Taken from handjtrial.blogspot.com Because the jury could not reach a unanimous decision on whether he really deserved to die, it looks like America’s sweetheart, Harlow Cuadra will get life without parole. They discussed it for five and a half hours. During closing arguments, the prosecution showed the knife that nearly decapitated Bryan Kocis and the tape where Cuadra said, “Actually, seeing that (expletive) going down, actually it’s sick, but it made me feel better inside.” They also took a particularly low-blow by insinuating that Cuadra had weaseled his way out of the military just before the Iraq Invasion, when in actuality he’d been discharged because he’s a ‘mo. Earlier in the week, victim Bryan Kocis’ father told the jury he hasn’t slept a full night in the last 26 months, and blames his son’s murder for his declining health. “We were very close,” Michael said. “He was my hunting partner who saved my life when I had my heart attack.” Michael told the jury that he taught Bryan how to drive a vehicle with a stick-shift transmission, and worked three jobs to put his son through college. Bryan donated money to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and to an unwed mother who couldn’t afford Christmas presents for her children, Michael said. Bryan’s dream was to build a waterfront home at Ice Lakes in Rice Township where he owned property, Michael said, and open a restaurant. “That was the type of person he was, very generous,” Michael said. In his defense, Paul J. Walker, one of Cuadra’s two attorneys, presented eight mitigating circumstances, including Cuadra’s Naval service and his dysfunctional childhood. The Lackawanna prison chaplain testified that Cuadra’s transformed behind bars: attending Mass in jail, giving the readings in Spanish, and even recruiting others to continue attending after he leaves (kissing up? survival tactics?). One of Cuadra’s clients spoke about their mutual a love of cheesecakes, Harry Potter books, and money; he added that Cuadra had helped him rediscover his faith and had sent him a small cross woven out of cloth. In the end though, Cuadra’s own mother, a Honduras native, gave the most impassioned plea for the life of her son (using a translator). She recounted the years of sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather as a child and said, “Before he was born I fought for his life, and now I continue fighting so he can keep on living. It’s the only thing I can say to you. With my last drop of blood, I’ll keep on fighting.” In the end, mom got her wish. Personally, we’re glad to be done with this whole horrible affair. What a tragic and needless waste of life and beauty on all sides. We all like porn, we all like money—it’s never worth killing someone over. Kocis’ family have lost an uncle, a brother, and a son. He and Cuadra have both lost their businesses, their passions, and their lives. We’d much rather Kocis had gone on making porn for us to jerk to and for handsome Harlow continue fucking hot guys rather than rotting in a cell. But we define ourselves by our ties to others. Harlow had no tie to anyone, not even his own family, only to his hustling clients and abusive boyfriend… a life lived out of sexual opportunity and brutal fear. Now he’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars trying to figure out what happened and if he can make amends with the ghost of Bryan Kocis and his lost life.
The genetically-engineered Visconti Triplets will start touring the U.S. (possibly revealing that they are in fact an optical illusion created by mirrors.
2009 GAYVN Hall of Fame inductees include Michael Lucas, Dean Phoenix, Jack Simmons, and Chris Steele. And talking about awards shows, here’s a sneak peek of the 2009 Grabby Awards.
Pennsylvania newspaper Citizen’s Voice notes gay blog interest in the Harlow Cuadra murder case (which, by the way, is in the penalty phase. We’ll know Cuadra’s fate most likely by Monday).
Hung twink vampires will most likely suck your cum and drive a stake through your ass. Who’s their next victim?
“Twink producer,” Afton Willis, announces spring release of Twinklight a Twilight knock-off with twink vampires… we bet it’ll suck (blood, or cum).
Relationships are hard, just like Pedro and Daniel’s bodies (and cocks). Sadly, the couple is dunzo. But luckily, Daniel’s shacked up with a new beefcake and they’re already fucking on film!
After 3 months of YouTube inactivity and their deleted blog, porn couple Daniel Marvin and Pedro Andreas reveal that they’ve broken up because Daniel got interested in Juan Blas, his now new boyfriend. You can watch Daniel and his new man-candy fuck at Collin O’Neal.
Harlow Cuadra, an escort, adult producer and website entrepreneur, has been found guilty of first-degree homicide in the murder of producer Bryan Kocis. The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for roughly three and a half hours before reaching its unanimous decision. He was additionally found guilty on charges of theft, robbery, arson and abuse of a corpse. The penalty phase begins tomorrow when jurors will decide if Cuadra should receive the death penalty. Cuadra, 27, was accused of murdering Cobra Video producer Bryan Kocis in January 2007 and setting fire to his Dallas Township, Penn. home. He and his former partner and onetime co-defendant, Joseph Kerekes, 34, were arrested in May 2007 and formally charged two months later. Kerekes pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in early December 2008. He was sentenced to the mandatory life in prison without parole. The plea spared Kerekes from facing the death penalty. Details to follow.
UPDATE: 3/11/09 7:15pm While scrolling through RSS feeds this morning, we found this startling (and entirely wrong) headline from PageOneQ.com. Looks like Brent Corrigan better watch his perfect, bubble-shaped ass or he could end up a dead man! UPDATE: 3/11/09 3:30pm The closing arguments have begun, with the defense penning it all on Kerekes and the prosecution saying the murder wasn’t “a solo act.” In what seems to be the last day of testimony, three exciting things happened: 1) Joseph Kerekes took the stand in Cuadra’s defense then said absolutely nothing, 2) Cuadra’s mom stood up and shouted, “You stole my son,” to Kerekes, and 3) Cuadra told his version of events, which sounded, to put it lightly, a little fishy. Here’s highlights quoted directly and summarized from H and J Trial and The Advocate:
After speculation over wether Kerekes would testify for or against Cuadra, he just showed up and said nothing for five minutes… thanks a lot, Joe. 1) KEREKES HOLDS HIS TONGUE: Before Cuadra took the stand, jurors saw his ex-boyfriend and convicted second-degree murderer, Joe Kerekes. Sources told one reporter that in exchange for Joe’s testimony, the defense team deposited $300 into Joe’s canteen (so that he could buy a TV).
Wearing prison garb and shackles, Kerekes took the stand briefly but refused to speak about the case. “I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents, and it would destroy them if I said something that I didn’t do,” Kerekes said. Kerekes’ horrendous grammar makes his comments a little difficult to understand, but he apparently changed his mind about testifying on behalf of his ex-boy candy.
Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide in December and is serving a life sentence. In his plea, he said Cuadra killed Kocis and then set fire to his Dallas Township home in January 2007. Kerekes’ testimony could have absolved Cuadra of all guilt, but his silence is far more damning. The defense team should’ve blown that 300 bucks on hats.
We could not find a picture of Cuadra’s mom, so we used this picture instead. It’s from a Nintendo DS game called Ace Lawyer. 2) CUADRA’S MOM CALLS KEREKES OUT: After Kerekes’ amazingly underwhelming testimony, Cuadra’s mother shouted “You stole my son,” at Kerekes as he left the courtroom. We’re not sure if she meant “My son’s gonna rot because of your crap testimony” or if she meant “You took the best years of his life, you big-dicked bastard.” Either way, tres dramatique!
You see, when Kerekes pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide in December, he said Cuadra killed Kocis and then set fire to his Dallas Township home, effectively implicating his ex for first-degree murder (pre-meditation and and active role in its execution). We’re not sure what part Cuadra played in the near-decapitation, 28 stabbings, and torching of Kocis. But according to Cuadra’s testimony, Cuadra had no role in the murder other than as a bystander. Read Cuadra’s version of events after the jump!
Sure it’s March, but it’s never too late to start celebrating the new year, especially when there’s sexy firemen involved. QC Japanese recently shared this scorching hot calendar of sexy Asian firemen wielding some heavy gear and we simply had to share. Of course, we’ve covered sexyfirefightercalendars in the past, but we figured twelve more logs would only stoke our lusty bonfire even more… it’s a real 5-alarm ordeal and someone’s gotta put it out (or get burned trying… yow!)
Check out the next six months, after the jump!
EDITOR’S NOTE: There’s a picture of the murder victim’s charred corpse after the jump which some readers may find disturbing. The prosecution in the Bryan Kocis murder trial is expected to rest their case against Harlow Cuadra this Monday or Tuesday. They’ve called more than 50 witnesses and we’ve condensed their testimony into bite-sized nuggets below:
Cuadra carrying Brent Corrigan in private footage taken at a nude beach. STRONG ENOUGH FOR MURDER?: A thin Harlow Cuadra slouched in his courtroom chair Thursday, not looking as jurors watched a video of him, shirtless, lifting dumbbells and flexing his muscles.
To prove that Cuadra had the strength to stab and kill Bryan Kocis, the prosecution called Lance Threadway, owner of the Virginia Beach gym where Cuadra and his partner, Joseph Kerekes, worked out regularly. Threadway called Cuadra, “a very strong gentleman… who regularly bench pressed 225 pounds.” Threadway said neither Cuadra or his boyfriend, Joseph Kerekes, checked into the gym between January 24th (the day Kocis was killed) and 26th.
Cuadra’s attorneys have painted Cuadra as weaker than his ex, admitted killer Joseph Kerekes, saying in opening statements that Cuadra wasn’t strong enough to stab Kocis and slash his throat.
Cuadra was also an escort with several friendly and helpful clients. HUSTLING FOR AN ALIBI: Cuadra’s former clients testified that Cuadra contacted them for an alibi for the night of the murder. “A bad alibi is better than no alibi,” Cuadra allegedly told Howard Mitchell Halford according to Halford’s testimony.
Halford met Cuadra through the male escort service Cuadra co-owned with Kerekes in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Halford said he loved Cuadra and often worried about him, giving Cuadra a key to his home so Cuadra could “have an option” if there was ever a problem with Kerekes. Since Cuadra’s arrest, Halford has donated more than $70,000 to Cuadra for his legal fund and other expenses. But he never lied to police.
“You were not with him on Jan. 24?” Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick asked.
The testimony continues after the jump!
Murder suspect Harlow Cuadra is expected to take the stand in his own defense this week in the trial for the capital murder of porn producer, Bryan Kocis. With evidence slowly mounting against the young porn star, things don’t look good for Mr. Cuadra. XBIZ reports:
One newspaper account notes that prosecutors spent the first three days of testimony “laying a foundation that placed Cuadra in Northeastern Pennsylvania the night Kocis died. Emails, as well as computer and financial records were reviewed. Prosecutors showed rental records of a car Cuadra paid for matching the description of the silver sport utility vehicle parked outside Kocis’ house on Jan. 24 [2007]. Video footage of Cuadra and Kerekes purchasing a knife and pistol from a Virginia Beach, Va., pawn shop days before Kocis died was shown to jurors.”
Far from pleading the fifth, Brent Corrigan helped federal investigators learn more about the murder of Bryan Kocis. UPDATE (3/1/09): Read about Brent’s five hour testimony, its emotional toll, and his admission to performing in porn while underage after the jump! Porn star Brent Corrigan (age 23) is set to soon take the stand in the highly publicized Harlow Cuadra trial. If you remember, Harlow Cuadra (27) allegedly murdered porn rival, Bryan Kocis (44), with his partner, Joseph Kerekes (35) in an attempt to do porn with then it-boy Brent Corrigan. Quote: “(Cuadra and Kerekes) thought if they brought in [Brent Corrigan], they wold bring in six figures… and it would cause a youth phenomenon.” News flash: there’s already a youth phenomenon in gay porn… they’re called twinks. The details of the actual murder are grisly (jump to the next paragraph if you’d rather avoid them): according to the testifying forensic pathologist, Kocis was killed by a slashed neck, suffered 28 stab wounds after he died, and had third degree burns on approximately 90 percent of his body. The slash nearly completely decapitated Kocis in one fell sweep, and his body was so badly burned that any DNA evidence was annihilated in a fierce blaze. Goddamn! Talk about overkill! Corrigan assisted the FBI with their murder investigation by wearing a wire and supposedly getting Harlow confessing to the murder on tape, which is what he’ll likely testify in court. Cuadra’s defense is simply that he didn’t do it. Makes sense, although unfortunately his ex-lover Kerekes already pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide in December (though he won’t testify in this case). Cuadra’s defense attorney, Joseph D’Andrea said, “Joe [Kerekes] was the dominant partner. Joe was controlling and he controlled Harlow, both on the personal and professional side… Joe Kerekes cared about one thing, getting ahead, and that meant money…He prostituted his own lover, Harlow, to make money.” Because of his plea of innocence, Cuadra could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree homicide. We’ll keep you posted on Brent’s testimony and other developments as the trial progresses. Check out QC’s coverage of the case below: UPDATE: Jury Selection Underway In Harlow Cuadra Murder Trial QCA TV Quickie: Harlow Cuadra On Here! QCA Television: Everything You Wanted To Know About Gay Porn Stars (But Were Afraid To Ask) Porn Stars and Family Rally to “Free Harlow Cuadra” Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Manuel Kerekes Arrested!
UPDATE 2/16/09: Jury selection gets underway for the Cuadra trial. More details after the jump! ORIGINAL STORY 10/3/07: Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes can’t catch a break. Prosecutors in the January 2007 murder of Corbra Video owner Brian Kocis are seeking the death penalty against the accused porn amateur Cuadra and his partner Kerekes.
Since their assets have been seized, the pair are seeking to sell Norfolk Companions, their male escort agency, to raise funds for their legal defense. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
In a blog post, Cuadra explains the need to sell the agency:
“Hello friends and fans, as you know Joe and I have been charged with Murder and an assortment of other crimes. We are INNOCENT! The dollar amount to defend a capital case is over 250,000.00 dollars combined. We have tried requesting donations and putting up our many personal items for auction to raise these funds. We have not been successful in meeting this demand, the donations and items that were purchased have not covered any where close to the funds required. Our attorneys have now issued a deadline for full payment to them. It is unfortunate that we must sell Norfolk Male Escorts and its client information in order to help raise the funds we require. We are currently working on the auction post so be sure to check our auction site. This decision was not made lightly, this is a matter of life and death! We are fighting for our lives. We can no longer afford to hold on to anything that would be considered an asset. Our Lawyers have stated that if they are not paid within there time frame they will withdraw from our cases, We have less then six days to come up with the sum of money they are looking for, that would be in excess of 150,000.00. Thank you for your support in this matter.”
The pair are also selling other items such as a 45-minute interview with the duo, Harlow’s underwear and gym shorts, and their hot tub.
Not too long ago we reported on a new TV miniseries entitled, Everything You Wanted To Know About Gay Porn Stars. Apart from covering pay, on-site bloopers, famil reactions, and HIV issues, the series will also devote an entire episode to Harlow Cuadra, a porn star in prison for allegedly killing an adult gay film producer. They go behind bars to visit Harlow for his account on how he got wrapped up in the business and where things went wrong. You can also read Cuadra’s blog and more about the crime here, here, and here.
Finally! A show for men who love watching men love men on film. For the upcoming show Everything you Wanted To Know About Gay Porn Stars (But Were Afraid To Ask), director John Roecker interviewed sixteen gay porn stars (including Kris Anthony, Brad Benton, Nick Capra, Caleb Carter, Alan Gregory, Jason Hawke, Johnny Hazzard, Jeremy Jordan, Matt Martin, Joey Milano, Nick Piston, Jason Ridge, Marc Sterling, Danny Vox, Bret Wolfe, Harlow Cuadra) to learn what makes them tick. Far from just being racy, reality-show schlock, the mini-series actually sounds interesting and (gasp!) even socially relevant. The episodes tackle coming-out, drug abuse, romantic relationships, HIV awareness, porn star bloopers, and how one star got drawn into murder. The show debuts on here! Network November 14th—heck it out. We’ll see if we can get some video clips of the show posted here for everyone. Get a rundown of the episode topics, after the jump!
Porn stars Jason Ridge and Danny Vox have released a homemade video in support of Harlow Cuadra, a former escort and porn star who was arrested along with his partner Joseph Kerekes for the January 2007 murder of porn studio owner Bryan Kocis. Proceeds of the video, available at Harlow’s pay site BoyBatter.com, will go to the Harlow Cuadra Defense Fund. Cuadra and Kerekes’ assests have been seized by prosecutors, forcing the duo to raise funds for their defense.
Cuadra’s own mother has also rallied to her son’s defense, starting a Myspace page devoted to raising defense funds. A plea from Harlow’s little brother is featured on the page: David asks for help www.FreeHarlowCuadra.com
The two men from Virginia Beach facing charges in connection to the stabbing death of Bryan Kocis described the murder while visiting Sean Lockhart (aka Brent Corrigan) and Grant Roy at a nude beach in California three weeks ago, according to arrest papers.
Harlow Cuadra (owner and face of Boy Batter), 25, and Joseph Manuel Kerekes, 33, visited Lockhart (see article on Cuadra and Lockhart’s connection) and Grant Roy at Black’s Beach in San Diego on April 28, where Cuadra told Lockhart about the murder.
Lockhart was a model for Kocis who owned Cobra Video, a company that produced and sold gay pornographic movies.
Kocis was found dead inside his Dallas Township home on Jan. 24.
Investigators said Kocis was stabbed 28 times to the front of his body, and that his throat was slashed before his home was set on fire.
According to the criminal complaints:
Cuadra and Kerekes traveled to San Diego at the end of April and met Lockhart and Roy.
At the nude beach, Cuadra told Lockhart that “(Cuadra) was present when (Kocis) was murdered.”
A day earlier on April 27, Cuadra told Lockhart, “don’t worry, he went quick,” the criminal complaints say.
Investigators used an electronic intercept to record the conversations, according to the criminal complaints.
State police at Wyoming linked Cuadra to Kocis through several e-mail accounts that were set up prior to Kocis’ murder. Investigators said that Cuadra leased a vehicle in Virginia Beach that he drove to Luzerne County on Jan. 23.
While in the area, Cuadra and Kerekes stayed at the Fox Ridge Inn in Plains Township leaving on Jan. 24.
Investigators also claimed that Cuadra and Kerekes were regulars at a gym in Virginia Beach and didn’t swipe their entrance cards on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, the criminal complaints says.
Cuadra and Kerekes are each charged with criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, liability for the conduct of another, robbery, burglary, theft, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of corpse, criminal conspiracy to commit burglary, and two counts of arson.
The two men are being held in Virginia Beach are may appear before a Virginia judge at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Investigators said the house was set on fire after he was killed. Kocis’ company, Cobra Video, produces and sells gay porn.
Police say they pulled over the two suspects in the 3900 block of Virginia Beach Boulevard around 10:10 Tuesday morning. They were arrested without incident.
Officers are working with Pennsylvania State Police on this investigation. Stay tuned to Your NewsChannel 3 for the latest on this breaking news story.
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Harlow Cuadra is the proud owner of a spanking new Mac Pro based on his latest blog entry dated 9th May in which he described as “his first day to day entry”. Will that be the last entry too?
(via Times Leader via Marion at Bitchless)
