- Written by Tiffany Turnbull
- BBC News, Sydney
A man charged with the disappearance of three tourists during a surfing trip in Mexico has confessed to their murders, a court has heard.
Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter Lord went missing near Ensenada on April 27th.
Jesús Gerardo appeared in court Wednesday on kidnapping charges, but authorities say murder charges will soon be filed.
Also known as “El Quekas,” he has not yet entered a plea.
Authorities in Baja California say the three tourists, all in their early 30s, may have died trying to stop a pickup truck tire theft.
Local authorities said their bodies were dumped in a well along a cliff six days after their disappearance, each with a gunshot wound to the head. A fourth body was also found in the well, but it had been there for a long time and was unrelated to the incident.
Jesus was charged with “enforced disappearance,” and his girlfriend Ali Gisele and another man were also detained on suspicion of involvement. Their last names have been suppressed by the court.
In court Wednesday, prosecutors named Ali, who has not been charged in connection with the disappearance, as one of their witnesses.
The court heard that a 23-year-old man told investigators that Jesus showed up at his home on April 28 and told him he had done something to “three gringos”.
She asked him what he meant, and he replied, “I killed them,” the hearing was told.
The man then showed her that he had put new tires on her car that he had allegedly stolen from the slain surfer, prosecutors alleged.
They also told the court they believed other people were involved in the killing.
Earlier this week, parents Jake and Callum Robinson traveled from Perth to Mexico to help identify the remains.
“Now it is time to bring them home to their families, friends and the waves of the Australian ocean,” Debra Robinson said in a moving eulogy on Tuesday.
The killing sparked fear and anger in Baja California.
Local drug gangs are fighting for turf in one of Mexico's most violent states.
But the Ensenada region, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the U.S.-Mexico border and known for its surfing, is considered safer and has long attracted tourists from California. .
On Sunday, scores of protesters marched through the city carrying surfboards with slogans calling for safe beaches.
A group of surfers then held a “paddle out” ceremony, a marine vigil in honor of the trio.