Valentine’s Day slaying of Snellville man hits the small screen

The killing of a Snellville man on Valentine’s Day 2010 will be featured in the season premier Sunday night of the Investigation Discovery Channel’s “On the case with Paula Zahn.”

It’s a bizarre case that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covered extensively and that landed Stacey Schoeck and the confessed hitman behind bars with no hope of parole.

Schoeck’s fifth husband, Richard, was shot and killed on Valentine’s Day 2010 during what was supposed to be a loving rendezvous with his wife at a north Hall County park.

Prosecutors said Stacey Schoeck was having an affair and masterminded the killing, even though she initially called 911 to report “finding” her husband’s body near his truck. She and hitman Reginald Coleman later pleaded guilty to murder and were sentenced to life without parole.

Richard Schoeck’s family and investigators suspected Stacey Schoeck from the beginning, though it took police three months to gather enough evidence to arrest her and two others.

Lynitra Ross, a woman who worked with Stacey Schoeck, was accused of being a go-between in arranging the hit and also received life without parole.