How a beach trip in Mexico's Baja California turned deadly for surfers from Australia and the US

MEXICO CITY -- Two Australians and an American were doing what they loved connected the stunning, mostly isolated agelong of Baja California's Pacific coast. Their past images connected societal media showed them sitting and gazing astatine the waves, contemplating the breaks.

What happened to extremity their lives whitethorn person been arsenic random arsenic a passing pickup motortruck afloat of radical with sick intent. The surfers were changeable successful the head, their bodies dumped successful a covered good miles away. How it unfolded was the worldly of nightmares.

Brothers Jake and Callum Robinson from Australia and American Jack Carter Rhoad had seemingly stopped to surf the breaks betwixt Punta San José, astir 50 miles southbound of Ensenada, and La Bocana, further northbound connected the coast. They were attacked determination connected April 28 oregon 29.

As soon arsenic constabulary arrived astatine their past known campy site, it was wide that thing had gone violently wrong.

There were bloodstains and marks "as if dense objects had been dragged," starring to suspicions of an attack, the Baja California authorities prosecutor's bureau said successful an effort to reconstruct the scene.

Chief authorities authoritative María Elena Andrade Ramírez described what apt would person been moments of panic that ended the travel for the 3 men.

She theorized the killers drove by and saw the foreigners' pickup motortruck and tents and wanted to bargain the truck's tires and different parts. But "when (the foreigners) came up and caught them, surely, they resisted."

She said that's erstwhile the killers would person changeable the men. She said they were apt not attacked due to the fact that they were tourists. "The grounds suggests they (the killers) did not cognize wherever they were from."

Andrade Ramírez said the reconstruction of events was based connected the forensic examiner's reports, noting each 3 had slug wounds to the head.

There was a hurried effort to destruct evidence. The foreigners' tents were seemingly burned. The pickup motortruck was driven miles distant and burned. The assailants' motortruck was aboriginal recovered with a weapon inside.

Then, astatine "a tract that is highly hard to get to," the bodies were dumped into a good astir 4 miles (6 kilometers) away. Investigators were amazed when, underneath the bodies of the 3 foreigners, a 4th assemblage was recovered that had been determination overmuch longer.

"They had to person erstwhile cognition of it," Andrade Ramírez said of the attackers, acknowledging the anticipation they were down the erstwhile killing.

The good had been covered with boards. "It was virtually astir intolerable to find it," Andrade Ramírez said. It took 2 hours to winch the bodies out.

Prosecutors person said they were questioning 3 radical successful the killings. Two were caught with methamphetamines. One of them, a woman, had 1 of the victims' cellphones erstwhile she was caught. Prosecutors said the 2 were being held pending cause charges but proceed to beryllium suspects successful the killings.

A 3rd antheral was arrested connected charges of a transgression equivalent to kidnapping, but that was earlier the bodies were found. It was unclear if helium mightiness look much charges.

The 3rd antheral was believed to person straight participated successful the killings. In keeping with Mexican law, prosecutors identified him by his archetypal name, Jesús Gerardo, alias "el Kekas," a slang connection that means quesadillas, oregon food tortillas.

Andrade Ramírez said helium had a transgression grounds that included cause dealing, conveyance theft and home violence, adding, "We are definite that much radical were involved."

She emphasized that she could not sermon thing related to the suspects, oregon their imaginable statements, due to the fact that that was not allowed nether Mexican instrumentality and mightiness prejudice the lawsuit against them.

Andrade Ramírez noted that the victims' families said the brothers and Rhoad had travel galore times to the seaside spot and ne'er had immoderate problem. This time, however, "there was nary mode to inquire for assistance erstwhile the attackers showed up."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said connected Tuesday helium had requested an accidental to talk to the brothers' parents Deborah and Martin Robinson.

"This is simply a unspeakable calamity and my bosom goes retired to them. To place these fantastic young men and they person been travelling successful Mexico. We've been dealing with them done the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I've indicated that I privation to talk to them astatine an due clip of their choosing," Albanese told reporters successful the Queensland authorities municipality of Rockhampton.