Shawn Tyson has bragged about the killings to his friends.
The teenager accused of murdering two former University of Sheffield students while they were on holiday in Florida is set to be tried in March.
Shawn Tyson, 16, is accused of shooting dead James Cooper, 25, and his best friend James Kouzaris, 24, in April last year.
The bodies of Cooper and Kouzaris, who studied Management, and Urban Studies Planning respectively at the University, were found in the Newtown area of the city of Sarasota, an area infamous for gang crime.
Tyson will appear before Sarasota County Court on March 6 for a ‘docket hearing’. This date could be Tyson’s last chance to take a plea offer from the prosecutor, before going to trial.
A jury trial has been listed for Tyson to appear before Judge Frederick Defuria on March 18, his 17th birthday. He will be tried as an adult and also faces a further seven separate charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, without intent to kill.
US police files show that Tyson bragged to friends about the killings. He faces death by lethal injection or life imprisonment if convicted.
Meanwhile, friends and family of the murder victims have set up a charity in their memory, which aims to raise £1 Million in its first year.
‘Always A Chance’ provides assistance, advice and financial support to victims of violent crime, encouraging young people to go back to education and get employment.
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