Buy the Book...

' When he was called to testify in court, Joe Kerekes sat mute about the murder of Bryan Kocis. Outside of court, he told the authors of Cobra Killer that he and his partner Harlow Cuadra went to Pennsylvania with "a job to do" that included the murder of a key rival.'

Paperback:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble

eBook:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• iBooks/iTunes
• Kobo Bookstore
• Scribd.
• Indigo
• Tolino/eBook.de
• Inktera
• 24Symbols
• Playster

International Sales:

Paperback:

• Amazon.de (Germany)
• Amazon.ca (Canada)
• Amazon.fr (France)
• Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)
• Amazon.es (Spain)
• Amazon.it (Italy)
• Fishpond.com.au (Australia)

... And That's a Wrap Here...

Updated @ 4/12/2009: Any additional information about Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes' case will be made available at Harlow & Joe... Part 2.

PC

The Inmate Handbook

When you're going to spend the rest of your life in prison, I guess reading a handbook that's 77 pages long can help pass some of the time away. This inmate handbook was given to Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes when they arrived at SCI Camp Hill. It's an interesting read:

"The Mission of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is to protect the public by confining persons committed to our custody in safe, secure facilities, and to provide opportunities for inmates to acquire the skills snd values necessary to become productive law-abiding citizens; while respecting the rights of crime victims."

"The purpose of this handbook is to provide general information to you and others interested in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC). When DOC policies are changed you will be given notice of the change(s), and the most current policy will become effective, regardless of what information is in this handbook. A new handbook will be issued at least every three years.

The handbook is not a guide to the detailed policies of the DOC (which are subject to change) or all procedures in effect at each DOC facility. That information will be made available to you during the facility's reception and orientation program. The material in this handbook will help you understand what you will encounter when you enter the DOC, and help you in your adjustment to facility life.

You are to keep this handbook from the time it is given to you until you are released. If your handbook is lost or ruined, you may receive a new one, but you must pay for it. The cost of the new handbook will be determined when you get the new one. You are expected to conduct yourself in an orderly and mature manner and to respect the rights of others. Some of the programs and services available to you are mentioned in this book. You may get more information about available programs or services by reading your Facility Handbook Supplement, or by sending a request slip to the staff member in charge of that program or service. You should discuss your needs, goals, and interests with staff. Your conduct and attitude will be observed and will be reviewed by staff when they consider you for programs, pre-release, parole, and other privileges. You should try to make good use of the time you are in the DOC by using programs and services to better yourself and get ready for parole. If you are serving a life sentence, taking part in programs and being misconduct free is an important part of the commutation process.

You are responsible for knowing and following all of the DOC's rules that directly affect you. When a rule change is made, you will either be issued a bulletin that outlines the change and a notice will be posted on the housing unit bulletin boards. All notices and signs prepared by DOC officials are considered policy and must be followed. All of the policies containing rules that directly affect you are available on your housing unit and in the facility library. The policies in the library may be checked out just like a library book."

Inmate Handbook

After Camp Hill... the Next Step

Once classification is completed and room becomes available, convicted murders' Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes will likely be moved to another facility. Once they get to their respective prison(s), they'll meet with a corrections counselor that will help them make a Correctional Plan:

The Correctional Plan is intended to serve as a "road map" for the inmate to help him chart behavior and program activities during his life in custody. The Correctional Plan lists problems and treatment needs to be worked on by the inmate and recommends specific programs that the inmate needs to attend. Additionally, the Correctional Plan makes it clear that the inmate is expected to maintain good housing, work and school evaluations and remain misconduct free.

In addition to the program needs, the Correctional Plan looks at the inmate’s custody level and interests. The Correctional Plan is signed by both the inmate and the counselor and is reviewed and updated at least once a year. The Correctional Plan includes maintaining good behavior, going to school if needed and having a job in the facility. The results of the Correctional Plan are given to the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole so that the Board knows whether the inmate has worked on his/her program and how the inmate has behaved while in prison. This will help decide if the inmate is ready to be released or needs to serve more time.

[PC Notes: Since Harlow and Joe have both been sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison, it's unlikely the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole would ever consider a release... but then again you never know.]

Source: Prison Handbook for Families and Friends

Brief Update...

1. Judge PPO has granted a prosecution request that Harlow Cuadra pay restitution for funeral expenses related to the death of Bryan Kocis... I'm fairly certain it'll be equal to the $2766.08 that Joe has already been ordered to pay.

2. 14 orders have been unsealed for Joseph Kerekes... but as of this post, none of the sealed orders filed by the DA's office have been unsealed... so it looks like we'll have to wait.

... more later.

Update @ 6:22 PM: Sources now tell me that PPO ordered that Cuadra pay $3,016.08 in restitution to Kocis' estate for funeral and estate expenses. The order also says that Joseph D'Andrea [Harlow's attorney] was in agreement with this figure.

Update @ 7:13 PM: I'm told that some of Joesph Kerekes' unsealed documents revealed that there was also some mention of him writing unsolicited letters to Demitrius Fannick. Fannick wanted that to stop.... he was not council of record...and Joe said that all Fannick ever wanted was money. PPO cautioned everyone, and spelled it out loud and clear for Joseph Kerekes that he needed to stop all the BS.

Update @ 9:50 PM: There was also a transcript of proceedings that were held behind closed doors with Joseph Kerekes and his attorneys Bufalino, Centini , etc... the hearing was because Bufalino wanted to make PPO aware that Joseph Kerekes was not following their advice, and is becoming his own worst enemy by communicating with both Renee Martin and Harlow Cuadra. His defense was that he needs to communicate with Renee Martin because she is his support financially, and his parents couldn't support him that way.

Update @ 03/25/2009: The Times Leader is reporting that Joseph Kerekes did a lot of talking and writing, so much that his lawyers raised concerns about it to a Luzerne County judge behind closed doors.

A transcript of the closed-door court hearing held Feb. 20, 2008, was one of several sealed court records in the Bryan Kocis’ homicide case that were opened to the public late Monday afternoon.

Attorneys Mark Bufalino, John Pike and Shelley Centini requested a closed hearing with Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. in February 2008 to express concerns their client, Kerekes, was writing letters to Renee Martin, of Texas, and attorney Demetrius Fannick about defense strategy. At the time, Kerekes and Cuadra were facing the homicide charges.

The judge, the three attorneys, Kerekes, Olszewski’s law clerk, a court reporter and several sheriff deputies were the only people in the courtroom that was closed to the public and prosecutors.

According to the transcript of the hearing, Kerekes’ attorneys said they were in an awkward position and felt useless in defending Kerekes because they felt he was releasing confidential information. Pike told the judge that Kerekes had ignored their advice to keep quiet.

“There has been multiple third-party communications by our client with people involved and not involved with this case despite our significant warnings,” Pike said. “It has come to our attention that some of this information may have come into the hands of the District Attorney’s Office. …”

Authorities obtained the letters Kerekes had written to Martin, who formerly resided near Kerekes and Cuadra in Virginia Beach, Va. Kerekes also wrote a letter to Fannick, who, in turn, gave it to Pike.

“Attorney Fannick forwarded me a letter that he got from our client with the request that I inform our client not to communicate with him anymore, that (Fannick) is not his counsel,” Pike told Olszewski.

Fannick had met with Kerekes at least eight times at the Luzerne County prison, prior to Fannick’s brief representation of Cuadra. Fannick was eventually disqualified in March 2008 from representing Cuadra.

Olszewski warned Kerekes that releasing information protected by the attorney-client privilege would jeopardize his defense. Kerekes responded, according to the transcript, that he understood Olszewski’s warnings.

Interview: One Juror's Thoughts...

Last night, I was fortunate enough to spend a few hours interviewing one of the juror's of Harlow Cuadra's murder trial... while I'm not going to post the entire interview online, I'll offer a few interesting quotes/observations:

'Harlow's mother was annoying.'

Found it odd that 'Harlow's mother couldn't speak English on the stand, but had no problem doing so in front of the cameras.'

After the trial the juror heard from a source that 'Joe's lawyer had him call his mother before taking the stand to testify for Harlow'.

After the trial the juror heard from a source that 'one of Harlow's attorney's apparently asked the prosecution for a deal: 3rd degree/30 years... and thought the DA's office wanted the trial for publicity'.

'Harlow was really crying while on the stand (for a while) but you could tell it was an act... then he started yelling. He was erratic... one minute he goes in to the porn thing, then changes to a completely different subject. He yelled at Melnick several times.'

'Harlow would say Joseph... then Joe when he was mad.'

Thinks Harlow was the killer... 'houses too close for a gun'. 'Joe does most of the looting while Harlow cleans up'.

'Harlow and Joe's debt was never brought up'

'Nep admitted to having sex with Joe... we wondered if they had to flip a coin... meanwhile Matthew Brannon said he had a 3-some with Joe and Harlow.'

More interviews to come...

Over 112k Spent to Convict Cuadra and Kerekes

According to the Times Leader, Luzerne County prosecutors spent more than $112,317 to put Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes away for life.

It was a very expensive prosecution,” District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll said. “We have to do these cases just right because we have the burden of proof. With that being said, we kept the cost as manageable as possible.”

The two Virginia Beach, Va., men were accused in the killing of Bryan Kocis in Dallas Township in January 2007. Cuadra, 27, was convicted by a jury on March 12 of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole. Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder and is serving life in prison.

Musto Carroll said prosecution costs included transportation, lodging and meal expenses for witnesses residing outside Pennsylvania, in addition to a number of exhibits presented to the jury during Cuadra’s trial.

“Antonia Ardo and our chief detective, Michael Dessoye, did a phenomenal job in lining up witnesses and taking care of travel arrangements,” Musto Carroll said. “That alone was a great undertaking.”

Ardo is the office administrator for Musto Carroll.

Several witnesses after they were finished testifying were immediately transported from the courthouse to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. From there, they either flew directly home or were flown to Philadelphia International Airport to catch another flight.

“When (assistant district attorney) Michael Melnick would tell me what he needed, he was given what he needed to do the job right,” Musto Carroll said. “I don’t think this case was harmed in any way by us not doing a certain test or calling experts that were needed. In a fiscally responsible way, we let our experts know that we don’t have money to burn.”

County commissioners gave the district attorney’s office more money in 2009 to help off-set the high cost to prosecute capital murder cases and consult experts.

According to the 2009 budget for the district attorney’s office, $100,000 is set aside for capital cases and $350,000 is set aside for examinations/witnesses. By comparison, there was no money for capital cases and $179,800 for examinations/witnesses for the district attorney’s office in 2008.

“(Commissioners) responded to us in our time of need and thankfully, we’re able to afford this case,” Musto Carroll said. ‘But we have to watch every penny because it’s only March.”
---

Meanwhile, in another Times Leader article... Luzerne County taxpayers have so far paid more than $25,320 to defend two Virginia men for the killing of Bryan Kocis in Dallas Township in January 2007, according to unsealed court records.

A detective agency was paid more than three times than what was initially allocated by a Luzerne County judge for investigative work in the capital murder case of Harlow Cuadra.

The Jesse Detective Agency of Dallas was paid $4,497.50 by the county controller’s office in early January, $3,497 more than the $1,000 approved by Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. in July, according to court records unsealed late Thursday afternoon.

Cuadra’s former attorneys, Stephen Menn and Michael Senape, requested to hire a detective agency to “interview defense witnesses and conduct general investigations,” as part of their defense.

Olszewski approved the request, allowing Menn and Senape to hire the Jesse Detective Agency at an hourly rate of $50 per hour for a total amount not to exceed $1,000, court records say.

Olszewski on Friday said it’s common for detective agencies to be court-appointed upon request to assist conflict lawyers defending capital murder cases.

Olszewski said he approved the much higher payment because capital murder cases require more investigative work than non-capital cases. He approved the payment only after he reviewed the detective agency’s bill, Olszewski said.

The Jesse Detective Agency submitted a bill for 75 hours of work and 1,495 miles driven at $.50 cents per mile

“The Jesse Detective Agency is always fair and reasonable with their costs,” Olszewski said. “I found it reasonable considering it was a capital murder case.”

Cuadra, 27, was convicted by a jury on March 12 in the brutal killing of Bryan Kocis, 44, in Dallas Township in January 2007. Cuadra was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without any chance for parole. A co-defendant in the case, Joseph Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty in December and is serving a life sentence.

Menn and Senape were permitted by Olszewski to withdraw from Cuadra’s case in December.

A payment of $7,546.20 was authorized in December to Court Consultation Services, of New York, for mitigation work on Cuadra’s behalf.

CCS Director Louise Luck testified during the penalty phase of Cuadra’s trial. She researched Cuadra’s history by interviewing relatives and employers.

Olszewski further approved payment not to exceed $3,000 to Dr. Richard Bohn Krueger, hired to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of Cuadra. Krueger didn’t testify during Cuadra’s trial.

The three payments are the latest court orders that were unsealed.

Olszewski had previously approved more than $10,280 in payments for Kerekes’ defense.

Sealed no More...

03/19/2009 Order of Court filed. All Unsealed Orders to be Unsealed Immediately. Olszewski, Peter Paul Jr.

This might be interesting... or it might not be... more later.

Update: 03/20/2009 @ 10:38 AM: Sources tell me that the sealed orders that are to be unsealed are currently for Harlow Cuadra only, and there are some 'issues' with a few of them, so not everything has been unsealed yet. I'll try to have more information later today.

Update 03/20/2009 @ 2:07 PM: PPO has ordered to unseal orders for both Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes now.

Bryan Kocis' Sister Comments...

Bryan Kocis' sister Melody was gracious enough to comment on my blog earlier today, and after reading her comment, I feel that it's only appropriate to make it a separate post (I certainly hope the family doesn't mind me doing so):
---

After reading this blog, and living this nightmare for the past 2 years, I feel compelled to say something now that the gag order is lifted and the trial is over.

It has been a long horrible road. I’ve lost my best friend/brother to a crime that was so brutal, thoughtless and senseless that it makes me sick. It should have never happened. Our family will never be the same again, he was the best son, brother and uncle anyone could ever ask for. He never once disrespected any of us. No one deserves to die like Bryan did, and no family deserves to go through what we have.

I have read PC’s blog for the past two years and appreciate the accuracy of his posts. It truly amazed me how some people would blog and think their opinions were fact, or some bloggers believed lies from others and accepted that as fact. I’ve regretted not being able to speak out for my brother, but I know people will believe what they want anyway.

Those of us who have been fortunate to be in Bryan’s life know what a kind, caring, loving, generous and loyal person he was, and for those of you who didn’t know him it’s your loss. Bryan was a good, honest person in a bad, dishonest business. He was known for giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. Bryan made mistakes, but he was a victim of horrible crime, and it was sad how many people forgot that.

Sean Lockhart was Bryan’s biggest mistake. He cared for Sean very much, and Sean did nothing but hurt him. I was with Bryan when Sean told him he wasn’t coming back to finish his contract with Cobra, and that he was starting his own company. Bryan just bought him a car. I will never forget how upset Bryan was. Unfortunately Bryan is not here to tell his side of the story. Bryan also told me how he made up with Sean before he died, and because Sean was a very good witness and helpful to the case I will let go of the past. I know Sean and Grant did not commit this murder, and my family appreciates their testimony.

I am very grateful to Bryan’s good friends who have been there for us since the beginning, and I hope to stay close with them in the future. They have been a huge source of comfort.

When I spoke with Robert I was disappointed Harlow didn’t received the death penalty, but after thinking about how much weight Harlow lost to “look the part” for this trial I realized how he will be eaten alive in State Prison. Joe looked horrible after a couple of months, but at least he still had some muscle on him to defend himself. Harlow won’t be able to do that. I also like Robert’s postcard idea...lol!!!

I would also like to add that at least Joe had the decency to apologize to us for not stopping the murder, and he didn't make us go through a trial. Harlow thought the twelve jurors would believe his lies like others did, but he was very wrong. We felt sorry for his family until they were very disrespectful and mean to us and the jury. His dysfunctional upbringing is not an excuse for what he did to my brother.

Bryan had a wonderful childhood, he had a family that cared deeply about him, and we never spent anytime apart…..until this. After watching my parents cry hysterically holding their son’s ashes, and having to go through his burnt belongings or just the crime itself, it is just sad Harlow couldn’t apologize to us, but that just goes to show you who and what he really is. He only cares about himself.

I couldn’t possibly name everyone, but I would like to thank everyone that helped bring this case to justice and for those that supported us. We will never forget.

Melody

What Joe was 'Supposed' to Say...

According to the Citizens' Voice... throughout the trial, Harlow Cuadra’s defense attorneys said he was controlled by his domineering lover and business partner Joseph Kerekes. They say Kerekes was in control again last week when he promised to testify Cuadra was innocent of Bryan Kocis’ murder, then took the stand and refused, delivering a giant blow to Cuadra’s defense.

With the gag order lifted after Cuadra’s sensational murder case ended Monday, one of his attorneys for the first time publicly detailed how the defense was duped by Kerekes in an unexpected case-shifting move.

Up until five minutes before he took the stand, Kerekes had promised to testify Cuadra was unaware of the murder plot, “had nothing to do with it” and planned to detail to the jury how the homicide occurred, said attorney Joseph D’Andrea, who defended Cuadra along with attorney Paul J. Walker.

“We were taken aback,” D’Andrea said. “It again showed Joseph Kerekes trying to control Harlow Cuadra’s life. Joe Kerekes controlled Harlow for one last time.”

Without Kerekes’ testimony, it was up to Cuadra to convince a jury he was innocent. But when he took the stand on his own behalf, he “did more harm than good,” D’Andrea noted.

“He wasn’t the best witness. We were hoping he would have been more cooperative, not as combative. But your life is on the line and it’s difficult to be calm,” he said.

Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick, the lead prosecutor, called Cuadra “his own worst enemy” on the stand.

“I think he did very poorly — contradictory and utterly inconsistent,” Melnick said.

Melnick said the defense erred by thinking it could place any faith in Kerekes, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Kocis’ death in December and agreed to serve life in prison. The prosecution didn’t even consider calling Kerekes as a witness against Cuadra because the case was strong enough without his testimony, plus he could do something unpredictable, as the defense experienced, Melnick said.

“What happened to attorney D’Andrea came as no surprise to us, but that became his problem, not ours,” Melnick said. “The last thing I wanted was Kerekes as a witness on my side.”

In his plea agreement, Kerekes pinned the murder on Cuadra, and “would have had to take the stand and point-blank commit perjury” if he testified Cuadra was innocent, Melnick said.

D’Andrea said he met with Kerekes several times, including at the Luzerne County Courthouse minutes before taking the stand. Kerekes assured he was “going to testify on Harlow’s behalf to exonerate him,” D’Andrea said.

Kerekes then took the stand, refused to testify and said, “I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents, and it would destroy them if I said something that I didn’t do.”

“Somehow, in that five-minute period, something or someone got to him. He changed his mind,” D’Andrea said.

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.”
---
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.
---
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.
---
Additional Reports:

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

Cuadra Trial... Day 11 Overview

The Citizens' Voice reports that Harlow Cuadra admitted he was in Bryan Kocis’ Dallas Township home on Jan. 24, 2007, but testified Tuesday he didn’t kill Kocis.

His partner, Joseph Kerekes, stabbed Kocis in a jealous rage, Cuadra told jurors in the 11th day of testimony in his capital homicide trial.

Later, when he asked Kerekes about the crime, Kerekes ignored him, Cuadra said.

“He told me, ‘So what, I killed him,’” Cuadra testified. “‘So what? I got away with murder.’”

Three potential defense witnesses were called, but most of Tuesday was dedicated to Cuadra, 27, who stated his case that he didn’t kill 44-year-old Kocis. Cuadra detailed his personal life, how he met Kerekes and the controlling manner Kerekes had over him. Cuadra knew Kerekes had killed Kocis, he said, but he didn’t go to police out of fear of what might happen to Kerekes or what he might do to him.

“People can say, ‘Harlow, do this’ or ‘Harlow, do that,’ but they don’t know,” Cuadra said. “They’re not Harlow. They’re not with Joseph. Individual valor doesn’t matter when you’re with Joseph in a little room.”

Before Cuadra took the stand, jurors saw Kerekes, who was called to testify. 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. He said he had spoken with Cuadra’s attorney Joseph D’Andrea about testifying but had changed his mind.

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.

“You stole my son,” Cuadra’s mother shouted at Kerekes as he left the courtroom.

Cuadra, who has said little publicly since his May 2007 arrest for Kocis’ homicide, could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree homicide. He sobbed and had to stop several times during his more than four hours of testimony. Cuadra will remain on the stand this morning as lead prosecutor Michael Melnick continues his cross-examination.

It was Kerekes’ initial idea to shoot a film with Cobra Video, the gay pornography company owned by Kocis, Cuadra said. Kerekes set up the e-mail account for “Danny Moilin,” and Cuadra just followed along. Moilin was the name of a fictitious model who was to meet with Kocis the day he was killed. Kocis knew who he was, based on the photos Kerekes had e-mailed him, Cuadra said.

“I asked him about Cobra,” Cuadra said, indicating it was a bizarre name. “He said ‘better than Boy Batter.’”

Boy Batter is the gay pornography Web site Cuadra and Kerekes ran in Virginia Beach, Va.

Kerekes dropped Cuadra off around 7 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2007, at Kocis’ home for a potential video shoot with Kocis, Cuadra said. For about 20 minutes, Cuadra talked pleasantly with Kocis at his Midland Drive home, Cuadra said, when a “rapid knock” came at the front door.

“I never thought it would be Joe,” Cuadra said, but it was Kerekes who “stormed through the door” and began to fight with Kocis. Kerekes pulled out a small knife and then slashed Kocis’ neck, Cuadra said.

“I’m shouting at Joe, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’” Cuadra said. “He pushed me down.”

Scared, Cuadra left and hid in the rental car the two men had driven to Pennsylvania, Cuadra said, as Kerekes lit fire to Kocis’ home and likely stole things from his home.

The plan to shoot with Cobra came together after a previous business relationship started to fall through, Cuadra said. Kerekes and Cuadra met with Grant Roy, another pornography producer, and his business partner Sean Lockhart in Las Vegas around Jan. 10, 2007, Cuadra said. Kerekes and Roy wanted Lockhart and Cuadra to shoot three films together.

“They talked about the deal like (Lockhart and I) weren’t even there,” Cuadra said. “Joe and Grant were both really excited about it.”

Kerekes tried to give Roy $12,000 in cash to seal the negotiation, Cuadra testified, but Roy turned it down saying, “We’ll all make a lot of money out of this.”

Kocis had a contract with Lockhart at the time, which was a problem, Cuadra said. Roy mentioned during dinner that the issue was being settled, but there was still animosity, Cuadra said.

“Joe said, ‘I would’ve killed him a long time ago,’” Cuadra testified. According to Cuadra’s testimony, Roy responded: “Yeah, I thought about that. But you know what, the way this thing is, if that (expletive) ends up dead everyone will be looking at pointing the finger to me.”

Melnick questioned various aspects of Cuadra’s story during about an hour of cross-examination.

“Mr. Cuadra, let’s cut to the chase. Are you saying that Grant Roy and Sean Lockhart have anything to do with this murder?” Melnick asked.

“No,” Cuadra responded. Melnick cited other examples where Cuadra’s testimony didn’t match prosecution evidence.

He showed credit cards that Kerekes owned — Cuadra had said Kerekes would pay for things using credit cards in Cuadra’s name.

Melnick cited a letter Cuadra had written from jail to a friend, that said he’d “need an attorney who can tell a good story.”

“A good story, not the truth?” Melnick asked.

And, Melnick showed e-mails and phone calls that indicated Cuadra wanted to meet with Kocis a day before he was killed.

“You wanted to kill him on Tuesday night, didn’t you?” Melnick asked.

“No,” Cuadra said. Melnick asked why Cuadra didn’t tell police the story once he was in jail on the crime.

“You met him,” Cuadra said, crying and pointing to a detective on the case. “He would’ve killed me.”
---
Meanwhille, the Times Leader is reporting a jealous Joseph Kerekes stormed into the home and slashed Bryan Kocis’ throat, a crying Harlow Cuadra testified on Tuesday.

Ignoring his attorneys’ advice to remain silent, Cuadra, 27, took the witness stand in his own capital murder trial explaining his entire life to the Luzerne County jury and events that happened before and after Kocis’ murder on Jan. 24, 2007.

It didn’t take long for Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick to confront Cuadra about the homicide.

“There was nothing to stop you from calling Pennsylvania police?” Melnick asked.

“Sir, I was so scared, I wasn’t scared of the authorities, I was scared of Joseph (Kerekes).”

For much of his testimony, Cuadra portrayed Kerekes as a person who controlled his life, explaining their relationship as the Stockholm Syndrome.

“I couldn’t go into a grocery store to buy toilet paper without him being there,” Cuadra said, adding Kerekes kept 16 to 18 credit cards in his name.

Prosecutors alleged Kocis was killed because Cuadra and 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.

Cuadra said it was Kerekes who contacted Kocis about appearing in Cobra Video movies, and was aware Kerekes e-mailed Kocis an application under the name Danny Moilin on Jan. 22.

Kocis agreed to meet with Moilin on Jan. 24.

Cuadra said Kerekes dropped him off at Kocis’ home on Midland Drive and drove away.

Inside, Cuadra – who Kocis kept calling Danny – said he was sitting on a couch with Kocis getting to know each other.

Then, Cuadra said he heard “loud, rapid knocks” on the door.

"Bryan gets up and goes up to the door; the minute he turns that knob, Joseph comes in," a sobbing Cuadra told the jury. "They fight a little at the door, I’m yelling, ’Joseph, what are you doing.’

"Joseph looks at me, and knocks Bryan in the face. Bryan was wearing one of those workout suits, all black, no shoes just white socks, and Joseph grabs Bryan and throws him on the couch and starts punching the hell out of him," Cuadra said.

Cuadra said he jumped on Kerekes’ back in an attempt to stop the assault.

"Joseph reaches in his pocket and pulls out a knife and slashed Bryan’s throat. I yelled, ‘Joe, what are you doing, he said to get the (expletive) out.’ "

Cuadra said he hid in the rented Nissan XTerra parked in Kocis’ driveway. Kerekes was in Kocis’ home for 15 minutes when he came outside and placed computer towers, two laptop computers and other items in the vehicle, Cuadra said.

Kerekes drove away and pulled into a service station where he disposed of a laptop computer and papers taken from Kocis’ home, Cuadra said.

Cuadra drove the rest of the way returning to their hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., on Jan. 25.

On the trip to Virginia, Cuadra said Kerekes told him, “Baby, we cannot talk about this ever again.”

Cuadra said he informed Kerekes that several of their escort clients, including Kerekes’ mother, knew about their trip to Pennsylvania.

“That was the longest day of my life,” Cuadra said. “I completely shut down after that day, completely shut down. I stopped seeing clients.”

Cuadra and Kerekes operated a male escort service and a gay pornographic movie Web site.

Days after Kocis’ murder, Cuadra said Kerekes began to panic and the pair stayed in several Virginia Beach hotels.

Cuadra said they fled the Virginia Beach area after learning authorities had raided their home on Feb. 10, 2007.

“Joseph started feeling really paranoid and rightly so,” Cuadra said. “I think it was beginning to dawn on him that he made his last mistake.”

Using an escort client’s vehicle, Cuadra said they fled to Jacksonville, Fla, where they stayed in a hotel for a night, and made their way to a hotel in South Beach, Fla., where they stayed for about 45 days. Cuadra said when he found out he was a person of interest in the murder, he begged Kerekes to return to their Virginia Beach home, which they did a day before Easter on April 7.

Cuadra claimed he wanted to talk with investigators, but Kerekes stopped him.

“He wouldn’t let me go anywhere by myself,” Cuadra said about Kerekes.

While they were staying away from authorities, Cuadra said he found out Kerekes maintained contact with Lockhart and Grant Roy, a producer of gay pornographic films.

The four men had met at an Adult Video News expo in Las Vegas, Nev., in mid-January 2007, before Kocis’ murder. During dinner at the Le Cirque restaurant at the Bellagio, Cuadra said he played “footsies” with Lockhart while Roy and Kerekes talked about producing movies together.

Cuadra said Lockhart and Roy were Kerekes’ “biggest obsession.”

At the time of their Las Vegas meeting, Kocis had a verbal settlement in a civil federal lawsuit he filed against Roy and Lockhart.

Cuadra said Kerekes forced him to travel to San Diego, Calif., where the four men had dinner at a restaurant on April 27 and visited a nude beach on April 28.

Investigators intercepted conversations through recording devices carried by Roy, who was cooperating with authorities.

“I was a mess, I had five o’clock shadow; I didn’t care if Sean Lockhart liked me,” Cuadra said. “We had dinner and you guys (prosecutors) heard all that.”

Cuadra said Kerekes “reprimanded” him after the April 27 dinner to “sell” their business proposal to Roy and Lockhart.

It was during conversations on the beach where investigators alleged Cuadra and Kerekes made admissions to Kocis’ murder.

Cuadra said he was referring to his childhood when he was molested by his stepfather, and Kerekes kept drilling into him that Kocis had a conviction of possession of child pornography.

“That’s what Kerekes told me, that I got revenge. It all ended up twisted in that statement,” Cuadra said.

Harlow Cuadra's Trial... Day 11

9:15 PM: There's been a small amount of cross done today by the prosecution... look for a lot more in the morning... Renee Martin has yet to testify.

8:55 PM: Juror #7... I'm told she seems to spend more time with her head turned-away than focused. More later.

5:25 PM: A court watcher tells me that while Harlow did shed some 'real' tears in the beginning... it appeared that for the most part he was crying 'crocodile tears', all the while trying to muster the real thing... in their opinion it came across as an act.

4:03 PM: The Citizens' Voice is reporting that Harlow Cuadra went to Bryan Kocis' Dallas Township home on Jan. 24, 2007, thinking he would shoot pornography, Cuadra testified today in his capital homicide trial.

His partner, Joseph Kerekes, dropped him off around 7 p.m. that night, Cuadra said, and then left. Cuadra was at Kocis' Midland Drive home for about 20 minutes that evening, laughing and talking with Kocis, Cuadra said, when a "rapid knock" came at the front door.

"I never thought it would be Joe," Cuadra said.

Kerekes stormed through the door and began to fight with Kocis, before pulling out a small knife and slashing Kocis' throat, Cuadra testified.

"I'm shouting at Joe 'What are you doing? What are you doing?'" Cuadra said. "He pushed me down."

Scared, Cuadra said he ran and hid in the back seat of the rental car Kerekes had driven, as Kerekes did "something" inside the house.

Cuadra has testified for about four hours today, saying he never knew or heard of a plan to kill Kocis. Cuadra could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree homicide in Kocis' Jan. 2007 death.

Cuadra said he wanted to tell police his story, but Kerekes was very controlling.

“People can say ‘Harlow, do this’ or ‘Harlow do that,’ but they don’t know," Cuadra said. "They’re not Harlow. They’re not with Joseph. Individual valor doesn’t matter when you’re with Joseph in a little room.”

Prosecution will cross-examine Cuadra later this afternoon.

3:51 PM: The Times Leader reports that homicide suspect Harlow Cuadra put the murder of Bryan Kocis on his former lover - Joseph Kerekes.

Going against his lawyer's advice not to testify, Cuadra told the Luzerne County jury that he was inside Kocis' home in Dallas Township on Jan. 24, 2007, when they heard a loud, rapid knock on the door.

"Bryan gets up and goes up to the door; the minute he turns that knob, Joseph comes in," a sobbing Cuadra told the jury. "They fight a little at the door, I'm yelling, 'Joseph, what are you doing.'

"Joseph looks at me, and knocks Bryan in the face. Bryan was wearing one of those workout suits, all black, no socks, and Joseph grabs Bryan and throws him on the couch and starts punching the hell out of him.," Cuadra said.

Cuadra said he jumped on Kerekes' back in an attempt to stop the assault.

"Joseph reaches in his pocket and pulls out a knife and slashed Bryan's throat. I yelled, "Joe, what are you doing, he said to get the (expletive) out."

Cuadra said he was scared for his life and the life of Kerekes. They fled to South Beach, Fla., where they stayed in a motel for more than a month. They returned to their Virginia Beach, Va., home the day before Easter in 2007.

Cuadra said he understood that he was a "person of interest" in the case and wanted to talk to Pennyslvania investigators.

"Joseph wouldn't let me," Cuadra said. "I can't even go to the store to buy toilet paper without him."

1:18 PM: According to the Citizens' Voice, Harlow Cuadra was considering shooting a film with Cobra Video in January 2007, the company owned Bryan Kocis, Caudra testified Monday in his capital homicide trial.

Cuadra, 27, who is accused of killing Kocis Jan. 24, 2007, at Kocis' Dallas Township home, testified for less than two hours this morning and will continue after lunch.

Joseph Kerekes, Cuadra's former lover and business partner, was urging Cuadra to shoot a video with Cobra to increase business to their Web site, Cuadra said. Kerekes thought that if Cuadra shot a video with Cobra, a well-known pornography company, it would increase traffic to the gay pornography Web site they ran in Virgnia Beach, Va.

"(Kerekes) said do you want to film with Cobra, baby" Cuadra said. "He really wanted me to do it, but Grant Roy had painted Bryan Kocis as a monster."

Kerekes and Cuadra met with Roy, another pornography producer, and his business partner Sean Lockhart in Las Vegas around Jan. 10, 2007, Cuadra said. Kerekes and Roy wanted Lockhart and Cuadra to shoot three films together.

"They talked about the deal like (Lockhart and I) weren't even there," Cuadra said. "Joe and Grant were both really excited about the deal."

Kerekes tried to give Roy $12,000 in cash to seal the negotiation, Cuadra testified, but Roy turned it down saying "we'll all make a lot of money out of this."

But Kocis, who had a contract with Lockhart a the time, was a problem, Cuadra said. Roy mentioned during dinner that the issue was being settled but there was still animosity, Cuadra said.

"Joe said 'I would’ve killed him a long time ago,'" Cuadra testified. According to Cuadra's testimony Roy responded: "Yeah, I thought about that. But you know what, the way this thing is if that (expletive) ends up dead everyone will be looking at pointing the finger to me."

After dinner, Cuadra said, Roy and Kerekes finished working out a deal, but because of the litigation it didn't seem like the collaborative film would be shot as soon as Kerekes had hoped, Cuadra said. That's when Kerekes got the idea that Cuadra should try to film with Cobra, Cuadra said.

1:16 PM: The Times Leader is reporting that for For nearly two years, Harlow Cuadra has refused to talk about his alleged role in the murder of Bryan Kocis.

Inside a Luzerne County courtroom on Tuesday, Cuadra is talking and he's talking a lot.

Cuadra, 27, is testifying in his own defense on the homicide charges.

Cuadra spent much of the morning talking about his life, from being molested by his step-father, enlisting in the U.S. Navy and meeting Joseph Kerekes before getting discharged after three years in the service.

"I don't mean this in a bad way, but it is a straight man's military," Cuadra said.

Cuadra said he began escorting soon after meeting Kerekes, whom he described, as a controlling man with charming skills.

Escorting turned into producing gay pornographic films as a "hobby," Cuadra said, which turned into boybatter.com.

Cuadra told the jury that the Web site earned several hundred dollars and Kerekes quickly took it over.

Cuadra discussed meeting Grant Roy and adult film actor Sean Lockhart at the Adult Video News expo in Las Vegas, Nev., in mid-January 2007. During dinner, in which, Cuadra said Roy and Kerekes talked about filming movies together, Cuadra said he and Lockhart were "playing footsies" under the table.

Cuadra is expected to continue his testimony when the trial resumes after lunch.

12:31 PM: WNEP TV-16 reports that It turned out to be a bizarre morning in the murder trial of Harlow Cuadra. His former lover and alleged partner in crime took the stand Tuesday but said he didn't want to talk about the murder of Bryan Kocis.

The drama at the Luzerne County courthouse is just beginning to unfold. The two most important men in the case were on the stand, the accused, Harlow Cuadra and the man the defense expected to be a big help, Joseph Kerekes.

Kerekes pleaded guilty to second degree murder of Bryan Kocis in December. He is serving a life sentence. Kocis was stabbed more than two dozen times in his Back Mountain home in January, 2007. The home was then set on fire, according to police, to cover up the crime.

Kerekes was called by the defense Tuesday morning. He took the stand and said he backed out of helping in Cuadra's trial because, he said, it would destroy his family to admit to something he didn't do.

Harlow Cuadra took the stand in his own defense and gave the jury an edcation in his background; computers and the pornography business. Cuadra said he was sexually abused by his stepfather beginning when he was eight years old. He went on to say his homosexuality caused big problems in his family.

As for living with Kerekes, Cuadra said Kerekes had a violent temper and controlled everything in their relationship.

There were a lot of tears in the courtroom. Cuadra broke down and cried several times while he was on the stand. A lot of sobbing could also be heard coming from the gallery. Those sobs came from Cuadra's mother.

Cuadra's testimony began shortly before noon and is expected to continue quite a while.

11:44 AM: According to the Times Leader, Harlow Cuadra wept as he recalled telling his family that he was gay in 2001. Cuadra said he felt abandoned by his family and became more attached to Joseph Kerekes, whom he had met in a chat room.

"When I met Joe and his family, they loved me," a sobbing Cuadra told the jury on Tuesday, the 11th day of his capital murder trial presided by Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.

Cuadra is charged with killing Bryan Kocis, 44, at Kocis' home in Dallas Township in January 2007. Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and is serving a life sentence. Earlier today, Kerekes refused to testify for Cuadra and was immdiately escorted out of the courtroom.

Cuadra is telling the jury about his life in Florida, enlisting in the U.S. Navy in late 1999 or early 2000, and falling in love with an Naval officer who was later transferred to San Diego, Calif.

Cuadra said after his lover was transferred, he felt alone and met Kerekes at a mall in Norfolk after chatting with him in a chat room. He described how his relationship with Kerekes grew into the escort and gay film production business.

"(Kerekes) was always with me, everywhere I went, he was with me," Cuadra said.

Cuadra said he began escorting clients on advice from Kerekes. Escorting turned into sexual relations with clients that eventually led to producing gay pornographic films, in which, Cuadra called it a "hobby."

Cuadra said Kerekes found out thier adult film Web site, boybatter.com, earned a profit of several hundred dollars in the first few weeks.

"It changed overnight," Cuadra said about boybatter. "(Kerekes) took possession of it."

Cuadra said Kerekes once assaulted a client because he believed the client was "having too much fun with me."

Cuadra is answering questions from his co-defense attorney, Paul Walker.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick will have an opportunity to question Cuadra later today.

11:21 AM: The Citizens' Voice reports that Joseph Kerekes controlled Harlow Cuadra’s e-mail accounts and kept his credit and identification cards when the two men went out, Cuadra testified Tuesday morning.

Cuadra testified for an hour this morning before jurors were given a break at 11 in the capital homicide trial.

Cuadra is the third defense witness. Kerekes, Cuadra's former lover, business partner and co-defendant, took the stand this morning, but the 35-year-old Kerekes didn't testify.

After answering several brief questions from Cuadra Attorney Joseph D'Andrea, Kerekes said he wouldn't testify on Cuadra's behalf.

"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, 35, pleaded guilty to second degree homicide in December and is serving a life-sentence. In his plea he said Cuadra had killed Bryan Kocis and then set fire to his Dallas Township home in Jauary 2007.

Cuadra's mother seated in the courtroom, shouted at Kerekes as he left the courtroom.

Cuadra's attorney Paul Walker is questioning Cuadra. Much of the testimony has focused on how Cuadra met Kerekes and how he was molested as a child by his step-father. Cuadra said he stopped talking to his family after he left the Navy.

He couldn't reveal to his family his homosexuality, or what his stepfather did, he said.

A weeping Cuadra apologized to his mother, who was also crying

"I'm sorry, Momma," Cuadra sobbed.

Walker had to tell Cuadra to compose himself before testimony continued.

Cuadra could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree homicide for Bryan Kocis' death in January 2007. Prosecutors allege Cuadra killed Kocis, 44, in order to lure an actor to the gay pornography he co-owned with Kerekes.

Prosecution's other witness, James Quare, 24, testified he met Kocis online and stopped by the Dallas Township home for a sexual rendez vous.

10:00 AM: The Citizens' Voice is reporting that Harlow Cuadra's former lover and co-defendant Joseph Kerekes took the stand this morning in Cuadra's capital homicide trial, but the 35-year-old Kerekes didn't testify.

After answering several brief questions from Cuadra Attorney Joseph D'Andrea, Kerekes said he wouldn't testify on Cuadra's behalf.

"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, 35, pleaded guilty to second degree homicide in December and is serving a life-sentence. In his plea he said Cuadra had killed Bryan Kocis and then set fire to his Dallas Township home.

Cuadra's mother seated in the courtroom, shouted at Kerekes as he left the courtroom.

Cuadra started testifying after Kerekes stepped down.

Cuadra could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree homicide for Bryan Kocis' death in January 2007. Prosecutors allege Cuadra killed Kocis, 44, in order to lure an actor to the gay pornography he co-owned with Kerekes.

Kerekes was the second defense witness called this morning. Testimony started more than an hour late because of several legal issues that had to be addressed prior to Kerekes' testimony.

9:59 AM: According to the Times Leader, admitted killer Joseph Kerekes refused to testify against his partner, Harlow Cuadra.

A shackled Kerekes, 35, dressed in a white shirt with the letters "DOC" on the back, and brown pants, walked into the courtroom with Cuadra staring at him. Kerekes didn't appear to look at Cuadra who sits just 15 feet away from the witness stand.

Cuadra's co-defense attorney Joseph D'Andrea questioned Kerekes about the few times he visited him at the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill in Dauphin County.

"I've been thinking a lot about my parents, I think it will destroy them to say something that I didn't do," Kerekes said. "What I told you (D'Andrea) is untrue."

Whatever Kerekes told D'Andrea during their few meetings wasn't disclosed.

Kerekes was immediately escorted out of the courtroom.

Cuadra is currently testifying on his behalf, recalling his childhood in Florida and enlisting in the U.S. Navy when he was 17 years old. He is weeping on the stand.

8:33 AM: The Times Leader reports that Harlow Cuadra waived his right to remain silent and is expected to testify in his defense today, the 11th day of his capital murder trial before a Luzerne County jury.

Cuadra, 27, is facing the death penalty if convicted of first-degree homicide in the murder of Bryan Kocis in January 2007.

Cuadra's partner, Joseph Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder and is serving a life sentence. Kerekes, who is being kept inside a tiny third floor courtroom, is expected to testify on Cuadra's behalf.

Assistant district attorneys Michael Melnick, Shannon Crake and Allyson Kacmarski rested their case against Cuadra on Monday, spending 10 and presenting 86 witnesses to the jury.

Investigators alleged Cuadra and Kerekes killed Kocis, 44, whom they considered thier main rival in the adult film production industry. A motive to the killing, investigators claim, was the two men wanted to work with adult film actor Sean Lockhart, a contract adult film actor for Kocis' company, Cobra Video.

Earlier today and without the jury in the courtroom, Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. questioned Cuadra, who waived his right to remain silent.

The surprise development appeared to have caught prosecutors off guard.

Melnick and Crake were observed running out of the courtroom on the third floor, and were leaning over the shoulders of state police Trooper Brian Murphy, a computer forensics investigator, working on a laptop computer.

Prosecutors used several laptop computers during their case to play two recordings investigators intercepted involving conversations between Cuadra, Kerekes and Grant Roy and Lockhart in San Diego, Calif., in April 2007.

Renee Martin, a prosecution witness who returned to her home state of Texas after she testified last week, is in the courthouse and likely will be called to testify by Cuadra's attorneys, Joseph D'Andrea and Paul Walker.

Martin arranged hundreds of phone calls between Cuadra and Kerekes while they were jailed. Two of the jailhouse phone calls were recorded and played to the jury during the prosecutions case.

8:24 AM: Today is Harlow Cuadra's eleventh day of trial, and Cuadra’s attorneys, Joseph D’Andrea and Paul J. Walker, will begin presenting their evidence. Expected to take the stand today are Joseph Kerekes, Bobby Komrowski, Harlow Cuadra, and possibly Chaplain Tom Winiarczyk. Stay tuned for further updates throughout the day.

Cuadra Trial... Day 10 Overview

The Times Leader reports this morning that Joseph Kerekes admitted he killed Bryan Kocis.

Harlow Cuadra said Kerekes didn’t do it.

Cuadra, 27, made the statement to Luzerne County Det. Lt. Daniel Yursha and Dallas Township police Sgt. Doug Higgins, who were investigating the January 2007 murder of Kocis.

“Our official purpose was to notify and read the criminal complaint to Harlow Cuadra,” Yursha testified on Monday during Cuadra’s capital murder trial before a Luzerne County jury.

It took 75 minutes to read the arrest records to Cuadra after his arrest in Virginia Beach, Va., on May 15, 2007, Yursha said. Yursha and Higgins then asked Cuadra if he was hungry.

“He blurted out, ‘Joe didn’t do it,’” Higgins told the jury. “The last thing he said was, ‘Joe didn’t do it.’”

Investigators alleged Cuadra and Kerekes, 35, plotted to kill Kocis, 44, whom they considered their main rival in the gay film production industry. Kocis was found dead with a slashed neck, and 28 stab wounds, inside his Midland Drive, Dallas Township, home that was set ablaze on Jan. 24, 2007.

A motive to the murder, prosecutors claim, was Cuadra and Kerekes wanted to film movies with Sean Lockhart, a contract adult film actor for Kocis’ company, Cobra Video.

Assistant district attorneys Michael Melnick, Shannon Crake and Allyson Kacmarski rested their case against Cuadra on Monday, spending 10 days and calling 86 witnesses to testify in hopes of convincing the jury to convict Cuadra.

Cuadra could face the death penalty if convicted of first degree murder.

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

Cuadra’s attorneys, Joseph D’Andrea and Paul Walker, issued a subpoena for Kerekes, who may testify on Cuadra’s behalf today.

D’Andrea and Walker further issued a subpoena for Bobby Lee Komrowski, who wishes to withdraw his recent guilty plea of third-degree murder in the killing of his girlfriend Amy Comly in October 2007. Komrowski, 50, was jailed for more than a year at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility where Kerekes was housed until he was transferred to state prison three months ago.

Kocis’ father, Michael Kocis, testified on Monday telling the jury about the times they went bow hunting. Bryan enjoyed target shooting with handguns, and was a private person, Michael Kocis said.

“You couldn’t just drop in, he was very private,” Michael Kocis told the jury.

He tearfully recalled when he learned about his son’s death.

“I broke down and cried,” Michael said. “I couldn’t believe it was actually him; he was basically burned beyond recognition and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.”

Kocis’ father said he wasn’t aware his son was involved in the production of adult films. He told the jury that several items, including a Rolex watch and two laptop computers, were missing from his son’s home.

Prosecutors attempted to establish during the trial that Kocis’ murder involved felony crimes, a requirement for the death penalty.

Veteran criminal investigator state police Cpl. Leo Hannon Jr. was the last witness to testify for prosecutors, summing up the entire case that involved numerous trips to Virginia Beach, consulting with experts in the telecommunications industry, San Diego, Calif., police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Naval Intelligence Unit, U.S. Attorney Offices and a Sony production facility in Japan.

Two Sony digital cameras with obliterated serial numbers found under a towel in the Virginia Beach, Va., home of Cuadra and Kerekes were the same exact models missing from Kocis’ residence, Hannon said.

Hannon said the cameras seized from the Virginia Beach home were analyzed by the FBI in Virginia, and shipped to Sony corporate offices in Japan. Sony engineers were unable to find a second serial number on both cameras, Hannon said.

A majority of the witnesses during the trial were representatives and experts in the telecommunications industry as prosecutors attempted to link Cuadra and Kerekes to Kocis’ murder by numerous e-mails and phone calls.

Trooper Brian Murphy, a computer forensic investigator, said Cuadra and Kerekes set up a bogus Yahoo! e-mail account in the name of Danny Moilin, and applied to Cobra Video on Jan. 22, 2007.

The application caught the attention of Kocis, who sought more information from Moilin and arranged to meet him at his Dallas Township home on Jan. 24.

Investigators traced the e-mails to the home of Cuadra and Kerekes, and learned they traveled in a rented 2006 Nissan XTerra to the Wyoming Valley on Jan. 23, when they checked in at the Fox Ridge Inn in Plains Township.

Prosecutors showed an enlarged copy of the motel guest sheet to the jury on Monday, illustrating Kerekes began to fill out the address section writing, “1028 Stra,” but crossed it out and wrote an address in Roanoke, Va., with a Florida zip code.
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Meanwhile over at the Citizens' Voice... Bryan Kocis lived such a private life at his Dallas Township home, even his own parents had to call before stopping by, his father testified Monday in Harlow Cuadra’s capital homicide trial.

“We couldn’t just drop in on him,” Michael Kocis said. “We had to notify him before hand. If it was out of the ordinary, we were just passing by, we’d call him from down the road to let him know we were coming.”

Michael Kocis, as one of prosecution’s last witnesses, reaffirmed various pieces of prosecution evidence — his son’s private life, the Rolex watch he owned and other details. But, when had to remember his son’s horrific death Michael Kocis was unlike any previous witness. He could barely continue.

“I broke down and cried,” he said, before pausing to cry. “He was basically burned beyond recognition … I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.”

Eight new witnesses testified Monday, as prosecution rested its case against Cuadra, who is accused of stabbing Bryan Kocis to death and setting fire to his Dallas Township home in January 2007. Cuadra, prosecutors say, wanted to kill Kocis, 44, a rival pornography producer, to further the gay pornography business he co-owned with Joseph Kerekes in Virginia Beach, Va.

Nearly 90 witnesses have testified for more than 70 hours, and prosecution, lead by Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick, has presented hundreds of pieces of evidence during 10 days of testimony.

Today, Cuadra’s attorneys, Joseph D’Andrea and Paul J. Walker, will begin presenting their evidence, expected to be much shorter. Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty in December and is serving a life sentence for second-degree homicide. Cuadra and Kerekes are expected to testify for the defense. Throughout the trial, D’Andrea and Walker have tried to insinuate that Cuadra was subservient to Kerekes, the real killer. But if Kerekes tries to take the blame when he testifies, prosecutors will likely cite previous statements Kerekes made identifying Cuadra as the one who stabbed Kocis.

Cuadra listened, Monday, as several of the lead investigators in his case testified to their role in arresting the 27-year-old Virginia Beach man.

During wire-tapped conversations in San Diego in April 2007, Cuadra mentioned several aspects of the crime that weren’t public yet, testified state police Cpl. Leo Hannon.

Cuadra mentioned Kocis drinking the night he was killed, phone calls made by Kocis that night and the engraving, BCK on the back of Kocis’ Rolex, during the wire-tapped conversation. None of that was known publicly at the time, Hannon said, indicating that Cuadra was present during Kocis’ death.

Walker asked if Cuadra could’ve been told that information by someone else who saw Kocis killed. Hannon agreed it was possible.

Cuadra had just heard the charges against him when he blurted something out, Luzerne County Detective Daniel Yersha testified.

“(Cuadra) said, ‘Joe didn’t do it,’” Yersha said.

Cuadra and Kerekes were arrested in May 2007 in Virginia Beach, Va. Yersha and Dallas Township Police Sgt. Douglas Higgins testified they had read Cuadra his charges and asked him if he wanted a drink, when he made the comment.

Walker asked during cross-examination if Cuadra was just trying to cover up for his friend. Maybe, Yersha said, but the response was unprovoked.

“Did Harlow Cuadra ever say he killed Bryan Kocis or he knew who killed Bryan Kocis?”

“No,” Yersha said.

Yersha and Higgins also testified Cuadra said other unprovoked comments following his arrest, including remembering the Lehigh Valley Tunnel, when he was being transported to Pennsylvania in July 2007.

“I remember this, it’s a long tunnel” Higgins said Cuadra commented while they drove through the tunnel.

A laptop computer seized from Harlow Cuadra’s Virginia Beach, Va., home had several pictures of Bryan Kocis saved to it, as well as photos of Cuadra that were sent to Kocis in the days leading up to Kocis’ Jan. 24, 2007, homicide, state Trooper Brian Murphy said. Murphy, a computer forensic expert, started testifying on Friday.

Three e-mail accounts set up by Kerekes or Cuadra and Cuadra’sMySpace Web page connected to the Internet using the same IP Address used by an e-mail address of the model who was supposed to meet with Kocis the day he was killed, Murphy testified.

IP addresses, Murphy explained, are unique identifiers associated with a computer any time it is connected to the Internet. No two IP addresses are ever alike at the same time. The e-mail address “dmbottompa@yahoo.com,” which was used by potential Kocis model “Danny Moilin” was used only to e-mail Kocis, except for one test e-mail, Murphy testified. Every Internet connection with dmbottompa@yahoo.com corresponded with the same IP Address as Cuadra’s other accounts, Murphy said, and often at the same time. Prosecutors allege Cuadra pretended to be “Moilin,” a fictional potential model from King of Prussia, to gain access to Kocis’ home.

D’Andrea said, during cross-examination, there was no absolute proof that it was Cuadra using the yahoo e-mail. In fact, D’Andrea said, it was likely that Kerekes had access to Cuadra’s accounts and could’ve sent the e-mails.

“There was nothing at all to prevent Joseph Kerekes from setting up dmbottom, was there?” D’Andrea asked

“No,” Murphy said.

So What Will Joe Say Now?

Last week, Harlow Cuadra's defense attorneys filed the required paperwork needed to have Joseph Kerekes come back from his digs at Camp Hill, and testify during Harlow's trial... surprisingly for Harlow.

Over the course of the past couple of years... we've heard a lot from Joe since his arrest (not to mention a lot before it), and with every passing discussion, he seems to change his tune... here's a really small sample:

May-July 2007: Joe seemed to love talking on the jailhouse phone, and I mean a lot... here's just one example of his phone conversations, this one being between him, Renee Martin and Harlow Cuadra.

July 2007: In a jailhouse interview at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, Kerekes said Cuadra left the motel room at 6:30 p.m. to meet with Kocis. Kerekes stayed at the motel using his laptop computer to access his Yahoo e-mail.

“That will show I was at the inn,” Kerekes said.

Kerekes said Cuadra called him when he arrived at Kocis’ home at about 7 p.m. He said he was surprised when Cuadra immediately called him after a few minutes saying he was leaving.

“Harlow called and said something was wrong and that he was leaving. He said, ‘I can’t talk about it on the phone, I’ll be there in a few minutes,’ ” Kerekes said.

Kerekes said Cuadra arrived at the motel room and they quickly checked out. They drove onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike when Kerekes said Cuadra told him what he saw at Kocis’ home.

“Harlow said he got there the door was partially open. He looked inside and saw an overturned table and smelled smoke. He said he saw someone on a couch or chair, and heard a noise upstairs, like someone was about to come down,” Kerekes said.



August 2007: As they left the magistrate's office, Cuadra and Kerekes, both of Virginia Beach, maintained their innocence. Kerekes said he can prove he was not at Kocis' house the night of the murder.

"No, I was never in that house and we will hire an expert to prove that I was nowhere near that house," Kerekes said.
---
Joseph Kerekes, 33, appeared upbeat while exiting the courtroom Thursday, his head held high, a pleased expression on his face.

“I just think it’s great the burglary charges were dropped. We didn’t steal anything from that poor man,” he said, commenting on a district judge’s decision to uphold all charges – including homicide, conspiracy, arson, and abuse of corpse – against him and 26-year-old Harlow Cuadra, except for burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary.

December 2008: On the day Joe pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, Melnick said Kerekes told them Cuadra decided to “eliminate” Kocis, purchased a .38-caliber gun and knife from a Virginia Beach pawn shop and rented an SUV to drive to Pennsylvania. Melnick said Kerekes and Cuadra traveled together and Kerekes said he paid cash for a room at the Fox Hill Inn because the motel had no security or surveillance. They paid for the room in cash so they could not be tracked.

Melnick said Kerekes told them the two did surveillance on the Kocis home prior to the homicide, and that Kerekes participated in e-mail correspondence sent to Kocis before his death. Kerekes told attorneys he was aware Cuadra intended to kill Kocis, and the lighter fluid and lighters used to set the blaze were purchased at Wal-Mart.

Kerekes said he stayed at the motel while Cuadra went to the Kocis home. When Cuadra returned, he said he had murdered Kocis and set the home ablaze, according to Kerekes. Prosecutors said Kocis’ throat was slashed to the point his death was ruled homicide by decapitation.

Kerekes told attorneys Cuadra returned with several items belonging to Kocis, including a Rolex watch, camcorders, tapes, computers and Kocis’ cell phone. They discarded the murder weapon and some of Kocis’ belongings.
---

How Joe's stories have changed over time... I wonder what 'version' we'll hear next, assuming he takes the stand this week? The prosecution must be tickled to death (no pun intended), as I certainly can't see Joe doing the defense any favors by testifying, no matter what he says.

[Note: This post is based upon my own personal opinion.]

Kerekes to Testify in Cuadra Trial...

The Times Leader reports what I mentioned earlier today... that Joseph Kerekes, who admitted to killing Bryan Kocis, is being transferred from a state prison in Dauphin County to the Lackawanna County Jail.

The transfer suggests Kerekes, 35, will testify against his partner, Harlow Cuadra, who is on trial in Luzerne County for his alleged role in killing Kocis.

Kerekes pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. When he was sentenced, Kerekes pledged he wouldn't testify against Cuadra.

Cuadra's lawyers, Joseph D'Andrea and Paul Walker, filed a petition with Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. to have Kerekes transferred "so that he may appear...to testify in the trial of Commonwealth v. Cuadra."

Olszewski granted the transfer on Wednesday.

Attorney John Pike, who co-represented Kerekes, said he wasn't aware Kerekes was going to be transferred.

"I've been in contact with Joe through correspondence and they (D'Andrea and Walker) have contacted me about Joe," Pike said. "Did they go see him? I don't know."

Pike said either he or Attorney Shelley Centini will have to be present in the courtroom if Kerekes testifies.
---
Meanwhile, the Citizens' Voice is reporting that Joseph Kerekes will likely testify in Harlow Cuadra’s capital homicide trial.

Kerekes, Cuadra’s former partner, pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide in December to the killing of Bryan Kocis at his Dallas Township home in January 2007.

Kerekes said during his plea that he wouldn’t testify for prosecution in the case. A transfer order signed by Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. on Wednesday suggests that Kerekes, 35, will testify for the defense.
---

So which is it? I'm working on finding that out right now.

Update @ 5:52 PM: Sources tell me that Kerekes will be testifying for the defense.

Harlow Cuadra's Trial... Day 7

6:14 PM: Sources tell me that Grant Roy was in the courtroom today listening to testimony, but was told to leave/pulled out by a detective between 3:30 and 4 this afternoon.

4:34 PM: The Citizens' Voice reports that Harlow Cuadra needed an alibi for the day Bryan Kocis was killed, a friend of Cuadra testified today in Cuadra’s capital homicide trial.

Howard Halford testified Cuadra told him “a bad alibi is better than no alibi.”

Halford met Cuadra through the male escort service Cuadra co-owned with Joseph Kerekes in Virginia Beach, Va.. Cuadra, 27, is accused of killing Kocis, a rival pornography producer, at his Dallas Township home on Jan. 24, 2007, in order to lure an actor to the gay pornography business he also co-owned with Kerekes, 35.

Halford, who said he was in love with Cuadra, testified he gave the 27-year-old more than $70,000 for legal defense since he was imprisoned. Although Cuadra asked him several times for help with an alibi, Halford said he never lied to police.

“You were not with him on January 24?” Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick asked.

“No,” Halford said.

Halford was not the only former client of Cuadra who testified he donated money to Cuadra’s legal defense or was asked to come up with an alibi. Nep Maliki, of Virginia Beach, said Cuadra sent him letters asking Maliki to remember facts about an alibi that was made up. Maliki, who works two fast food restaurant jobs, told jurors he donated $50 to Cuadra’s legal defense fund.

Thirteen witnesses testified in the seventh day of testimony. About half of the witnesses verified electronic records about various things from Cuadra’s My Space Web page or phone records.

Renee Martin, a neighbor of Harlow Cuadra testified today she talked to Kerekes hundreds or thousands of times, while the two men were jailed in Virginia Beach related to Kocis’ Dallas Township homicide. The two men were held there for several weeks after their arrest. Martin said she received several letters from Cuadra about the case, but that Kerekes was the primary contact.

Prosecution will resume its case at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.

3:37 PM: Looks like Joseph Kerekes will be testifying afterall, this was just filed this morning: Petition for Writ of habeas Corpus Ad testificandum & Writ filed. Transport Kerekes to Lackawanna Co.

3:04 PM: According to the Times Leader, a man from Georgia testified he gave $70,000 to homicide suspect Harlow Cuadra.

Howard Mitch Halford, of Atlanta, told the jury that he is in "love" with Cuadra, 27, and gave him the keys to his residence as an option when Cuadra was a suspect in the death of Bryan Kocis in January 2007.

Cuadra and his business partner, Joseph Kerekes, in Norfolk Male Companions and the production of gay pornographic movies, were arrested in May 2007 in Kocis' killing.

Halford was a long standing escort client of Cuadra.

Halford testified on the seventh day of Cuadra's capital murder trial before Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. that Cuadra solicited him to tell investigators that he was with Cuadra the night Kocis was killed on Jan. 24, 2007.

Halford initially told investigators that he was with Cuadra, but later recanted, saying he saw Cuadra once during a two-week span in late January.

Halford said he gave Cuadra $70,000 for his love for him. He also knew Cuadra's business partner, Joseph Kerekes.

Halford described the relationship with Cuadra and Kerekes as "a little puppy."

"Kerekes had such control over Harlow, how would I describe it, it was like a little puppy," Halford said.

A letter Cuadra wrote to another escort client, Nep Maliki, was shown to the jury.

In the letter dated June 13, 2007, Cuadra instructed Maliki on what to say to investigators.

Maliki, of Virginia Beach, testified that he kept the letter in his pocket for six months. Malicki further said he gave Cuadra $50 to his legal defense, donating the money on a Web site called freeharlow.com.

Another escort client, Joseph Ryan, testified earlier today that he gave Cuadra more than $7,000 for his legal defense.

12:03 PM: The Times Leader is reporting that Renee Martin testified that there were hundreds, if not, thousands of jailhouse phone calls from homicide suspects Joseph Kerekes and Harlow Cuadra.

Martin, who formerly lived near Kerekes and Cuadra in Virginia Beach, Va., said she arranged the phone calls by paying a special inmate phone account.

She was the prosecution's 46th witness to testify in Cuadra's capital murder trial before Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. Cuadra's trial is in its seventh day of testimony. Cuadra is charged in the killing of Bryan Kocis, 44, at Kocis' Dallas Township home on Jan. 24, 2007.

Martin said Kerekes made the majority of the phone calls and Cuadra called two or three times a week.

Prosecutors played to the jury two recorded phone calls that were placed when Cuadra and Kerekes were jailed at the Virginia Beach Correctional Facility from May 15 to July 16, 2007.

During the recorded phone calls, Kerekes and Cuadra discussed alibi plans, with Cuadra telling Kerekes, "Don't make my hole too deep to crawl out of." Kerekes was heard saying, "I think the detectives are hard up on evidence."

"I know (investigators) don't believe that I opened the door and saw the body, I know they don't believe that," Cuadra said during one of the recorded phone calls.

Prosecutors alleged the two men made up an alibi they called Plan B, in which, Kerekes remained at a motel in Plains Township and Cuadra traveled to Kocis' home on Midland Drive, and seeing Kocis' body on a couch and the residence on fire.

Martin further testified that she received several letters from Cuadra and Kerekes; however, prosecutors presented to the jury three Cuadra letters and one letter written by Kerekes.

In a six page letter Cuadra drafted to Martin on Oct. 12, 2007, Cuadra wrote "The Plan" which included obtaining attorneys who could tell a good story.

Martin, whom Melnick advised Olszewski would be on the witness stand for a length of time, testified for about 30 minutes.

Victor Maciel, a representative from myspace.com Inc., testified the myspace.com account registered under Cuadra's name was activated several times on Jan. 24, 2007.

10:47 AM: According to the Citizens' Voice... three prosecution witnesses testified this morning in Harlow Cuadra’s capital homicide trial, and jurors are expected to listen to recorded phone conversations Cuadra had from a Virginia jail when they return from the morning recess.

Renee Martin, who had several conversations by phone with Cuadra while he was in jail, is expected to testify next. Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. told jurors before the break that Martin’s testimony would be long.

A previous witness testified today that incoming calls to Harlow were recorded when he was housed at the Virginia Beach, Va., jail. The two other witnesses this morning, a client and a former escort, testified about the escort and gay pornography business Cuadra ran with his partner Joseph Kerekes.

10:43 AM: The Times Leader reports that an escort customer to Harlow Cuadra's male escort business testified that he donated more than $7,000 to Cuadra's defense fund.

John Ryan, a computer consultant in Virginia, testified he has known Cuadra since 2003 when he became a client for Cuadra's escort company Norfolk Male Companions.

After Cuadra was charged with the killing of Bryan Kocis in Kocis' Dallas Township home in January 2007, Ryan said Cuadra sought money for his legal defense on criminal homicide charges.

Ryan was called to testify by prosecutors on the seventh day of Cuadra's capital murder trial before Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. He explained to the jury he visited Cuadra in jail, and it was explained to him what happened the night Kocis was killed on Jan. 24, 2007.

"He said he arrived at Mr. Kocis' residence and saw the door open and Kocis' body on a couch. He said he heard a noise, he fled and called Joe (Kerekes)."

Kerekes, Cuadra's partner in the escort business and the production of gay pornographic films, maintained that he stayed at the Fox Ridge Inn in Plains Township when Cuadra visited Kocis.

Upon questioning by Cuadra's attorneys, Joseph D'Andrea and Paul Walker,Ryan told the jury that Kerekes was the more dominate person in the relationship, and learned Kerekes had assaulted Cuadra.

Prosecutors are expected to play to the jury today several jailhouse phone calls between Cuadra and Kerekes that were arranged by Renee Martin, a former neighbor in Virginia Beach.

8:22 AM: Harlow Cuadra's seventh day of trial is scheduled to begin shortly. Renee Martin is expected to take the witness stand today, and prosecutors will play several recorded jailhouse conversations she had with Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes. Stay tuned for further updates throughout the day.