WILKES-BARR, Pa. — A preliminary hearing for the murder trial of gay content producers Harlow Cuadra, 25, and his partner Joseph Kerekes, 33, began Monday. The pair is accused of the January murder of gay adult film producer Brian Kocis, whose real name was Brian Phillips, in a plot that allegedly involved accessing one of Kocis’ exclusive models so that the model could appear on a website operated by Cuadra and Kerekes.

Kocis was found murdered after firemen responded to an alarm at his Dallas, Pa. home on Jan. 24.

In the hearing, two medical examiners testified that Kocis died of “near decapitation” and several graphic photos of the victim were presented before Magisterial District Court Judge James Tupper.

Luzerne County Coroner Dr. John Consalvo testified that Kocis had been inflicted with 28 to 29 post-mortem stab wounds to his torso and groin areas. Kocis had also third degree burns over 80 percent of his body.

A former roommate of Cuadra and Kerekes named Justin Hainsley testified that he had heard the pair describe Kocis as their biggest competition in the adult video industry. He said also that he heard them discuss Sean Lockhart, also known as Brent Corrigan, who was an exclusive model for Cobra Video, the company owned by Kocis. Hainsley said that Cuadra and Kerekes wanted to employ Lockhart to appear on their adult website and that he had heard them say “the only thing standing in the way was Kocis.”

A neighbor of Kocis testified that he had seen a silver-colored SUV parked in the driveway of Kocis’ home less than an hour before the fire at the residence was reported on Jan. 24.

A visitor of one of Kocis’ neighbors said that she saw a light-colored SUV backing out of the driveway of Kocis’ home approximately 10 minutes before fireman arrived at the scene.

According to other reports, Cuadra and Kerekes had rented an SUV and were staying in Plains, Pa., near the scene of the murder on Jan. 24. A hotel manager from the Fox River Inn testified and showed a registration slip confirming that the pair had checked in at the time of the murder.

The hearing is expected to take longer than one day.