The Virginian-Pilot
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A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty Monday in Pennsylvania to slashing and stabbing to death a film producer.
Joseph M. Kerekes, 34, was convicted of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and conspiracy in the 2007 murder of Bryan Kocis, 44. Kerekes was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick told The Citizens Voice, a Wilkes-Barre, Pa., newspaper, that Kerekes and co-defendant Harlow Cuadra, 27, believed Kocis, a business rival, was an "impediment to the expansion of their pornography business."
"They decided to eliminate and kill Bryan Kocis," Melnick was quoted as saying.
Firefighters found Kocis' charred body inside his home, which had been set on fire. He had been stabbed 28 times and his neck was slashed.
The trial for Cuadra is set for Jan. 5.
Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com
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