Accused Killer Described as 'Assassin' in Mexican Murder Trial

A witness in a Mexican murder trial has told the court that one of the accused killers, Jesús Gerardo, was an assassin with a list of targets. The trial is investigating the deaths of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend, Carter Rhoad, who were killed while on a surfing trip in Baja California in April 2024.

The three accused men, Jesús Gerardo, Irineo Francisco, and Ángel Jesús, are facing aggravated homicide charges over the deaths. Gisell, 23, the former girlfriend of Jesús Gerardo, testified in the murder trial in Ensenada on Monday local time.

Gisell, who was convicted of instigating a robbery that ultimately led to the alleged murders, told the court that Jesús Gerardo, also known as "El Kekas", described to her how he killed the men and joked about how they cried. He said one of them pleaded, "Please don't kill me because I have a wife", Gisell told the court, adding he told her, "You would have seen how beautifully they cried" if she was there.

Gisell testified that Jesús Gerardo was a hit man who always carried a gun with him and had a list of people who he planned to kill. She had previously testified that Jesús Gerardo confessed to the killings, telling the court at the time he said, "I f***ed up three gringos … I killed them."

In her testimony on Monday, Gisell provided details about the day the Robinson brothers and Carter Rhoad were killed. She said she previously could not remember many of the details because of her drug use, but has since been sober for more than two years in prison.

Gisell told the court they first met the Robinson brothers and Carter Rhoad at Punta San José, a remote surfing location where the tourists were camping. The court heard Jesús Gerardo told her to ask the men for fuel because their car was empty. Gisell described the tourists as very "kind" and "friendly", and said they offered to share their fuel.

"I told El Kekas they had good tyres, and good phones," she said, but told the court she was not encouraging him to rob the men. Gisell said she and Jesús Gerardo left the beach and returned to his mother's home, but he and his stepson later went back to the beach.

She told the court the stepson took a shirt to wrap around his face to hide his identity because "it was going to be his first job". Gisell recalled being told that the victims threw their car keys and wallets out of their camping tent and "begged not to be killed".

"Gerardo told me that he had shot one of them with a gun when they opened the tent door," Gisell told the court. Jesús Gerardo and the stepson later returned to his mother's home in the tourists' car, which Gisell said was splattered with blood.

She said when Jesús Gerardo came back he had three phones in his pocket, two chain necklaces, and his boots were covered in blood. The court heard he mocked his stepson because he was too afraid to participate in the killings, joking that "without [his stepson's] help, they wouldn't have been able to do anything", Gisell said.

Gisell told the court she did not ask Jesús Gerardo any questions about the incident because she was afraid of him due to his reputation as a hit man, and because he was violent. She later found out about the two other accused killers' involvement when Jesús Gerardo was boasting about how he killed the three foreigners, she told the court.

Gisell also said the Robinson brothers and Carter Rhoad were good people who deserved justice, and she empathised with their parents as a mother herself. The trial was initially expected to take four weeks, but is now expected to take longer due to a sudden change in the presiding judge, and scheduling issues.