Leighton Levy, Star Writer

Attorney General of St Maarten, Statia and Saba, Taco Stein, is revealing that the case against a Jamaican suspect accused of murdering an American couple on the island of St Maarten could be ready for trial in a little over three months as the forensic evidence gathered so far will have to be sent to Holland to be analysed.

The suspect in the case, a Jamaican man who hails from Clarendon, appeared at a pre-trial hearing this week in Philipsburg where a judge extended his detention for another eight days as the investigations continue into the slaying of Michael and Thelma King, whose bodies were discovered at their St Maarten home on Friday, September 21. The suspect was picked up on Sunday during a pre-dawn raid carried out by police in the Cay Bay area of St Maarten, a colony of Holland in the eastern Caribbean.

trace evidence

It will be some time before the case will be ready for trial, Stein said. "It's a complicated case. A lot of trace evidence needs to be scrutinised carefully, so it will take some time before the case goes to trial," he said. "The investigation is proceeding satisfactorily, but it is early days yet to say we will go to trial in say a week, two weeks, or even a month's time. We cannot say yet."

Stein explained that the trace evidence that was collected has been sent to Holland where the National Crime Lab is situated. "We are in line with all the other prosecutors' offices from all over the kingdom that send their stuff there."

Stein continued, "There will probably be some waiting time, and that depends on what kind of case you're doing. If it's simple, it could be quickly, but as soon as it gets more complicated, it's going to take longer. We don't calculate that we will go to trial within two or three months."

Stein was unable to confirm whether the suspect was involved in a robbery that occurred mid-week last week, two days before the murders. "We can confirm that there was a robbery mid-week last week, but we are not confirming or denying that there is a link between the cases."

He was also unable to confirm whether police were in search of another suspect, a teenager, who also has Jamaican connections. "In this investigation, it is not excluded that there is more than one suspect, but at this moment, we cannot confirm or deny that we are looking for a specific person."