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6 months ago
30
EXCLUSIVE
The heartbroken girlfriend of one of the Australian surfer brothers killed with their friend in a bungled robbery in Mexico has spoken out in the wake of his murder.
Callum and Jake Robinson and their American mate Jack Carter Rhoad were last seen on April 27 in the Mexican province of Baja California.
Mexican authorities said bandits attacked the three to steal the tyres off their truck before killing them all and dumping their bodies in a well.
Baja prosecutors released grisly details of the slayings, and officially confirmed the identification of the bodies on Monday morning.
The Robinson brothers' family had flown to Mexico to view the bodies to help with grim task of officially identifying the remains.
In the wake of the tragedy, Callum’s girlfriend Emily Horwath shared a heartfelt tribute on social media.
‘You are one of one,’ she wrote alongside a photograph of the couple sharing a kiss. ‘I will love you forever.’
Callum’s girlfriend Emily Horwath shared a heartfelt tribute on social media
‘You are one of one,’ she wrote alongside a photograph of the couple sharing a kiss. ‘I will love you forever.’
She also posted an Instagram story which said: 'My heart is shattered into a million pieces, I don't have the words right now.'
The US-based couple had travelled from their home in San Diego to Australia over Christmas and New Year, and shared photographs online from Melbourne and Perth.
Police say they found three abandoned tents south of Ensenada, which were splattered with blood, according to local media.
The three men were about 90 minutes' drive south of the US-Mexico border when they disappeared just a few days into the trip.
The brothers' mother issued a desperate plea on social media after the group failed to turn up at an Airbnb they had booked in Rosarito.
Mexican authorities also found shell casings at the campsite where the three men were last seen with further investigations leading them to the well about 2km away.
Three bodies, as well as a fourth body believed to be a local rancher, were discovered on Saturday in the clifftop well overlooking the ocean.
The Robinson brothers attended Coachella before going to Mexico to surf. Callum was based in the U.S. where he was a lacrosse player known as 'the Big Koala', and Jake, who worked in regional hospitals across Australia, had flown out two weeks ago to visit him
Australian brothers Jake, 30, (left) and Callum Robinson, 33, (right) (centre: pictured with their parents) were last seen with their American friend on April 27
The loved-up couple travelled to Australia for the last Christmas holidays
Prosecutors released grisly details of the slayings, but have not yet officially confirmed the identification of the bodies, including 30-year-old American Jack Carter Rhoad (pictured)
It took rescuers up to 20 hours to pull the bodies out of the well, with physical characteristics, including hair and clothes, matching the three men.
It comes as Attorney-General María Andrade Ramírez said the murder investigation would probe whether the men were killed in an attempted robbery.
She said the thieves were likely interested in the mens' truck, a white Chevrolet Colorado pickup, and more specifically in the tyres.
'The probability that it's them is very high,' Andrade Ramírez said.
'When they tried to get the vehicle, the victims opposed the robbery, the robbers were armed with a firearm and apparently shot the victims.'
Three Mexicans, Jesus Gerardo Garcia Cota, alias El Kekas, his girlfriend, Ari Gisel Garcia Cota, and his brother, Christian Alejandro Garcia, were arrested on Wednesday and charged with forced kidnapping.
Police believe the trio's vehicle was later found burnt-out in the Santo Tomás area (pictured)
Ari Gisel García Cota, 23, is one of three suspects arrested. She is reportedly the partner of Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota, who was also arrested
Brothers Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota and Cristian Alejandro García were two of the three arrested. It is unclear which brother is which in their mugshots
Ms García Cota, 23, reportedly had one of the missing men's mobile phones.
It is understood police were able to make the arrests after one of the brothers' mobile phones was turned back on, and pinged a local mobile tower.
All three suspects were found in possession of an assortment of methamphetamines and other illegal drugs, according to local outlets Zeta and Talk Baja.
Baja California, where the men shared their vacation snaps, is known as one of Mexico's most violent, cartel-controlled states.
The disappearance of the men has not been linked to organised crime, but investigators are not ruling anything out.
In social media posts shared by Callum just before they vanished, the trio was seen relaxing at Rosarito Beach, where they were said to be surfing and camping as they moved up and down Mexico's west coast.
They reportedly planned to move on to Ensenada, about 50 miles (80km) down the coast, but concerns were raised when they failed to check into an Airbnb on Sunday.
The last image posted to Callum's Instagram showed the group had made it to San Miguel beach in Ensenada before vanishing without a trace.
One chilling picture showed their white Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck at a beach in Rosarito, which police believe was the same vehicle later discovered burned out.
'... and it begins,' Callum had captioned an image of the truck at the beach, alongside an emoji of the Mexican flag, at the start of the trio's doomed trip.
The Robinson brothers had attended Coachella before going to Mexico to surf.
Callum was based in the U.S. where he was an accomplished lacrosse player known as 'the Big Koala', and his brother Jake, who worked in regional hospitals across Australia, had flown out to San Diego two weeks ago to visit him.
Rhoad worked in technology services in San Diego.
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