Fourth arrest made in connection with Baja California surfer killings

Two Australian surfers living in California and their American friend were found dead in a remote area south of Ensenada on May 3 after they were reported missing while on a surfing trip

A fourth person has been arrested in connection with the slayings of two Australian brothers and their American friend who were killed while on a surf camping trip on the remote Baja California coast, Mexican officials said Tuesday.

Ángel Jesús, 31, identified only by his first and middle names, as is usual in pending criminal cases in Mexico, was taken into custody Monday in Santo Tomás, south of Ensenada.

Ángel Jesús and two others previously arrested — Jesús Gerardo, nicknamed “El Kekas,” and Cristian — have been charged with homicide, while a woman has been charged with robbery for allegedly obtaining and receiving stolen goods, officials said.

Callum Robinson, 33, an Australian living in San Diego, his visiting brother Jake Robinson, 30, and their friend Carter Rhoad, 30, a U.S. citizen, were found dead in a remote area south of Ensenada on May 3 after they were reported missing while on a surfing trip.

Mexican officials said at the time that the killings were the result of a robbery gone wrong. The trio were camping in the Punta San José area in Santo Tomás when they were ambushed by a group who, according to investigators, wanted to steal the tires of their Chevrolet pickup.

The victims were shot in the head while resisting the robbery, prosecutors said. Their bodies were found nearly a week later at the bottom of a well near the campsite. Their truck was found in another location, burned with no tires.

The arrest was made by the Baja California State Police, known as FESC, in collaboration with the state’s Attorney General’s Office.