LOVE'S DEADLY TRIANGLE: THE TEXAS CADET MURDER

Holly Marie Combs and David Lipper

LOVE'S DEADLY TRIANGLE: THE TEXAS CADET MURDER (aka Swearing Allegiance/1997 telefilm). Director: Richard A. Colla. 

In the late nineties in Texas, two young sociopaths -- Diane Zamora (Holly Marie Combs) and David Graham (David Lipper), high school students with plans for the military and marriage -- decide to do away with another young lady, Adrianne Jones (Cassidy Rae), in order to wash out the sin of her sleeping with David, an event that may never have even occurred. Love's Deadly Triangle is a telefilm that was rushed out even before Zamora and Graham were put on trial (both received life sentences.)

David Lipper as Cadet David 

Frankly, Love's Deadly Triangle, although absorbing enough, is another example of a true crime movie that is sort of pasted together in a hurry and lacks any kind of depth of characterization or much else. True, there isn't much to Zamora or Graham aside from severe pathology. In spite of this Combs gives a good performance as the jealous Diane, while Lipper is effective, although a cut or two below his co-star in acting ability. Dee Wallace is fine as Adrianne's heartbroken mother. True crime shows, such as American Justice, that have focused on this tragic case and present the real participants are generally more interesting than this TV movie. Graham at first denied that he murdered Jones, then later not only admitted that he had killed her but that he and Adrienne had never even slept together. Zamora had a brief jailhouse marriage to another man that ended in divorce, and essentially failed a lie detector test on Dateline. Apparently both of these creeps are right where they belong. 

Verdict: Sad case, interesting story, so-so telefilm. **1/2.