Grieving Perth couple Martin and Debra Robinson are now planning to start a foundation to honour Jake and Callum Robinson.
“We had these dreams, as every parents do, for their children,” Martin began, with the couple finishing each other’s sentences in an emotional exclusive interview with 9News.
“And I just wanted them to have a good life, you know,” Debra said, with tears on her cheeks.
“Now they’re not going to happen and we have to readjust to that, the fact that we don’t have a family anymore,” Martin added.
Callum, Jake and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad were killed on a surfing trip in Mexico, devastating communities here and in the US.
“We miss them lots,” Debra said.
Friends, family and total strangers rallied around the Sorrento parents, donating well over $500,000 in memory of the young men.
“I just want them to know it has helped – it does mean something to us all,” Debra said.
The Robinsons now plan to use that money to set up charity funds in Australia and the US.
“We’ve got a huge amount of money that we now have at our disposal to hopefully use to make differences in other people’s lives,” Martin said.
The parents said the foundation would focus on helping those wanting to get into the medical field – like Jake, who was a doctor – and people trying to get ahead in sport, in memory of Callum, a lacrosse player.
“Something that we learnt about our children which has become more apparent is that they really encouraged other people, so we are hoping that the money will be used to encourage other people to pursue what they need to pursue and do good things in the world,” Debra said.
It’s hoped donations will keep coming.
“Our focus is going to be on looking at how we can continue with fundraising so it’s not only a sustainable fund, but it’s an opportunity to keep the memory of the boys alive,” Martin said.
The Robinson brothers and Rhoad were on a surf trip in Baja California, one of the country’s most violent states, when they went missing on April 27.
Local authorities began a search operation, which would span weeks.
A burnt-out ute eventually led police to find their bodies dumped inside a well near their remote campsite in early May.
Police allege the Australians were killed in a “robbery gone wrong” but their execution-like killings raised suspicions their deaths could be linked to organised crime.
Four Mexican nationals have been arrested in relation to their alleged murders.
Callum and Jake were laid to rest in June.
Four months on, their parents said “not a day goes by when we don’t think about our beautiful sons, the connections they had with people like you and the lives they could have had”.
