Daily Breaking True Crime Briefing
As of: September 9, 2026 (evening ET)
Scope: Worldwide sweep, last ~24 hours preferred; major developments stretched to ~48. Ensenada, Manaus / Bonfim, Copacabana, Great Denham / Johannesburg.

In Ensenada, Martin Robinson testified on day two of the Baja surfers trial, and the FBI’s role in finding the three men was aired in open court. In Brazil, police say a man and an accomplice confessed to killing his brother and the brother’s partner in Manaus before being caught near the Guyana border, and Rio police finished indicting 13 people over Cláudio Moreira’s Copacabana beating. In Johannesburg, Ndodana Tshuma’s gun plea held up the UK’s extradition bid in the Great Denham case.

Ensenada: FBI Role and Father’s Testimony

Day two of the Ensenada trial against Jesús Gerardo García (“El Kekas”), Irineo Francisco N., and Ángel Jesús N., charged with aggravated homicide and related counts in the April 2024 killings of Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, brought Martin Robinson to the stand for more than an hour. “I’m here because my two sons were murdered,” he told the judge-only court. He described identifying Callum by tattoos and Jake by photos, then giving DNA. “We don’t hold any animosity against the people who did this, but what we don’t understand is how they could rob the world of two beautiful men.” Debra Robinson sat crying, then embraced him.

A friend of Callum and Carter testified that the FBI had been “cooperating with Mexican authorities,” and that Page Rhoad was told in San Diego that bodies had been found in a well. She testified by video from Georgia that each man was shot three times; seeing the photos, she said, “looked like an execution.” The three accused, removed Monday after prosecutors flagged witness intimidation, were back in the room Tuesday. Trial expected to run more than four weeks. All three are presumed innocent.

Sources:

Manaus: Victim’s Brother Held Near Guyana Border

Pedro Henrique da Silva Hernandes, 22, and Leonardo Neves Mota, 28, were arrested Wednesday; police say they confessed in Boa Vista to killing Maurício Medeiros dos Santos, 36, Pedro’s brother, and Letícia Rikaely Guimarães da Cruz, 19, in Manaus. Bodies found Tuesday, bound, gagged, deep neck wounds. Crime overnight Sunday into Monday. Pedro told Draco detectives he tipped the address hoping to steal about R$40,000 amid family money fights; Leonardo said the plan was robbery until Maurício recognized his brother, then knives came out. They fled in the couple’s pickup to Lethem, Guyana, and were grabbed with help from Brazilian and Guyanese units. Both presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

G1 reports the three, including a third man, Juan Pereira, were caught in Bonfim, Roraima, on the Guyana border, driving the victims’ car. Police say Pedro planned to rob his brother’s house and that the couple were killed after Maurício recognised him. The bodies were found after Letícia’s mother climbed the wall to look for her. They are presumed innocent.

Sources:

Copacabana: Thirteen Indicted in Cyclist Beating

Rio’s Polícia Civil closed the inquiry Wednesday into the Aug. 12 beating death of Cláudio Rafael Landeiro Moreira, 37, wrongly accused of stealing a bike on Rua Barata Ribeiro. Five men, Davi Santos Machado, Jorge Luiz Ricardo Dias, Felipe Eduardo dos Santos Silva, Ailton José da Silva, and Wellington Luiz Santos de Souza (still fugitive), were indicted for triply qualified homicide (fútil motive, cruel means, victim unable to defend). Eight others face omission of aid, bodily injury, or irregular private security. More than 12 hours of CCTV. Four already in custody. File goes to the Ministério Público. All accused are presumed innocent.

Moreira had been wrongly accused of stealing his own sister’s bicycle. Of the 13, five are accused of triply qualified homicide (four in custody, one, Wellington Luiz Santos de Souza, at large); eight others face lesser counts including assault, failure to give aid and unlicensed security work, G1 reports. Prosecutors (MPRJ) have filed charges against all 13. All are presumed innocent.

Sources:

G1: Quem são os 13 indiciados
Metrópoles: MPRJ denuncia 13 envolvidos
g1 Rio, Ciclista morto em Copacabana: quem são os 13 indiciados pela polícia

Great Denham: Tshuma Gun Plea Stalls Extradition Clock

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45 (wanted by Bedfordshire Police over the July 7 killings of wife Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, 5, at Carnoustie Drive, Great Denham) pleaded guilty in Johannesburg to unlawful firearm and ammunition possession plus Immigration Act breaches. CPS England has authorized three murder charges; extradition was teed for Thursday. A plea-and-sentence paper signed by former NPA head Shamila Batohi delayed acceptance Tuesday; magistrate must still bless any deal, and a custodial SA sentence could tangle return. Lawyer Chrispen Machingura wants him back to the UK to face the murder brief. Tshuma is presumed innocent of the UK murders unless and until convicted.

Update, Oct. 11, 2026: His plea-and-sentence agreement in South Africa was postponed to Oct. 21 because negotiations were not finished, EWN and TimesLIVE report, delaying the UK extradition request on three murder charges. He is presumed innocent of the murders.

Sources:

Browse every edition in the Crime Ledger Index