Monday, September 24, 2012

U.S. pair slain in St. Maarten 'ugly scene'

The bodies of Michael and Thelma King of South Carolina were discovered Friday at their residence in Cupecoy, St. Maarten.
The bodies of Michael and Thelma King of South Carolina were discovered Friday at their residence in Cupecoy, St. Maarten.
  • NEW: A friend of the slain couple calls them "good people" and calls their deaths "senseless"
  • Michael and Thelma King of South Carolina were found dead in their St. Maarten home
  • Autopsies are performed on the slain couple, St. Maarten's solicitor general says
  • A suspect in their deaths will appear before a judge, who will decide if he can still be detained

(CNN) -- Autopsies on an American couple found stabbed to death in their St. Maarten home were performed Monday, a day before a suspect in their deaths appears in court, the island's solicitor general said.

The bodies of Michael and Thelma King of South Carolina were discovered Friday at their oceanfront residence in Cupecoy, in what St. Maarten's Solicitor General Taco Stein described as "an ugly scene."

Two days later, an unidentified suspect was arrested. He will appear Tuesday before a judge in the Dutch Caribbean nation, who will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to hold him longer or order his release. No charges have been filed against anyone in the case.

"There are strong indications he is involved in the crime," Stein said Monday of the suspect, without divulging details.

The incarcerated man's attorney, Brenda Brooks, said her client is a 29-year-old man.

Brooks said she'd met with the suspect Monday at a police station in St. Maarten's capital Philipsburg, where he is being held. He had signs of a "beating," according to Brooks, though she gave no indication as to where, when or by whom he might have been beaten.

Stein, who was once solicitor general for Aruba, said authorities "are not certain of the motive in the case."

"Some things are missing" from the King's home, but there were no signs of a break-in.

The killings occurred in what is "generally considered a safe area" that is popular with tourists, according to the solicitor general.

"This is something that does not happen every day," he said.

The suspect and the slain couple didn't appear to know each other, said Stein, noting they "were not moving in the same circles."

Topper Daboul, a restaurant owner in the area, said he was a friend and business partner of the Kings.

"They were beautiful people," he said, adding he is "still in shock." "They were kind to everybody."

Zane Jackson offered a similar story, and sentiment, in an interview with CNN affiliate WIS.

Describing himself as a friend and business partner of the Kings, who helped him open a sports bar in Columbia, South Carolina, Jackson said, "They'd have given anything to anybody."

"It just seems very senseless," he said. "They were good people."

CNN's Gabriel Falcon contributed to this report.