charged with murdering a 20-year-old American at a party last summer.

Joshua Holder will be tried as an adult in Dover Superior Court in Delaware.

The 16-year-old, who lives in Dover with his Bermudian mother Mrs. Dawn Madeiros, will face the charge of second-degree murder, the Wilmington News Journal has reported.

Holder's lawyer, Mr. Andre Beauregard, unsuccessfully tried over the past few months to convince a Kent County Superior Court judge that the Bermudian should be judged as a juvenile for the beating death of Michael Keesser at a neighbourhood party last August 19.

Holder, who faces the charge with another 16-year-old and two 20-year-olds, is the son of Bermudian Mr. Charles Holder, now divorced from his son's mother.

If convicted as an adult, the teenager could be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison.