Fourth person named in suspected Mexico murder of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson as case due to return to court next week
The ABC has named Irineo Francisco as the fourth person expected to be tried alongside three other people who were arrested in the early stages of the investigation into the murder.
Perth brothers Callum, 33, and Jake, 30, and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, were killed while on a surfing trip in the Mexican state of Baja California, a remote area known to be plagued by violent cartels.
The trio were reported missing on April 27 and their bodies were found on May 3 at the bottom of a 10 to 15 metre unused well.
Initial inquiries determined the surfers were killed execution-style in an armed robbery when they tried to fight back against their truck being stolen.
Miguel Ángel Gaxiola Rodríguez, the Mexican prosecutor leading the case against the suspected murderers of the trio says there is still no evidence of cartel involvement, and instead maintains the primary motive for the killings was to steal the brothers' tyres.
Mr Gaxiola Rodríguez also told the ABC the prosecutors will continue to pursue the robbery-gone-wrong theory with the case expected to return to court next week.
"It appears that the perpetrators identified an opportunity for robbery when they encountered the foreigners in a highly isolated location," he said. "These individuals exploited the circumstances to perpetrate the robbery, resulting in the fatal shooting of the three foreigners."
Police made their first arrests in relation to the trios' murders on May 1, 2024, when Ari Gisel, 23, was pulled over for a routine traffic stop by police in Ensenada.
She allegedly threw a 100 gram bag of meth on the ground and tried to flee the vehicle.
However, officers inspected the car and found an iPhone that belonged to Mr Rhoad while the woman was also later charged with possession of narcotics.
Two other Mexican nationals were arrested along with Gisel, after she turned her then-partner Jesus Gerardo Garcia Cota and his brother Cristian Alejandro in to authorities.
After she was detained, Gisel told a court that Garcia Cota, known by the alias 'El Kekas', confessed to her when he came home that he "f***ed up three gringos".
The court then heard she was shown the new tyres on her car which had allegedly been stolen from the white ute the Australian brothers were using.
The three men who have been charged are being tried on multiple offences including aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery, violent robbery, grand theft auto, and forced disappearance.
Ari Gisel faces the same charges, except forced disappearance.
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