Philipsburg:--- National Alliance (NA) leader and Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin has strongly condemned the murder of American couple Michael and Thelma King whose bodies were found in the Ocean Club Villas on Friday.Marlin, who returned to the island on Sunday and learnt of the brutal incident, joins his colleagues in government in expressing his deepest condolences to the friends and families of the long time visitors of the island. He said St. Maarten was mourning with the families of the victims and shares in their pain.
Marlin said on behalf of the National Alliance party, he deeply regretted that this barbaric act occurred on this peaceful island. He commended law enforcement officers and the team working arduously to solve this heinous crime for the speedy arrest of a person of interest early Sunday morning. Marlin said he is confident that authorities will spare no resources to bring the culprit(s) to justice.
The Deputy Prime Minister said this isolated incident in no way reflects the general situation on the Friendly Island, which he assured, is a safe place for visitors.
He said St. Maarten welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors by cruise and air annually and these visitors enjoy the tranquility of St. Maarten and leave with pleasant memories resulting in many repeat visits and positive word of mouth marketing.
He said the world should not look at this incident as a reflection of what occurs in St. Maarten. He urged anyone in the community with information on this crime to pass on this information to police on their tip line: 9300 (local) or international tip line: 1-721-54-20345