The verdict in the trial of three Mexican men accused of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad has been scheduled for Friday, after the brothers’ mother made an emotional plea to remain in Mexico for the decision.
Closing arguments will be heard next Thursday, with the judge setting the verdict for 10am the following day. The timing falls just hours before Debra and Martin Robinson are due to fly back to Perth after spending four weeks in Ensenada attending the proceedings.
Ms Robinson stood in court on Wednesday and asked whether the verdict could be delivered before their flight on 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.
“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 agreed to hold the verdict hearing on a day when the court would not ordinarily sit. No further witnesses are expected to give evidence after the defence chose not to cross-examine two key prosecution witnesses during a hearing lasting less than an hour.
The witnesses, a former girlfriend of alleged ringleader Jesus Gerardo, also known as El Kekas, and her son, are both in witness protection and cannot be identified.
Trial of three men accused of murdering Australian brothers
Jake and Callum Robinson were killed during a surfing trip in Mexico in April 2024, along with Mr Rhoad. Prosecutors allege the three men were killed during a robbery that went wrong in a remote beachside area of Baja California.
Throughout the four-week trial, Debra and Martin Robinson have sat only a few metres from the three accused men in a small courtroom in Ensenada. The defendants appeared on Wednesday in orange prison uniforms, with their ankles cuffed together and two police officers standing behind them.
After the hearing, Ms Robinson said the proceedings had been “an incredibly difficult and emotional few weeks”.
“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,” she said.
She added that the family would not comment further on the proceedings until the verdict, saying their focus was on Callum, Jake and Carter, “on honouring them, their memory and seeing the process through”.
