Harlow Cuadra's Trial... Penalty Phase

4:34 PM: According to the Times Leader, convicted murderer Harlow Cuadra will have to wait until Monday if he will spend the rest of his life in prison or if he faces the death penalty.

Prosecutors presented five witnesses and Cuadra's attorneys called seven people to testify during the penalty phase of the trial.

Cuadra, 27, was convicted by the jury on Thursday of killing Bryan Kocis, 44, in January 2007. The same jury will consider if he should be sentenced to life in prison or be executed.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys will give closing arguments on Monday before the jury decides which sentence will be imposed upon Cuadra.

3:42 PM: The Citizens' Voice reports that testimony concluded this afternoon in the death penalty phase of Harlow Cuadra's capital homicide trial.

Attorneys will give closing arguments after a short break. Jurors will then decide if Cuadra deserves the death penalty for the Jan. 24, 2007 homicide of Bryan Kocis. Cuadra, 27, was convicted Thursday of first-degree homicide and 11 other charges.

Defense attorneys called nine witnesses, including Cuadra's family members and psychological experts who testified to his background.

Cuadra's mother testified for more than an hour on her son's behalf. She sobbed as she answered questions in Spanish and a court worker translated for the jury.

"Before he was born, I fought for his life," she said. "And I fight for his life now. That is all I can say."

Cuadra's older brother, Jose Cuadra, described the family's poverty when Harlow Cuadra was a child and how Harlow Cuadra was sexually molested by his stepfather when he was a child.

Prosecution concluded its testimony this morning after calling five witnesses.

Bryan Kocis' mother and father described their "caring" and "generous" son, and the pain in their lives since his murder.

Michael Kocis testified his son was his hunting buddy. Since his death, he hasn't had a full night of sleep in the past 26 months. Michael Kocis read his answers from a prepared sheet, but had to stop several times to wipe tears.

"I'm going to try and get through this," he told jurors before detailing how Bryan Kocis donated money to charities helping battered women and the United Way. His "first and only son" was an Eagle Scout and a deacon at his church, Michael Kocis said.

1:30 PM: The Times Leader reports that Harlow Cuadra was molested by his step father for several years as a child while living in Tampa and Miami, Fla,, his brother, Jose Cuadra Jr., said.

Jose Cuadra testified on his brother's behalf during the penalty phase of Cuadra's hearing on Friday.

Cuadra, 27, was convicted by a jury on Thursday for the brutal killing of Bryan Kocis, 44, in January 2007. The same jury that convicted him is now hearing testimony to determine if Cuadra should be sentenced to life in prison or be executed.

Jose Cuadra, 28, said he and Harlow had a rough childhood growing up in Miami. After their parents divorced, they stayed with their mother, Gladis, residing in a tiny, windowless apartment near Tampa.

"We were living on welfare, living on foodstamps, it was bad," Jose said. "We didn't having nothing. We only had one ball; we would both go out and play ball."

Jose said their mother dated, including a man in a gang, and eventually married. The man their mother married began molesting Harlow while he slept in the same bed with Jose.

Jose said the molestation forced him to leave the home when he was 16 years old. He said he lost touch with Harlow for several years.

Harlow was found when Jose and his younger sister and brother found him on the myspace.com networking Web site.

"We found out in 2007 on myspace that Harlow was involved in gay porn," Jose said. "He came over the house with Joe (Kerekes) in the spring (2007). It was a little wierd at first but he' s my brother. He was scared that we would reject him because he's gay."

Prosecutors 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.

Cuadra's attorneys, Joseph D'Andrea and Paul Walker, are calling several family members of Cuadra to testify on his behalf.

After testimony concludes, Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick and D'Andrea or Walker will present their arguments to the jury before they deliberate Cuadra's punishment.

11:14 AM: According to the Citizens' Voice, Bryan Kocis' mother and father could barely finish their sentences as they described their "caring" and "generous" son, and the pain in their lives since his murder Jan. 24, 2007.

Prosecution concluded its testimony this morning in the penalty phase of Harlow Cuadra's capital homicide trial after calling five witnesses. Cuadra was convicted Thursday of first-degree homicide in Kocis' death. Today the jury of eight men and four women will decide if Cuadra deserves the death penalty or life in prison.

Michael Kocis testified his son was his hunting buddy. Since his death, he hasn't had a full night of sleep in the past 26 months. Michael Kocis read his answers from a prepared sheet, but had to stop several times to wipe tears.

"I'm going to try and get through this," he told jurors before detailing how Bryan Kocis donated money to charities helping battered women and the United Way. His "first and only son" was an Eagle Scout and a deacon at his church, Michael Kocis said.

Defense has called three witnesses, including Cuadra's older brother Jose Cuadra. He described the family's poverty when Harlow Cuadra was a child and how Harlow Cuadra was sexually molested by his stepfather when he was a child.

Several more defense witnesses have to testify still, including Harlow Cuadra's mother and a psychologist.

9:16 AM: The Times Leader is reporting that the penalty phase for convicted murderer Harlow Cuadra has begun.

Prosecutors are presenting evidence that Cuadra, 27, should be executed for the brutal killing of Bryan Kocis, 44, in January 2007.

Kocis was found slain inside his Dallas Township residence that was set ablaze on Jan. 24.

The fire endangered firefighters and items stolen from the home during the robbery are two aggravating factors prosecutors will present to the jury.

"The heat was terrible, we really didn't have any visibility," Dallas firefighter Michael James Hawk testified.

Hawk was part of a search team that entered Kocis' home while it was ablaze.

"Something happened to my equipment, my face mask," Hawk said when he crawled up the stairs and started searching the second floor. "All of a sudden, I started breathing in smoke, tasting smoke."

Kocis' mother, Joyce Kocis, said her son was a generous, loving person and was heartbroken when she learned of her son's death.

"You have to know Bryan, if only you knew Bryan the way we did, he was very private," Joyce testified. "He was the type of person who did things for people."

Cuadra's attorneys, Joseph D'Andrea and Paul Walker, are expected present to the jury several mitigating factors not to impose the death penalty to include Cuadra's service in the U.S. Navy, Cuadra's age at the time of Kocis' death, no prior criminal convictions, participation in the homicide was minimal and being a victim of sexual abuse as a child.

8:21 AM: Now that Harlow Cuadra was found guilty of first-degree murder, we move on to the penalty phase. Starting at 8:30 AM, the jury is expected to hear testimony from Kocis’ family, Cuadra’s family and likely psychiatrists before it deliberates Cuadra’s punishment of life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Stay tuned for further updates throughout the day. Meanwhile, here's a good article written by the Times Leader.

Cuadra Trial... Day 13 Overview

The Citizens' Voice reports that Harlow Cuadra’s 5-foot-9-inch frame sunk into his wooden chair as the jury foreman read six words.

“Homicide in the first degree. Guilty.”

Cuadra, 27, sobbed on the witness stand a day earlier, telling jurors he didn’t kill Bryan Kocis at his Dallas Township home. Thursday, a shocked gaze replaced tears.

Jurors deliberated 3 hours and 34 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict — guilty on all 12 charges, including arson, abuse of corpse and corruption. It took prosecutors 10 days to present their case, that Cuadra killed Kocis, a rival pornography producer, to advance the gay pornography Web site he operated with Joseph Kerekes in Virginia Beach, Va.

Today the jury of eight men and four women will reconvene for the penalty phase to decide if Cuadra deserves life in prison or death.

Behind Cuadra in county Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.’s courtroom, an aisle separated two families fighting through different emotions.

More than two years after their son and brother was stabbed to death, Kocis’ family found justice Thursday. They sat through countless court hearings in the case to determine who killed the 44-year-old Kocis at his Midland Drive home on Jan. 24, 2007.

Kocis’ father wiped his eyes. Kocis’ mother collapsed into his chest as the verdict was read. The two hugged tightly, trembling each time “guilty” was read.

Family members refrained from commenting after the verdict. But as it was read, Kocis’ mother raised her eyes upward and whispered, “Thank God.” Kocis’ father croaked out a “thank you” to prosecutors as they approached the family.

Cuadra’s mother and sister tried not to cry. They bowed their heads as “guilty” was repeated, but stayed silent until Olszewksi instructed jurors to report today for the penalty phase. Then Cuadra’s mother burst into tears. She continued crying as she left the courtroom.

“My son is a victim! My son is a victim!” she shouted walking toward the basement exit. “I need my son!”

Cuadra’s family has maintained his innocence, believing Kerekes, Cuadra’s former lover and business partner, was the real killer.

During deliberations, Cuadra’s sister, Melissa, said her mother was “hanging on by a thread” from the stresses of the case. The 19-year-old from Greenville, S.C., said the family believes he was manipulated by Kerekes.

“We’ve believed in Harlow since the beginning that he’s innocent,” she said. “We know him.”

Some of those family members will likely take the stand today during the penalty phase. The prosecution will present aggravating factors that make the homicide more heinous. Jurors will weigh those against the defense’s mitigating circumstances, or reasons his life should be spared. Defense will likely call family members and a mitigation expert to cut through the two aggravating factors — the robbery and the arson charges.

One of those factors could be dropped if jurors believe Cuadra acted as an accomplice and not Kocis’ direct killer. Issuing the death penalty to an accomplice in a capital case is much more difficult, several attorneys said.

Before reaching a verdict, jurors asked Olszewski whether they could convict Cuadra of first-degree homicide if he was an accomplice and didn’t actually slit Kocis’ throat.

Olszewski reread the first-degree homicide statute to the jury, which says a defendant can be found guilty of first-degree murder, when he did not cause the murder directly, if he was an accomplice in the murder.

Testimony in Cuadra’s trial dragged through 12 days, as nearly 90 prosecution witnesses testified and hundreds of pieces of evidence were presented. Just two people testified for the defense, and only Cuadra’s testimony was substantial.

Kerekes, Cuadra’s former lover and coconspirator in the crime, was supposed to testify but changed his mind Tuesday after he took the stand.

He pleaded guilty in December to second-degree homicide and is serving a life sentence. In his plea, Kerekes, 35, said Cuadra alone slit Kocis’ throat.

Cuadra’s testimony had too many holes in it, said two of the three alternate jurors, who heard all the testimony but were released before the jury began deliberations.

The two men both said they had trouble believing parts of Cuadra’s story. Cuadra testified Kerekes had set up a meeting with Kocis, with a fake model name “Danny Moilin,” the night Kocis was killed. Cuadra said he thought the meeting, which he attended, was a potential video shoot with Kocis’ well-known company Cobra Video. It was a way to increase attention for their Web site, Cuadra said, but in the middle of the meeting, Kerekes stormed in the house and slashed Kocis’ throat.

“It seems like he didn’t finish his thoughts,” alternate juror four Francis Kopko said. “Some of it seemed credible and then you wondered about some aspects.”
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According to the Times Leader, Harlow Cuadra slumped in his chair when he heard the jury foreperson say “guilty,” convicting him for the brutal slaying of Bryan Kocis in January 2007.

The verdict, which came after more than three hours of deliberation on Thursday, carries 12 convictions, including first-degree homicide. The jury will return today to determine whether Cuadra, 27, should be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.

Cuadra showed little emotion other than slumping in the chair. He appeared withdrawn and said nothing when escorted out of the Luzerne County Courthouse about an hour after the jury found him guilty.

His mother, Gladis Zaldivar, cried uncontrollably yelling out, “Joseph Kerekes, Joseph Kerekes, he is the killer, not my son.” She also yelled out in Spanish as she left the courthouse.

Cuadra was convicted for killing Kocis, 44, who was found dead with a slashed neck and 28 stab wounds inside his Midland Drive, Dallas Township, residence that was set ablaze on Jan. 24, 2007.

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

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

Kocis’ parents, Michael and Joyce Kocis, tightly embraced one another as the verdicts were read just after 2 p.m. inside the crowded courtroom. They hugged District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll and lead prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick prior to exiting the courtroom.

They declined comment after Thursday’s proceeding.

Before the verdict was announced, Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. ordered sheriff deputies to remove anyone who causes an outburst in the crowded courtroom. Three sheriff deputies stood in the aisle, three stood near Cuadra and two stood near the door.

As the jury foreperson read the verdict, Cuadra’s mother shook her head “No” as she leaned forward.

Melnick, who along with assistant district attorneys Shannon Crake and Allyson Kacmarski, refused comment due to a court-imposed gag order.

Cuadra’s attorneys, Joseph D’Andrea and Paul Walker, also declined comment. They consoled Cuadra after the verdict was announced.

Dallas Township police, state police at Wyoming and county detectives said Cuadra and Kerekes planned to kill Kocis by sending Cobra Video an actor’s application under the name Danny Moilin on Jan. 22. Two days earlier, the pair purchased background information through USA People Search that provided Kocis’ address, telephone number and names of neighbors.

Kocis invited Moilin to his home on Jan. 24.

Authorities learned Cuadra and Kerekes rented a 2006 Nissan XTerra and purchased a knife, a .38-caliber handgun and ammunition at a pawn shop in their hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., on Jan. 23. They checked in later that day at the Fox Ridge Inn in Plains Township and drove past Kocis’ home that night.

Investigators traced a number of e-mails and cell phone calls Kocis received to Cuadra and Kerekes, including an e-mail account that was used to send the actor’s application on Jan. 22.

The Yahoo! e-mail was never used after Kocis’ murder.

Melnick said the two began planning the murder after meeting Lockhart and his business partner, Grant Roy, at the Adult Video News expo in Las Vegas, Nev., in mid-January 2007.

A federal civil lawsuit Kocis filed against Lockhart, Roy and their production company LSG Media, reached a verbal settlement at the AVN expo. The settlement required Cobra Video to receive 20 percent of revenue earned from sales involving movies involving Lockhart.

During dinner at the Le Cirque restaurant at the Bellagio, Roy and Kerekes talked about producing movies involving Lockhart and Cuadra.

Cuadra was the only witness to testify in his defense compared to 86 witnesses called by prosecutors during 12 days of testimony.

Cuadra blamed Kerekes for killing Kocis. He said he was inside Kocis’ residence talking to him when a jealous Kerekes stormed inside and slashed Kocis’ throat with a knife. Melnick said Kocis was nearly decapitated.

After Kocis’ murder, Cuadra and Kerekes fled their Virginia Beach home and stayed for about 45 days in South Beach, Fla. They met Roy and Lockhart in San Diego, Calif., on April 27 and April 28 where investigators intercepted two conversations through recording devices carried by Roy.

It was during conversations among the four men, Melnick said, that Cuadra and Kerekes made admissions to the murder.

Cuadra claimed he was scared of Kerekes, who was described during the trial as the more dominant one in their relationship.

The jury is expected to hear testimony from Kocis’ family, Cuadra’s family and likely psychiatrists before it deliberates Cuadra’s punishment of life in prison without parole or death.

Olszewski said he will have the jury deliberate until a verdict is reached today. If the jury is unable to reach a unanimous decision for the death penalty, Olszewski is mandated by law to sentence Cuadra to life in prison without parole.
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Web sites, blogs abuzz following Cuadra conviction

The Citizens' Voice is reporting, do an Internet search for Harlow Cuadra and the first thing that pops up about the murdering male escort and gay pornography actor is a video of him lifting weights. You’ll find various pictures of him posing shirtless, kissing men and in prison jumpsuits.

Then there are links to news Web sites and blogs dedicated to the underground gay porn industry that have fixated on Cuadra’s sensational murder case.

The same online world Cuadra wanted to dominate — as an actor, producer and escort — Thursday was quick to react to the fall of the former rising porn star who killed one of the industry’s proven leaders, his rival Bryan Kocis, in a jealous rage.

As word spread Thursday that a Luzerne County jury convicted Cuadra of premeditated murder, gay news sites and blogs around the world, from Advocate.com to Gaywired.com, quickly posted the unfolding drama as their top story.

Gaywired.com declared the “27-year-old wannabe porn star” was guilty.

XBIZ Newswire, a wire service for adult entertainment news, reported: “Harlow Cuadra — an escort, adult producer and Web site entrepreneur — has been found guilty of first-degree homicide.”

“Harlow & Joe … On Trial,” a blog that has been posting live updates and commentary based on local news reports, had more than 25 comments within two hours of the verdict, not one in support of Cuadra.

Porn and escort Web sites Cuadra and his admitted killer co-defendant Joseph Kerekes operated are no longer active. Various Web sites dedicated to Cuadra’s innocence, such as www.freeharlowcuadra.com remain active, but activity on the sites has been limited. Friends of Cuadra and Kerekes initially tried to use the sites to sell merchandise for the duo to pay their attorneys.

Cobra Video’s Web site, a premier gay pornography site featuring young-looking men, which Kocis owned and ran, continues to operate and solicit models. It is unknown who now operates the site, which was lucrative.

It was Cuadra’s fascination to become as successful as Kocis that led him and Kerekes to a devise a plot to kill their rival, prosecutors alleged.
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Additional Reports:

Citizens' Voice: Kocis neighbors satisfied with verdict.
Times Leader: Cuadra murder trial quotes.