Friends remember murdered men

The friends of two men murdered in Florida have raised nearly £150,000 through a variety of fundraising events.

James Cooper from Warwickshire and James Kouzaris from Northampton were shot dead by 16 year-old Shawn Tyson after they stumbled into a rundown estate in Sarasota on April 16th last year.

This weekend their friends will be taking part in a fundraising relay at the Spireites' ground in Chesterfield. It's part of a bigger event which sees them trying to run 2200 miles across 92 football league stadiums in England, in just 12-weeks.

Last month Tyson was jailed for life for two counts of first degree murder. He avoided the death penalty because of his age.

When Mr Kouzaris and Mr Cooper accidently walked into a housing project known as The Court, they were confronted by Tyson, who tried to rob them. When they had no money, he told them:

The men pleaded to go home but the teenager shot one then the other. When they were found, both still had their wallets and cash.

During the trial the court heard that Tyson had been released from juvenile detention a day before he killed them. He'd been previously arrested for shooting at a car, but because of an administrative error, he was released. Less than 24 hours later he had shot Mr Cooper, a tennis coach from Hampton Lucy, near Warwick, and Mr Kouzaris, a town planner from Northampton.

In a statement, the families said: