Philipsburg:--- The Court of First Instance was packed to its capacity on Tuesday with relatives including the mother and siblings of Michael King as well as friends of the couple when the prosecution presented its case against the three suspects who were arrested shortly after Michael and Thelma King were brutally murdered in their Cupe Coy condominium. Among the bereaved relatives in the court room on Monday morning were the mother and uncle of Jamal Jefferson Woolford; however, Woolford's mother and uncle left the courtroom shortly after the proceedings started.
The three suspects are Meyshane Kemar Johnson, a national of Jamaica, his first cousin Jeremiah Chevon Mills, born on St. Maarten with Jamaican and Grenadian parentage, and Jamal Jefferson Woolford of Guyana, the trio is facing six charges, which are murder/manslaughter, armed robbery, laundering of goods they obtained from the robberies, and unlawful detention of the victims. The prosecution asked the court to sentence Meyshane Kemar Johnson to life imprisonment because he is the one who killed the Kings. As for Jeremiah Chevon Mills who was 17 years old when he committed the crimes, the prosecution believes that they have enough evidence to ask the court to sentence Mills to life imprisonment especially because he was convicted twice before and he was the one that orchestrated the robberies but because of his age the prosecution asked that Mills be sentenced to 28 years imprisonment. Jamal Jefferson Woolford does not have any criminal record prior to this murder but considering the magnitude of the crimes he committed, the prosecution asked that he be sentenced to 24 years imprisonment. Prosecutor Dounia Benammar and George van der Eshof told the court that they believe that they have sufficient evidence to prove all the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Based on the evidence the prosecution provided to the court which consists of video images, the three suspects robbed Happy Star Restaurant and even though police fired several shots at them, one of which hit the back of the getaway car, they went to Maho and Mills went into a casino probably to see if they could have robbed the casino. They then went to the Cupe Coy later that night and robbed and killed the Kings. Among some of the items stolen from the Kings were an iPhone, laptops, stacks of money, and a grey bag that was taken from a safe that contained items that are unknown to the police and a credit card belonging to Micheal King.. After all of that, the suspects then went to Casa Blanca where they continued to drink and have fun with prostitutes.
The suspects told the court they needed monies, yet they choose to spend the loot on prostitutes and alcohol. The laptop stolen from the Kings home the suspects claimed they threw it away on the French side, while Jeremiah Mills kept Thelma King's iPhone. It is through wire tap police managed to locate Johnson and Mills shortly after the crime was committed. Woolford was arrested 10 days later when he escaped to the US Virgin Islands but was brought back to St. Maarten shortly after he landed there.
The Prosecution asked the Court to sentence Johnson to life imprisonment for the cold blooded murder of Micheal and Thelma King as well as the other crimes associated with the robbery of the Happy Star Restaurant and the robbery committed at the homes of the Kings prior to them being murdered by Meyshane Kemar Johnson. The Prosecution said Woolford and Mills tied Thelma King to a chair and blind folded her after she opened the safe and gave them the monies they had in a safe and a grey bag containing jewelry. Johnson headlocked Micheal King whom they found sleeping on a sofa and held a sharp knife to his neck while Mills and Woolford looked for valuables, they found the iPhone and laptop on a table inside the house but that was not enough so they poked Micheal King twice to wake him up and asked him to hand over all the monies he had. The prosecution said that Micheal told the suspects that his wife was upstairs sleeping and that there were monies in the safe. According to the statements given by the suspects, Thelma King panicked when she was awakened by Mills and Woolford but she managed to open the safe after several attempts. Mills told the court that Thelma King begged him not to hurt her and he promised her that he would not have done so if she cooperated and gave them what they wanted. After taking the monies and a grey bag they brought Thelma King downstairs where Johnson was holding her husband at knife point.
The session started off with Judge Tamara Tyghuis reading the suspects their rights then she posed several questions to the suspects on their role in the robbery of the Happy Star Restaurant on Cannegieter Street and the brutal killing of the Kings later that same night. Judge Tyghuis asked Johnson several questions as to what he did that night but Johnson kept saying he could not remember anything despite giving the police a detailed statement on the robbery of Happy Star Restaurant and the robbery and murder of Micheal and Thelma King on September 19th, 2012. Johnson made his statement to police on October 2nd, 2012 when he told police that he was at the Happy Star Restaurant earlier that day with Mills drinking, later he left the restaurant when his friend Peter Hunt called him to repair his car. Johnson later returned to the Happy Star Restaurant and then left with Mills to pick up Woolford at his home. The trio then returned and robbed the Happy Star Restaurant. During the robbery at Happy Star Restaurant, Johnson stayed in the car while Mills and Woolford robbed the business establishment.
Despite the statements given by the three suspects where they each confessed their roles in the two robberies and killing of the Kings; on Monday during the trial they all changed their stories. Meyshane Kemar Johnson told Judge repeatedly that he could not remember anything because he consumed a lot of alcohol that day. During the questioning, Attorney Brenda Brooks asked the judge for a brief recess so she could speak with her client Meyshane Kemar Johnson. Even when responding to the questions Brooks posed to Johnson he said he could not remember.
Background information on Meyshane Kemar Johnson.
Meyshane Kemar Johnson, the oldest of the three suspects was born in Jamaica where he attended school but left early to work so that he could assist his family financially. He worked in the construction field, as a mechanic, and also did agriculture in his homeland. Johnson then migrated to St. Maarten where he did odd jobs as a mechanic. In 2007, Johnson had a run in with the police due to his psychiatric and delusional condition and he was deported back to Jamaica but Johnson returned to St. Maarten that same year. In 2011, he began working at Checkmate Security as a security guard until the time of his arrest.
The psychiatric report issued by Dr. Gaudutrag of the Mental Health Foundation and a statement from Johnson's mother states that Johnson began consuming alcohol at a very young age (10 to 12 years old). Johnson also had two episodes of psychotic and delusional illness, once when he was in Jamaica and once in St. Maarten. On both occasions, Johnson was admitted to an institution in Jamaica where he received treatment. The report further stated that Johnson abused the use of alcohol but even though he drank heavily on September 19th, 2012, he knew exactly what he was doing when he went to pick up Woolford so that he and Jeremiah Mills could rob Happy Star Restaurant. Johnson is the father of three children all of whom are residing in Jamaica. He told the court he regretted his actions, he said that if he was conscious of his actions he would not have been in court charged with the crimes he committed. One of his wishes is to be able to see and care for his children. He also wants to know how long he has to remain in prison because his intention is to work while in prison.
Jeremiah Chevon Mills --- A Youngster with a monstrous record.
Jeremiah Chevon Mills (18) was convicted twice for robbery. In 2010, Mills was convicted for robbery and at that time he was sentenced to serve community service, but that did not work because in 2011 Mills was arrested again for theft. He was sentenced to 18 months, 15 months suspended sentence and two years probation but Mills still did not understand the consequences of his actions because by September 2012 he was back in prison for the armed robbery that was committed at the Happy Star Restaurant and the brutal murder of the Kings. Mills did not seem to be afraid of the justice system because of the way he answered some of the questions. At one point, he said that just by looking at the Kings house he knew they had money. He also told the court he wanted a "blow job" and the prostitute in Casa Blanca did not give it to him. Yet he stayed there from 12 to 2am when they left to take Woolford home and went back to the house of prostitution for more fun and pleasure.
Mills told the court that on the day he committed the robberies at Happy Star and at the Kings residence he was stoned. "I was popping pills, smoking marijuana, and drinking alcohol all day." When he was asked by the judge if he was ever at Happy Star Restaurant he told the court he did not even know where Happy Star Restaurant is located, but his cousin Meyshane Kemar Johnson told the court that both he and Mills were at Happy Star drinking on September 19th, 2012.
The Prosecution believes that the two suspects went to Happy Star to scout and plan the robbery they committed later that evening. Mills told Judge Tyhuis that the grey bag he took from the Kings' safe had one kilo of cocaine inside and he sold it for several thousand dollars, but he could not remember exactly how much money he sold the drugs for. He also told the court and police that he buried the monies in his yard but that money was never found. Mills even attacked the forensic evidence gathered by police which showed that there were no drugs in the safe. "If the forensic people did their job correctly they would have seen that drugs were inside that safe." Prosecutor Dounia Benammar asked Mills if he knew how much is one kilo of cocaine, he responded in the affirmative saying he knew because he sells it and the prosecutor should know that drugs can be compressed and she should not be fooled by the size of the safe.
The court was told that Jeremiah Mills had a rocky childhood because at age five his mother sent him to Jamaica to live with her sister because she was working two jobs. This according to the prosecution affected Jeremiah, his mother brought him back to St. Maarten when she learnt he was using marijuana but when his mother could not control him she sent him to his father who is living in Grenada. "That was the first time Jeremiah saw his father and the two could not get along so he returned to St. Maarten but the relationship between Jeremiah and his mother never got better."
Mills told the court that he went to Cupe Coy Beach prior to September 19th because he sells drugs there but maintained he did not know the Kings and the robbery and killings they committed that night were not planned. He said they went into the Kings house because a light was on and the shutters were not closed therefore they had easy access to the home.
Jamal Jefferson Woolford --- An Independent young man.
The court was told that Woolford was born in Guyana, he never knew his biological father but he said that he did not lack anything. He received his elementary education in Guyana and his secondary education on St. Maarten. Woolford worked at Bobby's Marina for two years. The prosecution told the court that they interviewed Woolford's mother and up to now his mother cannot understand how her son got himself into trouble, especially a case of such magnitude. Woolford was an independent young man who went to live on his own when he made 18 years old. He also told the court that he had lots of debts like paying his rent and having a pregnant girlfriend and that is what led him to commit the crimes even though he did not know what Johnson and Mills picked him up for that evening. It should be noted that Woolford worked for Topper's Restaurant but maintained that he did not know the victims. He told the court that he worked at the restaurant on the beach and he did not pay keen attention to the patrons or friends of Toppers. It should be noted that Toppers and the Kings had signed a business deal two days prior to their brutal murder. They intended to open a rum factory on St. Maarten.
Prosecutor Dounia Benammar told the court that the three suspects acted out of greed all because they wanted quick money. The killing of the Kings left the entire community in shock; the relatives of the Kings still cannot understand why the suspects killed Micheal and Thelma King because they got the monies and other valuable items they went to look for. Prosecutor Benammar and Judge Tyhuis asked the suspects why killed them, and why they did not leave when they got the monies and the grey bag they took out of the Kings safe. Woolford told the police and the court that he told the Jamaican (Johnson) not to kill them, he said he saw what Johnson wanted to do so he left the house and went on the porch and then to the beach. Mills said he did not participate in the killings but Johnson said that Mills gave him a second knife because when he (Johnson) cut Michael's throat he was suffering and he wanted to make his death easy so he stabbed him in his back and the knife blade broke inside of the victim. "At that point he asked for another knife and Mills took a second knife from the kitchen and gave it to Johnson. Johnson used that knife to inflict a few more stab wounds on Michael. By then Mills had left the house and Johnson then decided to kill Thelma when she called out for her husband. Johnson told police that he killed Thelma because he did not want her to suffer because he had killed her husband, the other thing he feared is that Thelma would have alerted the security and police so to cover up their crimes he stayed in the house and slashed Thelma King throat twice, cutting her wind pipe and main arteries causing her death almost instantly. The trial continues on Wednesday at 8:30 am. Judge Tyhuis told the court that Attorney at Law Brenda Brooks will start the proceedings on Wednesday morning. Three lawyers will be defending their clients on Wednesday then the Prosecution will begin with rebuttals. The last word she said will end with the three suspects.
Click here to view more photos of the Kings Murder Trail on Tuesday.
