Harlow Cuadra's Trial... Penalty Phase Day 2

Verdict: Life Without Parole

7:35 PM: I can now confirm that Harlow's official sentence is as follows:

Life w/o Parole for first-degree murder
Life w/o Parole for criminal conspiracy engaging
20 Years for the rest
1 Year probation.

Meanwhile... a reliable source just told me... 'all of those sentences are consecutive, not concurrent. essentially, he'd need two lives and then some to serve his sentences'.

4:52 PM: According to the Citizens' Voice, Harlow Cuadra will serve life in prison, after the jury of eight men and four women could not reach a unanimous decision whether prosecution presented any aggravating factors worthy of the death penalty.

The same jury that convicted Cuadra Thursday of first-degree homicide for Bryan Kocis' January 2007 murder at his Dallas Township reached an impasse today. The jury deliberated for about five and a half hours before telling count Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. they could not reach a unanimous verdict despite being given more time by the judge.

The jury returned to the courtroom around 2:30 to tell Olszewski they agreed one of the factors wasn't valid, but had reach an impasse on the other.

Olszewski instructed jurors to try and reach a unanimous decision. The jury foreman didn't specify which of the two aggravating factors they were undecided.

4:50 PM: The Times Leader is reporting that a Luzerne County jury has decided Harlow Cuadra will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The jury came to a unanimous decision of life in prison without the possibility parole.

4:49 PM:Life without Parole.

2:57 PM: Meanwhile, the Citizens' Voice is reporting that jurors will continue deliberations after telling county Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. they are at an impasse over one of the two aggravating factors.

The jury foreman said the jury unanimously agrees that one of the two aggravating factors is not valid in the case, but is at an impasse on the other.

Olszewski told jurors to return to its chambers to continue deliberations and to try and reach a unanimous decision.

If jurors find one aggravating factor, they will have to weigh it against mitigating circumstances.

2:55 PM: According to the Times Leader, the Luzerne County jury will continue to deliberate the fate of Harlow Cuadra's future after it advised the judge they couldn't reach an unanimous decision.

The jury foreman told Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. that there was confusion on one of the two aggravating circumstances, which are robbery and endangering firefighters.

Olszewski advised the jury to continue to deliberate. If the jury is unable to reach an unanimous decision, Olszewski will be mandated under the law to sentence Cuadra to life in prison.

The same jury deliberating Cuadra's fate convicted him last week in the killing of Bryan Kocis, 44, in Dallas Township in January 2007.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick said Cuadra set Kocis' home on fire, which endangered firefighters, and stole items from the home in a robbery.

2:30 PM: The jury is back.

1:16 PM: Sources tell me that the jury is still deliberating. I'm a little surprised it's taking this long.

12:35 PM: A court watcher tells me that Harlow looked pretty down today. More than during the trial. His mother is a wreck, but can't really say if Harlow's any more upbeat or depressed than last week. He was only in court for a couple hours this morning.

12:19 PM: Sources tell me that the jury continues to deliberate. I can't imagine it's going to be too much longer.

11:24 AM: The Citizens' Voice reports that Harlow Cuadra's fate is in the hands of the jury, who will decide if he deserves death for the murder of Bryan Kocis.

Jurors left the courtroom at 11:04 a.m. to weigh two aggravating factors connected to the murder-- the robbery, a felony, and arson charges, which risked firefighters lives -- against mitigating circumstances presented by Cuadra's attorneys.

Cuadra was convicted Thursday of first-degree homicide by the same jury for the Jan. 24, 2007, murder and arson at Kocis' Dallas Township home.

Lead prosecutor Michael Melnick showed jurors prosecution evidence during closing arguments. He showed the knife that likely killed Kocis, and described how it slashed Kocis' neck and nearly decapitated him. He replayed wire-tapped conversations Cuadra had at a beach outside San Diego.

“Actually, seeing that (expletive) going down, actually it’s sick, but it made me feel better inside,” Cuadra said on the tape, referring to Kocis.

Melnick questioned Cuadra's service in the Navy, saying it shouldn't be considered as a mitigating circumstance. Cuadra was honorably discharged after serving nearly three years in the Navy, but it was shortly before the lead-up to the war in Iraq.

"Did the defendant, as he’s presenting, demonstrate selfless sacrifice or selfish indulgence?" Melnick asked.

"The appropriate sentence in this case is that of capital punishment," he said later.

Paul J. Walker, one of Cuadra's two attorneys, presented eight mitigating circumstances, including Cuadra's Naval service, sexual abuse he suffered as a child and the dysfunctional childhood he had, among others.

Cuadra's mother cried as Walker described the impoverished broken home of Cuadra's youth.

Walker challenged Melnick's assertion that Cuadra didn't honorably serve the Navy, calling it ridiculous. Cuadra was discharged because he openly admitted he was a homosexual. He was not scheduled to be deployed overseas when he was discharged, Walker told jurors.

“To suggest he had not served his country admirably is an insult to you and an insult to him,” he said.

Walker also told jurors that, by law, they cannot accept the burglary charge as an aggravating factor, if they believe Cuadra was an accomplice in the crime. In Pennsylvania, someone can be convicted of first-degree homicide as an accomplice. Cuadra's former partner and lover Joseph Kerekes pleaded guilty in December to second-degree homicide in the crime and is serving a life sentence. The law says the burglary charge, a felony, can be used as an aggravating circumstance if jurors believe Cuadra in fact slashed Kocis' throat and then robbed him. If Cuadra was an accomplice, it can't be considered, he said.

Walker also said that the fire, which prosecutors say endangered the lives of firefighters, shouldn't be considered. Risking the lives of others while committing a murder is used as an aggravating factor if it happens in the act of the killing. Kocis died of stab wounds, not the fire, Walker said.

"When a person is sentenced to life in prison, that is exactly what it means," Walker said. "Life is life in Pennsylvania...he will spend the rest of his time in prison."

11:02 AM: According to the Times Leader, the Luzerne County jury that convicted Harlow Cuadra last week in the brutal killing of Bryan Kocis will soon consider if he should spend the rest of his life in prison or be executed.

Prosecutors and Cuadra's lawyers gave closing arguments to the jury this morning.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick said Cuadra deliberately killed Kocis and set his home Dallas Township home on fire that endangered firefighters. Several items were stolen from Kocis' home, Melnick said.

The danger to firefighters and the robbery are two aggravating circumstances for capital punishment.

Attorney Paul Walker pleaded with the jury to spare Cuadra's life, saying Cuadra was raised in a dysfunctional family and honorably served with the U.S. Navy.

As throughout the three week trial, Walker blamed Cuadra's lover, Joseph Kerekes, for the killing.

Walker said Kerekes convinced Cuadra to leave the Navy, held onto Cuadra's credit cards and driver's license, and controlled Cuadra's life.

The jury of eight men and four women will begin deliberating Cuadra's punishment once Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. is finished giving them instructions.

9:28 AM: While we await the first tidbits of news, I stumbled upon two additional articles in today's Times Leader: Defense not lacking for experience, and an op-ed by Ed Lewis called Truth trumps every word out of killer Cuadra.

7:53 AM: Closing arguments in the penalty phase are expected to begin today at 9:00 AM, then the jury will decide if Harlow Cuadra is given the death penalty, or life in prison without parole. Stay tuned for further updates throughout the day.

There's also an article about this in today's Times Leader: Cuadra may learn fate today.

Death Penalty... How Does Pennsylvania Law Work?

Harlow Cuadra was found guilty of first-degree murder last Thursday afternoon by a Luzerne County jury, and is now facing the possibility of getting the death penalty as his sentence. While a good portion of his penalty phase was held last Friday, closing arguments are expected to be heard Monday morning, and then it'll be up to the jury once again to decide. While we wait for the 'second verdict', I thought the information below might be helpful to some:

The death penalty may only be applied in cases where a defendant is found guilty of first degree murder. A separate hearing is held for the consideration of aggravating and mitigating circumstances. If at least one of the ten aggravating circumstances listed in the law and none of the eight mitigating factors are found to be present, the verdict must be death.

The next step is formal sentencing by the judge. Frequently, there is a delay between the sentence verdict and formal sentencing as post-trial motions are heard and considered. An automatic review of the case by the state Supreme Court follows sentencing. The court can either uphold the sentence or vacate for imposition of a life sentence.

If the Supreme Court affirms the sentence, the case goes to the Governor's Office where it is reviewed by appropriate legal counsel and, ultimately, by the Governor himself. Only the Governor may set the execution date, which is done through the signing of a document known as the Governor's Warrant. By law, all executions are carried out at the State Correctional Institution at Rockview.

Status of Capital Cases

The number of inmates with execution sentences held in the state correctional system continues to grow. For security purposes, all execution cases are assigned to administrative custody status and are housed in Restricted Housing Units (RHUs) at SCIs Graterford and Greene.

Prior to the creation of the Bureau of Correction (now the Department of Corrections) in 1953, capital cases were brought to Rockview, along with the Governor's Warrant, on the day of the execution. After the bureau came into existence, it became common practice for the persons sentenced to death to be transferred to state custody as soon as formal sentencing by the judge had taken place. Until 1971, these cases were held in maximum security status, usually at Eastern or Western Penitentiary and sometimes at Graterford, until the execution date. Early in 1971, Attorney General J. Shane Creamer ordered them released into general population since no warrants had been signed for a number of years. Due to the increasing number of capital cases and concerns about security, the bureau returned all capital cases to administrative custody status late in 1982.

In June 1997, the execution complex at SCI Rockview was moved outside of the facility's perimeter to a former field hospital. The building, which is located on prison grounds, was renovated into a maximum-security building which will house capital cases for a short period of time just prior to execution. The relocation will allow officials to prepare for and carry out executions without disrupting the day-to-day operation of SCI Rockview. The relocation also enhances the safety and security of witnesses because it doesn't require them to enter the facility to view an execution. There are three cells located within this complex. If an execution is imminent, the condemned will be housed in this area until the sentence is carried out.

Additional Resources:

- Death Penalty FAQ
- Visiting Rules

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

Harlow Cuadra's Trial... Penalty Phase Day 1 Overview

The Times Leader reports Joyce Kocis had to be helped from the witness stand after telling the Luzerne County jury about how generous her son, Bryan, was in the community.

“He was the type of person that did things for people,” a tearful Joyce said on Friday. “We heard stories after that happened about the generosity he would do.”

Her son was killed inside his Midland Drive, Dallas Township, home that was set ablaze on Jan. 24, 2007.

Two men from Virginia Beach, Va., Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes, were charged for Kocis’ murder.

Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder and is serving life in prison.

Cuadra, 27, was convicted by the jury on Thursday of first-degree murder and 11 other charges. The same jury is deciding whether Cuadra should be sentenced to life in prison without parole or be executed.

Kocis’ father, Michael Kocis, 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.

Michael said he felt like an “intruder” and cried when he stood alone in his son’s burned out home.

The jury was shown a Kocis family picture standing at the Empire State Building in New York City. Bryan took the family to New York in a limousine for the July 4th weekend in 2006.

“He showed us the best time of our lives,” Michael said. “I miss him dearly.”

Assistant district attorneys Michael Melnick, Shannon Crake and Allyson Kacmarski are attempting to convince the jury that Cuadra should receive the death penalty because he stole items from Kocis’ home during a robbery and set Kocis’ home on fire that endangered firefighters.

Computer equipment, two Sony digital cameras and a Rolex watch were missing from Kocis’ home.

Joyce and Michael testified to the emotional pain and grief they continue to endure since their son’s murder.

Melnick said firefighters had a difficult time extinguishing the blaze. Windows were busted and two holes were cut in the roof to ventilate the heat and smoke, Melnick said.

“The heat was terrible, we really didn’t have any visibility,” Dallas firefighter Michael James Hawk testified on Friday.

Hawk was part of three search teams that entered Kocis’ home because firefighters were told by neighbors the home was occupied and a vehicle was parked in the driveway.

Hawk said he crawled on his hands and knees up the stairs to search the second floor.

“Something happened to my equipment, my face mask,” Hawk told the jury. “All of a sudden, I started breathing in smoke, tasting smoke.”

“With the smoke and heat … there was a danger there,” Dallas firefighter Timothy Rismondo testified.

Rismondo said when Kocis’ body was found, firefighters believed he succumbed to the smoke.

Melnick said Kocis suffered a slashed neck that nearly decapitated him and 28 stab wounds.

Meanwhile, over at the Citizens' Voice... three parents testified Friday — two remembering a son lost to murder; the other begging jurors to spare her son’s life.

Testimony concluded Friday in the penalty phase of Harlow Cuadra’s capital homicide trial.

The jury of eight men and four women will hear closing arguments Monday before deciding if Cuadra deserves the death penalty for Bryan Kocis’ murder. Cuadra was found guilty Thursday of first-degree homicide and 11 other charges in Kocis’ Jan. 24, 2007, murder at Kocis’ Dallas Township home.

Kocis was a generous and caring son, his mother and father said. He donated to numerous charities, served as a deacon at his church and was an Eagle Scout. Kocis, 44, was his parents’ “first and only son,” a hunting buddy and devoted uncle to his niece and nephew, they said.

He “would drop everything to help me out,” Kocis’ father, Michael Kocis, said.

Cuadra killed Kocis, prosecutors say, because he was a rival producer of pornography. Cuadra and his former partner and lover Joseph Kerekes plotted to kill Kocis in order to lure a model to the gay pornography Web site they operated in Virginia Beach, Va.

Kocis had plans, his father said, to open up a restaurant at his lake property.

“He wanted to run the best restaurant in the Valley,” he said. “His goal was by 2008.”

That goal was cut short when Kocis’ life ended, his father said. In the time he was alive, Kocis went out of his way to help people, his father said.

One time, the elder Kocis remembered, his son knew of a single mother who couldn’t afford presents for her children at Christmas. He bundled several gifts and left it at the doorstep, never taking credit, Michael Kocis said.

“That’s just the way he was,” he said.

Michael Kocis gripped a handkerchief and stopped to cry several times as he testified.

“I’m going to try to get through this,” he told jurors before answering questions.

Kocis’ mother, Joyce, cried through her testimony, detailing the pain her son’s death caused. Kocis’ parents haven’t slept a full night in the 26 months since their son’s brutal stabbing death, they said. They’ve returned to Luzerne County Courthouse for countless hours of hearings related to the murder.

Cuadra’s mother, Gladis Zaldivar, testified in Spanish and a court worker translated her words for the jury. Wiping away tears, she had one last remark for jurors before finishing her testimony.

“Before he was born, I fought for his life,” she said looking at the jurors. “And I fight for his life now. That is all I can say.”

Cuadra wiped away tears as his mother testified.

The same jury that convicted Cuadra on Thursday, will have to weigh Friday’s testimony in determining if Cuadra deserves death. The prosecution’s two aggravating factors — the robbery and the arson charges against Cuadra in Kocis’ killing — have to be considered along with the defense’s mitigating circumstance. Four prosecution and nine defense witnesses testified Friday. In addition to Kocis’ parents, two firefighters testified about the blaze at Kocis’ Midland Drive home the night of his death. That arson, prosecutor’s allege, risked the lives of firefighters and should be considered as a reason to issue the death penalty.

Five family members, including his mother, testified on behalf of Cuadra, as did a friend. They recounted Cuadra’s childhood and how his stepfather sexually molested him for years.

Cuadra’s mother read a letter her former husband supposedly sent to Cuadra. Cuadra had joined the Navy when he was a teenager to get away from his stepfather. In the letter, which his mother accidentally found in 2000, Cuadra’s stepfather discussed sexual acts he wanted to perform on Cuadra. Cuadra’s mother divorced him after discovering what her husband was doing.

“It’s embarrassing,” she said sobbing. “I’m sorry … I didn’t know. I didn’t know.”

Cuadra left the Navy and hadn’t returned home for more than five years when his siblings found his MySpace Web site. Cuadra was afraid they would be ashamed because he was homosexual and worked in pornography, his older brother Jose Cuadra testified. But they were able to reunite in early 2007.

“We didn’t care about that,” Jose Cuadra said. “I was just happy to have my brother again.
---
The Times Leader also has an additional story about yesterday's hearing... an e-mail on the Web social networking site MySpace reunited Harlow Cuadra with his family after nearly five years of being separated.

Cuadra testified earlier in the week that he kept away from his relatives because he felt ashamed he’s gay. Once they were reunited, his family rallied to support him after his arrest for the murder of Bryan Kocis in Dallas Township more than two years ago.

They testified in Luzerne County Court on Friday trying to convince the jury to spare his life.

Cuadra, 27, of Virginia Beach, Va., was convicted by the jury on Thursday for killing Kocis, 44, inside Kocis’ residence on Jan. 24, 2007. The same jury that found him guilty of first degree murder and 11 other charges will determine if Cuadra should be sentenced to life in prison or be executed.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick and Cuadra’s attorneys, Joseph D’Andrea and Paul Walker, are set to give closing arguments on Monday before the jury deliberates Cuadra’s future.

Cuadra’s mother, Gladis Zaldivar, and his sister, Melissa Zaldivar, 19, have attended every day of the trial including jury selection since Feb. 17. Since Monday, his brothers, Jose Cuadra, 28, and David Bizizuela, 16, have attended court proceedings. They all reside in Greenville, S.C.

Jose Cuadra and Bizizuela told the jury that they found Harlow on MySpace in early 2007, after not hearing from him since early 2002.

Bizizuela sent Harlow an e-mail and got a reply, “Sorry, I don’t know any 14-year olds.”

They were reunited after Jose sent Harlow an e-mail, Jose said.

“I found out in 2007 on MySpace that Harlow was involved in gay porn,” Jose testified. “I sent Harlow an e-mail to meet up.”

Harlow invited Joseph Kerekes, his lover and partner in a male escort business and production of gay pornographic Web based movies, to meet the family, Jose said.

“It was weird at first but he’s my brother. He was scared that we would reject him because he’s gay. He’s my brother,” Jose testified.

“I didn’t care about that, him being gay,” Bizizuela testified. “I was happy to get my brother back.”

Bizizuela said he last saw Harlow when he was 9 years old.

Jose told the jury about the financial hardship and troubled childhood they endured while residing in Florida. Jose said they resided in a tiny, windowless apartment, slept on the floor without a mattress and had only one ball to play with.

“We were living on welfare, living on food stamps; it was bad,” Jose said.

Their mother, Gladis, remarried in April 1995. Their stepfather provided financial support but wanted something in return, Walker said.

“(Stepfather) had a fixation with him, Harlow,” Jose said.

Jose said the stepfather would send him to the store so he could be alone with Harlow, who was sexually abused for about 10 years. Jose said he left home when he was 16 years old when the stepfather grabbed him.

Gladis Zaldivar, who needed an English interpreter for her testimony, told the jury that she caught her husband molesting Harlow. She immediately left him taking her children, but her husband begged her to forgive him.

After reading a letter her husband wrote to Harlow, who had enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 2000, Gladis learned her husband continued to have feelings for Harlow.

Harlow last spoke to his mother in early 2002 and felt embarrassed when she found out he was gay. It would be five years until he next spoke to his family.

“You don’t know how much I missed you,” a crying Gladis told Harlow on Friday.

Melissa Zaldivar said the first time she saw Harlow after five years was at a court hearing in Virginia Beach, Va., after his arrest in May 2007 for Kocis’ murder.

“Harlow told us he was afraid we would reject him because he was in the pornography business and he was gay,” Melissa testified.

Melissa also recalled her childhood that she called “happy” until her mother and father divorced.

“My brother (David) and I were on MySpace and we went to search for him (Harlow),” Melissa said. “Jose logged on and sent Harlow an e-mail and he called.”

Karen Stanton, a civilian employee with the Department of the U.S. Navy, testified about Harlow’s military service.

Harlow signed a delayed enlistment contract on Aug. 26, 1999, and reported for duty on Jan. 13, 2000, Stanton said.

Harlow committed to serve eight years and was trained as a hospital corpsman. While stationed in Norfolk, Va., Harlow met Kerekes in an on-line chat room.

Kerekes, 35, convinced Harlow to leave the Navy and helped pay for an attorney to expedite the process.

Harlow requested to separate from the Navy due to being a homosexual, Stanton said.

She said Harlow was honorably discharged after serving two years, 11 months and eight days in the Navy.

"I don’t mean this in a bad way, but it is a straight man’s military," Harlow testified on Tuesday when he took the witness stand against his lawyers advice.

Harlow moved in with Kerekes and joined him running a male escort business. Escorting turned into producing gay pornographic films as a “hobby,” Harlow said, on the Internet.

Kerekes took over the Web site after it made several hundred dollars, Harlow said.

Investigators said Kocis was killed because Cuadra and Kerekes considered him their main rival in the adult film production industry, and wanted to work with adult film actor Sean Lockhart, who was a contract actor for Kocis’ company, Cobra Video.