would want us to be here; they would do the same for us,” he told reporters before entering the courthouse.
Prosecutors say the men were killed during an attempt to steal their pickup truck, which was later found burned near their bodies.
García former partner, Silva Raya, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year after admitting she instigated the robbery to steal the pickup’s tires.
The trial is due to continue Tuesday.