Verdict in Mexico set for Friday morning, hours before parents return to Australia

Ensenada, Mexico: The grief-stricken parents of Jake and Callum Robinson made an emotional plea to the court as the trial of three Mexican men accused of murdering the two Australians neared its conclusion on Wednesday.

The judge set a date for closing arguments next Thursday (Mexico time), and a verdict the following day – just hours before Debra and Martin Robinson are due to fly back to Perth after spending the past four weeks in Ensenada for the trial.

Debra Robinson stood up in court on Wednesday to thank the judge and ask for a verdict to be delivered before she and her husband are due to 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 Robinson brothers’ American friend, Carter Rhoad, was also killed in April 2024 in what the prosecution alleged was a robbery gone wrong in a remote beachside area of Baja California.

The judge partly acceded to the Robinsons’ request by scheduling the verdict at 10am on Friday (Mexico time) 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 told reporters 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.”

Debra and Martin Robinson 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 lights.

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

It was initially believed a verdict could be delivered as soon as this week. In 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, who is also known as El Kekas, and her son.

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

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 a ute being used by the Robinson brothers and Rhoad.

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 are asking for 200-year sentences for each of the accused.

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

Prosecutors alleged the Robinson brothers and Rhoad were camping in a rural area of Ensenada, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, in April 2024 when the group of Mexican men attacked them in an attempt to steal their pick-up truck.

When the victims tried to defend themselves, the attackers pulled out a firearm and shot them before throwing their bodies down a well, the prosecution alleged.

The defence argued there was not enough evidence to prove the three men were involved in the crime.

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