DALLAS TWP. — A gruesome murder case soon will hit the small screen, and may later hit the big screen.
Earlier this year, a production crew was in the region filming interviews for Oxygen’s “Snapped: Killer Couples.” The episode, titled “Harlow Cuadra & Joe Kerekes,” will air at 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18. It details the murder of Bryan Kocis inside his home on Midland Drive in 2007.
The show’s website is airing a preview now.
State police at Wyoming and Dallas Township police alleged Cuadra, 33, and his partner, Kerekes, 41, both of Virginia Beach, Virginia, killed Kocis, 44, whom they considered their main business rival.
Kocis was found slain inside his Dallas Township residence that was set ablaze on Jan. 24, 2007.
Cuadra and Kerekes were partners in a male escort business and a website pornographic production company, while Kocis owned Cobra Video, a production company of pornographic films.
A Luzerne County jury convicted Cuadra of first-degree murder after a three-week trial in March 2009. Cuadra was sentenced to life in prison when the jury was unable to render a unanimous verdict for the death penalty.
Kerekes pleaded guilty in December 2008 to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Fourteen people were interviewed for the program including prosecutors, defense attorneys, investigators, authors of the book “Cobra Killer,” and a former Times Leader reporter.
Earlier this month, a post on the “Cobra Killer” Facebook page announced that film rights to the book were sold for an independent production expected in 2016.
Reach Jeric Foulds at 570-991-6404 or on Twitter @JericFoulds
