Philipsburg:--- The Police Force of St. Maarten headed by Chief Commissioner of Police Peter de Witte managed to apprehend a suspect they believe brutally murdered the two Americans in Cupe-Coy sometime Friday.
According to well placed sources within the police force, the suspect was arrested sometime around 4am Sunday morning in the Cay Bay area and a house search was conducted where the suspect was arrested.
SMN News learnt that the suspect is of Jamaican descent and he is an employee of Checkmate Security Services. The suspect has been identified as Meyshane Johnson born on December 16th, 1983 on the island of Jamaica. One source said that Johnson had contact with the victims Michael and Thelma King of Colombia South Carolina. Police also believe that this person was involved in other crimes on St. Maarten. While police are tight-lipped on the motives of the gruesome murder, SMN News learnt that the killing was robbery motivated. SMN News has been reliably informed that Johnson was working as a security guard at the Souliga Service Point (SSP) on the Pondfill but due to his suspicious behavior the manager of that company requested that he be removed from the location.
Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson said in a press release that on September 21st, 2012 two bodies were found on the island of Sint Maarten. The male victim was identified as Michael William KING, age 53. The female victim was identified as his wife, Thelma Strickland KING, age 57. Both were citizens of the United States of America.
The local police force instantly started an investigation with the support of the Special Police Task Force. This investigation resulted into the arrest of one male person. The arrest took place around 4 o'clock in the morning on the 23th of September, 2012.
In the interest of the investigation, no further details can be released at this time. As soon as more information can be divulged to the public, a new press release will follow.
Attorney General of St. Maarten Taco Stein also confirmed the arrest of a suspect but declined to identify the suspect or his nationality, claiming that police did not divulge much information to him as they are continuing with the investigation. When asked by SMN News if any items were seized Stein answered in the affirmative but said he could not say what exactly police seized. SMN News also asked if the motive of the gruesome killing was robbery, Stein said that is what police are looking at but it is way too early for them to speculate.
SMN News will bring you more information on this high profile murder investigation as it unfolds.