Australian surfer killed in Mexico eulogized by mother on San Diego beach

The mother of two Australian surfers killed in Mexico gave a moving tribute to her sons on a San Diego beach on Tuesday.

“Our hearts are broken and the world has become a darker place for us,” said Debra Robinson, fighting back tears. “They were young men who enjoyed their passion for surfing together.”

Her sons Callum and Jake were allegedly killed by car thieves on April 28 or 29 in Baja California, across the border from San Diego.

MEXICAN AUTHORITIES DISCOVER BIZARRE REASONS WHY THEY BELIEVE AUSTRALIANS AND AMERICANS WERE MURDERED ON SURFING VACATION

Robinson also mourned the American Jack Carter Rhoad, who was killed with them.

The beach location where she spoke, across the border from the city of Tijuana in Baja California, was no coincidence. She noted that her son Callum “considered the United States his second home.”

Robinson noted that her son Jake loved surfing so much that he enjoyed working as a doctor in hospitals near the beach.

Australian citizen Debra Robinson and her husband Martin speak to the media on the beach in San Diego on May 7, 2024, after their two sons died during a surfing trip in Mexico. (Channel 9/POOL via AP)

“Jake’s passion was surfing and it was no coincidence that many of the hospitals he worked at were near surfing beaches,” she said.

Choking back tears, Robinson delivered a final message consistent with her sons’ adventurous lifestyle.

“Live bigger, shine brighter and love stronger in your memory,” she said.

Robinson thanked Australian officials and supporters there and in the United States.

While she thanked the Mexican ambassador to Australia, she notably did not thank the local officials in Baja California who eventually found the bodies of her sons and Carter Rhoad.

Their killers dumped the men’s bodies in a well about 4 miles from where they were attacked at a beach campsite. Investigators were surprised when, among the bodies of the three foreigners, a fourth body was found that had been there for much longer. It was unclear whether the body was related to the current case.

The fact that such murderers are not caught or stopped in the vast majority of cases in Mexico has led some Mexicans to protest that authorities only investigate such disappearances when they are high-profile cases involving foreigners are.

Robinson said her sons’ bodies or their ashes would eventually be returned to Australia.

“Now it’s time to bring them home to families and friends,” she said. “And the ocean awaits in Australia.”

Prosecutors have identified three people as potential suspects, two of whom were caught with methamphetamines. One of them, a woman, was in possession of one of the victims’ cell phones when she was caught. Prosecutors said the two were being held on drug charges but remained suspects in the murders.

A third man was arrested for a crime amounting to kidnapping, but before the bodies were found. It was unclear when or if he would face further charges.

The third man is said to have been directly involved in the murders. Under Mexican law, prosecutors identified him by his first name, Jesús Gerardo, aka “el Kekas,” a slang word meaning quesadillas, or tortillas filled with cheese.

He had a criminal record that included drug trafficking, vehicle theft and domestic violence, and authorities said they were sure more people were involved.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a radio station in the Robinsons’ hometown of Perth, Western Australia, that all parents were grieving the family’s loss.

“I think the nation’s heart goes out to Callum and Jake Robinson’s parents. It is every parent’s worst nightmare to lose a son or daughter. Losing these two brothers is simply terrible and I extend my deepest sympathy and condolences. “Surely the whole nation goes out to the parents and other family and friends of these two great young Australians,” Albanese told Perth Radio 6PR.

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Albanese said he was reminded of this when his only child, Nathan Albanese, traveled to Spain for a music festival last year at age 22.

“You’re worried, but you also think that it’s part of Australian travel law, that you’re traveling around with a backpack and meeting people and it’s also making you grow as a person, so you want to encourage them,” Albanese said.

In 2015, two Australian surfers, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, were killed in the western state of Sinaloa, across the Gulf of California – also known as the Sea of ​​Cortez – from the Baja Peninsula. Authorities said they were victims of muggers. Three suspects were arrested in this case.