Three men were each sentenced to 158 years in prison for the murders of Australian and American surfers in Mexico

Brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend Carter Road were killed in an apparently botched robbery while on a surfing trip.

By Will Grant, BBC Mexico correspondent and Joel Guinto, BBC News

A Mexican judge sentenced three men accused of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rudd to 158 years and nine months each.

The Robinsons and Rudd are killed in an apparently botched robbery of their truck on a deserted beach in Baja California in 2024 while on a surfing trip.

The murders sent shockwaves around the world, particularly in Australia, as the region is usually spared the violence seen in other parts of Mexico.

The guilty verdict was issued last week. The brothers' mother, Debra Robinson, told the court that her sons' murders took away "the future we envisioned for them."

The full names of the convicted killers cannot be released for legal reasons and they have only been identified as Jesus Gerardo, Irinio Francisco and Angel Jesus.

In November last year, the accused leader's girlfriend, Jesus Gerardo (alias "El Cecas"), was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a separate court. He had confessed to being involved in the robbery.

The court heard that the bodies of the victims were dumped in a well with gunshots to the head.

At the time, the murders shocked locals and tourists in the coastal town of Ensenada, who were disturbed by the sheer ease and senselessness of the killings.

Ensenada has a reputation as a welcoming place for surfers, but the gruesome murders showed just how common such extreme violence is in Mexico.

The only explanation authorities could come up with was that the surfers - all in their early 30s - had ended up murdered by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Their murders occurred approximately 36 hours after they crossed into Mexico from the United States. Their bodies were not found until a week later when their families were able to identify them.

Local surfers also called for more security for residents and visiting tourists, citing recent examples of violence in the state. Tourism is a key part of the regional economy in Baja California.