A fourth person has been arrested in connection to the alleged murders of Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend Jack Carter Rhoad.
The arrest comes a month after their bodies were found ten metres down a well, after disappearing while on a surfing trip in the Baja California region of Mexico.
Authorities have now arrested another person in connection to the case, but did not provide further details about the man’s identity.
Jake, Callum and Rhoad were reported missing on April 27. The siblings, aged 32 and 31, were then found weeks later near their remote campsite, with authorities arresting three Mexicans soon after.
Two of those arrested were caught with illicit drugs, and one of them, a woman, was in possession of a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims. It’s believed the trio died after a “robbery gone wrong”, with authorities alleging they were shot in the head by the accused while resisting an attempt to steal the tyres from their pick-up truck.
Jesus Gerardo, the alleged ringleader of the arrested group, faced court and will remain behind bars until his hearing in November. Gerardo was named a suspect in the case along with his brother Cristian Alejandro and girlfriend Ari Gisel, with a fourth person arrested overnight.
The nature of the killings in a known drug trafficking area raised suspicions about links to organised crime, a possibility that is being investigated by authorities.
The Robinson brothers were laid to rest earlier this month, with hundreds of people gathering at a memorial service at their former high school, Sacred Heart College in Sorrento.
“Callum and Jake meant so much to us and it’s still hard to imagine life without them,” the pair’s mother Debra Robinson said at the service. “They were intelligent, respectful men and they had so much more to offer the world.”
Last week, the Robinson brothers’ memory was honoured with a paddle-out in Perth’s north-west, where hundreds of surfers and surf-lifesavers paid tribute at Sorrento beach.
Image source: @callum10Robinson/ Instagram.