Murdered British men spent last days on Key

James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, spent the last days of their lives on Longboat Key. The men, both of whom were British citizens and former University of Sheffield students, stayed with Cooper’s parents, who were renting a bayside unit at Whitney Beach condominium. The Cooper family has rented a Whitney Beach unit for a month for the past five or six seasons, according to a neighbor who did not want to be identified.

While here, the family celebrated Cooper’s birthday and bicycled through the area. The neighbor estimated that they arrived approximately one week before news of the April 16 murders in Newtown made headlines throughout the world.

The neighbor, who briefly met Cooper last week but did not meet Kouzaris, said that Cooper’s parents were acquaintances from past seasons.

“They were delightful people,” she said.

According to a Sarasota Police Department statement, officers responded to a 911 call at 3 a.m. Saturday, April 16 to the 1700 block of Gore Street and Carver Court and found both Cooper and Kouzaris had been fatally shot. Approximately 24 hours later, 16-year-old Shawn Tyson was arrested on two murder charges.

At a Monday press conference, Police Chief Mikel Holloway and Sarasota Mayor Kelly Kirschner expressed condolences to the families of both victims.

Holloway, who told reporters that the murders were the first homicides to occur in Sarasota city limits during 2011, vowed to keep Sarasota a safe place to live and work.

“We will find out why this occurred and will prosecute this case thoroughly,” he said.

Holloway declined to discuss a motive for the crime, stating that initial theories had not “panned out,” although he would not comment about what those initial theories were. Police have not released many details in the case, saying that release of the information could interfere with the investigation, although they did release a photo that shows Cooper at Smokin’ Joes Pub on Main Street, in Sarasota.

The family of Kouzaris issued a statement through the Northamptonshire police in which they described him as a “wonderful son” and asked for privacy.

“We loved him so much and can’t believe he’s gone,” the statement reads. “We are absolutely devastated and in a state of complete shock.”

The Whitney Beach acquaintance said that she spoke briefly to Cooper’s parents following the murder and described them as devastated by the loss of their only son. The couple left Longboat Key Monday to return to England.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]

INFO
The investigation into the murders of James Cooper and James Kouzaris is ongoing. Anyone with information should contact Sarasota police detective Johnathan Todd at 954-7025.