Sentence handed down in Ensenada

A court in Mexico sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each over the killings of two Australian brothers and their American friend. Judge Raúl Hernández announced the ruling on Friday, 16 October 2026, in Ensenada, the Pacific coast surfing town where the trial took place. Prosecutors had requested 210 years for each defendant, according to Deutsche Welle, but the maximum penalty in Baja California, the state where Ensenada lies, is 60 years. The same term applies to all three defendants. The judge found the three acted with premeditation, treachery and advantage, and the killings caused international outrage.

Sentence per defendant158.75

Prosecution request210

Maximum in Baja California60

Sentence per defendant

158.75 years

Prosecution request

210 years

Maximum in Baja California

60 years

Data from the article text

The killings and the scene

The victims were two Australian brothers, aged 30 and 33, and their 30-year-old American friend, all killed while on a surf trip in Baja California in 2024. Deutsche Welle reports that their bodies were found with gunshot wounds to the head on a cliff. Telegraaf describes the scene differently, placing the bodies in a pit several metres deep, and reports that robbers tried to rob the men and killed them when they resisted. The Guardian describes the killings as a suspected robbery while the men travelled through Mexico. According to the Guardian, the convictions covered homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft involving violence, and the defendants had been found guilty about a week before sentencing.

Trial and family

The trial opened on 7 September in Ensenada, according to The Guardian. The victims' parents travelled from Australia for the proceedings, and relatives followed the final hearing by video call. Before announcing the sentence, the judge interviewed the family again and allowed prosecutors and defence lawyers to argue on the penalty. Mexican law bars publication of the defendants' full names until the written sentence is published, which Deutsche Welle says is due within a week. The victims' parents have set up a foundation in their sons' names.

Safety on Mexico's Pacific coast

Baja California ranks among Mexico's most violent states, with organised crime and drug trafficking. The Guardian notes that cartel activity does not usually affect tourists, but other foreign visitors have been attacked in criminal incidents along the Pacific coast. In 2015, two Australian surfers were killed in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, and their bodies were later burned. Reports describe this case as a suspected robbery rather than cartel violence.