Prosecutors lack murder weapon for Baja beach killings of three foreign surfers

A prosecution witness in Ensenada tied defendant Jesús Gerardo's 9mm handgun to a single bullet pulled from Jake Robinson's thigh, the only bullet recovered from any of the three victims. But all three surfers, the Robinson brothers and their American friend Carter Rhoad, were killed by shots behind the ear from a .45-caliber weapon that prosecutors have not connected to any defendant.

A police officer testifying about the burned pickup found near a winery revealed mid-testimony that one of the defendants, Ángel Jesús, is his cousin, prompting the trial's first visible reaction from the defendants. Prosecutors maintain the motive was robbery of the surfers' tires and phones, per the earlier guilty plea of Gerardo's ex-girlfriend, who received 20 years.

The trial is expected to conclude next week, with sentencing to follow, even as the actual murder weapon remains unconnected to anyone in the courtroom.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.