Friends of Cooper and Kouzaris pay emotional tributes in court
The friends of two men from the Midlands shot dead in Florida last year have paid emotional tributes upon the verdict of the killer in court.
Shawn Tyson, who was last night found guilty of double murder, showed no emotion during the trial, not even when the friends of James Cooper and James Kouzaris personally described the devastation the killings have caused.
The trial heard how the two university friends had drunkenly wandered into a run down housing project in the district of Sarasota after a night out last April, when Tyson tried to rob them.
When they said they didn't have any money, Tyson opened fire.
The parents of James Cooper and James Kouzaris did not travel to the US for the trial but friends Paul Davies and Joe Hallett sat through four days of the evidence.
This included seeing photographs of their friends' dead bodies.
After the judgement, the friends had the chance to openly address Tyson and gave an emotional witness impact statement.
When the Judge asked Tyson if he wanted to say anything before being sentenced, he refused.
Joe Hallett said:
Paul Davies accused Tyson of being a coward:
The court was also played emotional videos showing photos of James Cooper and James Kouzaris growing up. A statement from the mens' families was also read out.
James Cooper from Hampton Lucy, near Warwick, was a tennis coach, while James Kouzaris from Northampton was working for Northamptonshire County Council.
They had both travelled the world.
Mr Kouzaris' parents have previously described him as a wonderful son, and writing more recently on her Facebook page, his sister wrote:
The pair met while studying at Sheffield University, and were on holiday with Mr Cooper's parents in the upmarket resort Longboat Key, which is 12 miles away from where they were murdered.
It is not clear why the friends had come to be in the neighbourhood where they were shot.
The difference between the murdered men and their killer is starkt.
Shawn Tyson had dropped out of school and grew up in the rundown housing estate The Courts, where the murders took place.
The seventeen-year-old will spend the rest of his life in prison, without any opportunity for parole.