A truck driven by two Australian brothers shot dead by bandits in Mexico still had its wheel on when the vehicle was torched, despite claims its tyres were the target for their alleged killers.
Callum and Jake Robinson, originally from Perth, were on a road trip with their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad around the west coast of Baja California on April 27 when they disappeared.
On Saturday, their remains were found near the city of Ensenada – about 2km away from their Airbnb in Rosarito – at the bottom of a well. Each had a single gunshot wound to the head.
Jesus Gerardo Garcia Cota, Ari Gisel Garcia Cota and Christian Alejandro Garcia were later arrested and accused of driving the men’s white Chevrolet Colorado truck to Santo Tomás and setting on fire.
Baja California’s state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez alleged the trio had intended to steal the tyres, but the men died because they resisted the theft.
However, photographs of the burnt truck clearly showed the tyres hadn’t been stolen because they were still on the vehicle when it was set alight.
Callum Robinson, 33, (left) and his brother Jake (right) were travelling in the Baja California region when they disappeared on April 27
Pictured: The white Chevrolet Colorado truck that was found torched, with the wheels still on the vehicle
Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told Daily Mail Australia there are many potential explanations as to what happened, but he said it’s possible the alleged murders were the result of a botched robbery.
‘The logical theory is that it’s a robbery gone wrong and they’ve panicked and allegedly killed three people and they dispose of the bodies in a well,’ he said.
‘The fact that the tyres were still on the car seems to me to be about destroying evidence.’
He said the idea of allegedly shooting three people over a set of tyres ‘seems strange to Australians, but life is extremely cheap over there and people have killed for less’.
Mr Watson-Munro said he has travelled around the west coast of Mexico and knows others who went to the same region in Baja California, but they didn’t stop around Ensenada due to warnings of cartel violence.
‘They made a decision to pass through and not to stop there because they were warned it’s like anarchy on steroids,’ he said.
‘That area in particular is lawless.’
Expert criminologist Tim Watson-Munro (pictured) said the situation could have been a robbery gone wrong
Ari Gisel García Cota, 23, is one of three suspects arrested. She is reportedly the partner of fellow suspect Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota
Brothers Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota and Cristian Alejandro García were two of the three suspects arrested
He described the situation as a terrible tragedy, adding: ‘They’re just trying to have a surfing holiday and they paid the ultimate price.’
After the bodies were found on Saturday, Ms Ramírez told local reporters the alleged killers approached the men ‘with the intention of stealing their vehicle and taking the tires and other parts to put them on the older-model pickup they were driving’.
‘When [the tourists] came up and caught them surely they resisted, and these people, the assailants, took out a gun and first they killed the one who was putting up resistance against the vehicle theft.
‘Then others came along and joined the fight to defend their property and their companion who had been attacked, and they killed them too.’
The alleged killers have been charged with kidnapping.
Ms García Cota, 23, allegedly had one of the missing men’s mobile phones.
Police were able to make the arrests when a phone belonging to one of the Australian brothers phones was turned on and pinged a mobile tower in the area.
Australian brothers Jake, 30, (right) and Callum Robinson, 32, (left) are pictured with their parents Debra and Martin
The alleged murders have not been linked to organised crime, but investigators have yet to rule it out.
Jake, who worked in Perth as a doctor, had flown to the US two weeks earlier to visit Callum, who was living in San Diego with his girlfriend Emily Horwath.
Their parents Martin and Debra Robinson broke down in tears as they spoke about their sons deaths from San Diego on Tuesday.
‘It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Callum and Jake have been murdered,’ Ms Robinson said.
‘Our hearts are broken and the world has become a darker place for us.’
‘Now it’s time to bring them home to family and friends – and the ocean waves in Australia. Please live bigger, shine brighter and love harder in their memory.’
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk