( CNN ) -- It is the dark side of paradise , a tale of torture and murder . And this week , it plays out in a picturesque courthouse a few yards from the sun-kissed beaches of St. Maarten . The trial of the three men charged with killing Michael and Thelma King begins Tuesday . The defendants , who face a possible life sentence in prison if convicted , are accused of stabbing the South Carolina couple to death in a crime that has made headlines in the Caribbean and across America . Michael 's brother , Todd King , told CNN that he and his family will attend the trial . `` Everybody 's coming , '' he said while remembering the two lives that were brutally taken . `` Everybody loved Michael , he was just one of the nicest guys you would ever meet , '' he said . `` And Thelma walked on water , as far as our family was concerned . She was just like a sister . '' Michael , who was 53 , and Thelma , 57 , loved St. Maarten , Todd said . They resided here for several months during the year and planned to invest in a local business . The Kings owned a condominium at the Ocean Club Resort in an area known as Cupecoy . They were killed in their beachfront apartment , and their bodies were discovered on September 21 . Solicitor General Taco Stein told CNN the couple was slain in a home invasion . `` As far as we have been able to establish , theft is the motive , '' Stein said . `` So it 's a robbery that went out of hand into murder . '' The victims were repeatedly stabbed , according to local officials . Thelma King was tied to a chair , Stein said . The suspects , who have been identified by their initials , are J.J.W , who was arrested on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands ; J.C.M , who is 17 ; and M.K.J. , 28 , who Stein said confessed to his involvement in the killings . The trial is expected to last two days , with the judge issuing a ruling in early May . `` I 'm confident they will be found guilty , '' Stein said . Brenda Brooks , the attorney who represents J.C.M. , expressed doubts about the prosecution 's theory of the case . `` I do n't believe it , '' Brooks said , `` that these guys kind of went on a joyride with someone else 's car , and then went out drinking and ended up coincidentally by the Kings , and it was initially said to be a robbery and they end up killing the couple . `` I think there is something else to that story . From the moment I heard it I said it does n't add up . '' The double homicide and the upcoming trial have generated widespread attention and safety concerns for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who vacation on the island each year . Stein said violent crimes like this are exceedingly rare . `` Murders do take place , let 's face it , '' he said , `` but this has n't happened before . '' `` The Kings were liked on the island . They came here often . The island is shocked . '' The couple had many friends , both on St. Maarten and at home in South Carolina . `` They were the greatest people in the world , '' said Terry Tamblyn , who knew the Kings for 25 years . `` Michael would give you the shirt off his back , '' he said . `` It was a senseless killing . '' Bodies of couple are handed over to relatives .
The bodies of John and Thelma King were found in their apartment in Charleston . Three men are accused of stabbing the South Carolina couple to death . Their trial begins Tuesday , and they face a possible life sentence in prison if convicted .