St. Maarten Trial Set for Slain Mount Pleasant Couple

The suspects accused in the St. Maarten homicide of Michael and Thelma King will get their day in court in April, according to media reports.

The trial was first set to begin today for suspects Meyshane Kemar Johnson, 28, Jeremiah Chevon Mills, 17, and Jamal Jefferson Woolford, 20, but attorneys for the younger suspects want pre-trial mental evaluations for their clients, according to WCBD-TV.

The Kings split their time between South Carolina and St. Maarten, where they were investors in a Caribbean rum distilery.

Authorities discovered the couple, slain in their island condominium, back in September. Police arrested Meyshane Johnson within days. He's also accused in a St. Maarten armed robbery.

Authorities have suggested the motive was robbery. Johnson was a security guard at the King's condominium complex. Some media reports hinted the homicide was a murder-for-hire plot, but that claim has been flatly rebuked by authorities and the victim's family.