Wichita inmate featured on 2017 jail drama sentenced for murder of twin, sister-in-law
A Wichita man convicted of murdering his twin brother and sister-in-law more than eight years ago was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with no parole, according to a news release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
Luis Alvarado-Meraz, 33, received the sentence in the Jan. 14, 2015, shooting deaths of his brother, Manuel Alvarado-Meraz, 24, and Manuel’s wife, Lucero Rodriquez, 22. A jury found him guilty of one count of capital murder on Oct. 5, 2018.
Manuel Alvarado-Meraz was shot 12 times and his wife was shot eight times in their apartment in the 2800 block of South Emporia, the DA’s Office said previously. Police found their bodies at the scene.
The sentence comes more than four years after Luis Alvarado-Meraz’s trial.
“The delay in sentencing was the result of the filing of multiple post-trial motions which required days of evidentiary hearings over the course of several years,” the DA’s news release said.
“Ultimately, the defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied.”
Alvarado-Meraz, who pleaded not guilty to the murders, gained brief TV fame in 2017 when he appeared in episodes of the jail drama series “Lockup: Wichita KS Extended Stay,” which was filmed in the Sedgwick County Jail.
At the time, viewers were captivated by his artistic talent — he would spend hours drawing in his cell — and he told camera crews he couldn’t wait to get to prison so he would have access to better art supplies.
