Jury Convicts Three Men in Deaths of Michael and Thelma King

The three men accused of killing a Mount Pleasant couple in St. Maarten have been convicted and sentenced to prison.

Meyshane Johnson, 28, the lead defendant, was given a life sentence. His accomplices, Jeremiah Chevon Mills, 17, and Jamal Jefferson Woolford, 20, were given 20-year prison terms, according to the Associated Press.

The men were accused of breaking into the King's beachfront condominium in October 2012, waking Michael King, demanding money and then cutting both Michael King's and wife's throats.

The Kings' family was in the courtroom for the verdict, the AP reports. The younger suspects have apologized for the slaying, but Meyshane Johnson says he does not remember being a part of the killing.

The couple, who split time between Mount Pleasant and the Dutch Caribbean island, were part owners of a St. Maarten rum distillery.