#6 The Murder of Michael and Thelma King
The Kings went off for holidays – it was not an ordinary pas-time anyone would take annually, they were entrepreneurs who while opening their another business venture yearned for some rest in their private condo in St. Maarten.
They were building a rum factory, knew the business will be nothing but true money-spinner. They were both in their 50s. The island was their second home, they lived there part-time, well known and liked by everyone.
The happy life ended abruptly in September, 2012 – when the couple was brutally murdered by three assassins. The murder was very brutal, the couple was tied up, their throats were sliced, the money and jewelry stolen. Altogether the stolen goods were priced for 80.000 dollars.
The trial was hugely publicized, the ringleader was give a life sentence, his accomplices 22 and 28 years respectively. The judge Tamara Tijhuis tried to give a fair verdict.
“These acts of unnecessary and excessive deadly violence have caused feelings of fear and unsafety to the direct environment of the victims but also to the whole of St. Maarten. Furthermore the murders have triggered a wave of indignity and fear for St. Maarten’s economic stability, even though this is of a different magnitude in the context of the unspeakable sorrow it has caused to the next of kin. The victims Michael and Thelma King were guests on the island, and with the murders St. Maarten has been hit in its economic heart, the tourism industry.” – Published in South Carolina Post and Courier.

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