A woman has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for her role in a robbery in which three men, including two Australian brothers, were killed in Mexico last year.
Ari Gisell, 23, is the first person to be sentenced in connection with the killings of Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend, Carter Rhoad, while they were on a surfing trip in Baja California, along Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Prosecutor Raúl Gerardo Cobo Montejano said Gisell was the instigator of the attack on the tourists.
She is the ex-girlfriend of Jesús Gerardo, also known as “El Kekas”, who has been framed as the ringleader and charged with murder along with two other men.
Jake, a 31-year-old doctor from Perth, had travelled to California to meet up with his brother Callum, 32, who had been living in the US for 12 years after moving over to play lacrosse.
They then travelled south to Mexico to go camping and surfing, using a car to get around, until they were reported missing in April 2024.
Gisell was sentenced to 14 years in jail for robbery of a vehicle with violence and an additional six years for robbery with violence.
She was also fined 54,285 Mexican pesos ($AU4,563).
The victims’ loved ones, including Jake and Callum’s parents, directly addressed Gisell in emotional statements delivered via a video link to the court room.
Callum and Jake’s father, Martin Robinson, said he accepted the sentence but did not think it was long enough.
He said he would “never understand why you had to rob these young men”.
Jake Robinson (right) had travelled to America to visit his brother Callum (left). (Supplied: Instagram)
Debra Robinson, the mother of the two boys, later read from a prepared statement, saying her sons’ futures had been stolen from them.
She remembered Jake as an extraordinary doctor who was compassionate and generous and said Callum was a great sportsman who showed strength when it was needed.
Ms Robinson said both her boys were greatly loved and that more than 1,000 people attended their funeral.
“Now it’s only silence in our house. The grief is constant,” she said.
“We were proud of them because they were kind, generous, compassionate and happy.
“We dreamed of seeing them grow older, of having children. That’s all taken now. We live with their absence.”
The mother of Carter Rhoad, Paige Rhoad, also attended the court hearing virtually along with his widow, Natalie Rhoad.
“Carter was the love of my life,” Natalie said.
“He was my safety in the world. My life is now a nightmare.”
Paige said her son had visited her in a dream and told her to forgive Gisell.
She said that she had not been able to forgive the woman yet but would continue to pray for her, and for her son to rest in peace.
The alleged role of Ari Gisell in the murder
After the victims’ families spoke, Gisell addressed the court in English.
She was crying as she spoke directly to the victims’ families, apologising for her role in the crimes that saw their loved ones killed.
Ari Gisell was initially considered a cooperative witness but was later charged. (Supplied)
She said she knew there was not anything she could say to make them feel better but she would focus on being a better person.
The single mother said she had lost her family because of her role in the crimes.
Prosecutors say Gisell, along with the three men accused of the murders, crossed paths with the victims at a beach in Punta San Jose, near the city of Ensenada.
They say a witness heard Gisell express interest in the tyres of the car the tourists were driving and tell her then boyfriend, Jesús Gerardo, that she would like them for herself.
Later that day, after dropping Gisell off at her home, prosecutors say Jesús Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús happened upon the victims as they were driving the vehicle.
Prosecutor wants 210 years’ jail for brothers’ accused killers
The accused men followed the car to a remote spot where the foreigners were camping.
Then they robbed them before shooting the three men dead.
A fourth man, who was with the accused, has been a co-operative witness, according to prosecutors. They do not believe he was responsible for the murders or robbery.
Authorities are continuing to look for a fourth suspected murderer.
The prosecutor says he knows the nickname of the suspect but will not release that information to the public.
Three men accused of murders yet to enter plea
Baja California is known for high levels of cartel activity.
The official prosecution hypothesis is that there is no connection between the murders and organised crime.
But in July, the ABC revealed that court documents alleged Jesús Gerardo and Irineo Francisco had links to Mexico’s notoriously violent Sinaloa cartel.
The cartel linked to Australian surfers’ murders is at war with itself
They are in custody in high-security “El Hongo” prison in the Mexican desert after being moved from a local jail because of concerns about their alleged cartel links.
The third man accused of the murders, Ángel Jesús, is in a lower-security facility in Ensenada.
The full names of the defendants have been withheld under Mexican legal conventions.
None of the three men have entered formal pleas and their trial date is yet to be set.
Last week, Jesús Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús appeared in the same court where the prosecutor said he was seeking 210-year prison terms for each for the three homicides.
Additionally, Jesús Gerardo is facing a 168-year sentence for the forced disappearance of the men.
The three men had rejected plea deals that would have seen them receive sentences of between 47 and 52 years.
