It Was Supposed to Be a Dream Surfing Trip. Then 3 Friends Wound Up Murdered and Thrown Down a Well

Three friends — two Australians and an American — traveled to Mexico for a week of surfing and camping. Instead, their trip ended in tragedy.

One of the suspects in the April 2024 killings has now been sentenced. Ari Gisell Silva Raya, 23, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Nov. 21, to instigating the murders of brothers Jake Robinson, 30, of Victoria, Australia, and Callum Robinson, 33, of San Diego, along with their friend Carter Rhoad, 30, also of San Diego, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Silva Raya received a total sentence of 20 years: 14 years for robbery of a vehicle with violence and an additional six years for robbery with violence, ABC News Australia reported. She was also fined 54,285 Mexican pesos (about $4,563).

The three men were last seen on April 27 while camping and surfing along the Baja California coast south of Ensenada. Early in the trip, Callum Robinson shared an Instagram photo of their white pickup loaded with gear, captioned, “…and it begins.”

They later surfed in San Miguel — the final known spot where they were seen before vanishing.

On May 2, 2024, their bodies were discovered at the bottom of a roughly 50-foot well after a search was launched, authorities said at the time. Each man had been shot in the head. A fourth body was found in the same well, though investigators said that death was unrelated.

Prosecutors allege the attack began as a deadly carjacking. In court, they said Silva Raya encountered the group, noticed their truck, and alerted her then-boyfriend, Jesús Gerardo García Cota, allegedly urging him to take valuables and parts for her own vehicle — including a phone and tires.

Investigators believe that later that night, between about 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., García Cota — known as “El Kekas” — traveled with his brother Irineo Francisco García Montaño and another man, Ángel Jesús León Aguilera, to Punta San José, where the surfers were camping. Prosecutors say the three men killed the victims and stole their truck and belongings. All three remain in custody and have pleaded not guilty while awaiting trial.

At Silva Raya’s sentencing, relatives of the victims spoke to the court by video, describing a loss that still feels unbearable.

“Our hearts are broken beyond repair,” the Robinson brothers’ mother, Debra Robinson, said, adding that the quiet at home is overwhelming and constant.

Their father, Martin Robinson, said he could not understand why the men were targeted and told the court he felt the sentence was too short.

Carter Rhoad’s widow, Natalie Weirtz, also addressed the hearing, saying her husband had been her “love” and her “safety,” and that life without him has become a nightmare.