cruise ship passenger killer convicted

A jury in St Thomas has found Steve Tyson guilty in the 2010 slaying of a 14 year old tourist and local youth

The case came to an end when a St Thomas jury found the 22 year old guilty. 14 year old Liz Marie Perez Chaparro and local 18 year old Shaneel Jospeh were killedon July 12th 2010 during a shootout near a cemetery in St Thomas’ Coki Point.

According to the Virgin Islands Daily News , the prosecution relied on the testimony of some 10 witnesses, including the fathers of Chaparro and Joseph, to prove that Tyson had driven to Coki Point Beach and waited in his car until he saw Joseph, then opened fire. At the time of the incident, Joseph was attending the burial of another man who'd been shot to death late the previous month.

The initial shot precipitated an exchange of gunfire. Chapparro, who had traveled from Puerto Rico with her family aboard Carnival's Carnival Victory to celebrate her quinceañera (fifteenth birthday), was struck in the chest during the exchange as her "safari bus" taxi was leaving Coki Point Beach. She was rushed to Schneider Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Late Tuesday, the 12-member jury convicted Tyson on all seven of the charges he faced: first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and three counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.

His sentencing is set for June 21.