Gay Porn Murder Trial Begins Tuesday

[Lee]

The murder trial of gay porn star Harlow Cuadra is scheduled to begin in a Pennsylvania courtroom Tuesday after numerous delays.

Cuadra, a former Navy enlisted man and porn star, is accused of the January 2007 killing of rival gay porn producer Bryan Kocis, 44, a man who had turned a bankrupt life around by peddling twink boys in bareback videos online.

Kocis' body was found by firemen responding to a fire at the porn king's Dallas Township house on the night of January 24, a Wednesday, his neck slashed to the point of near decapitation and his torso stabbed 28 times.

Investigators allege Cuadra, 27, and his lover, Joseph Kerekes, 34, who were involved in gay online pornography and escorting themselves, are responsible for the murder. The two plotted to kill the porn producer in an effort to cut free Kocis' biggest star, Sean Lockhart, from his contractual obligations, they contend.

Cuadra's family and friends claim he's innocent. At the website FreeHarlowCuadra.com, they push mugs and t-shirts to raise money for his defense.

So the news last December that Kerekes had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in an effort to save his own life must have disheartened those supporters.

Kerekes is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after admitting he knew of and helped facilitate the murder.

In a notice of alibi defense submitted to the court in July, attorneys for Cuadra said they might claim he was at a nearby motel the night of Kocis' murder. A defense certain to change when considering Kerekes' change of heart.

Cuadra and Kerekes, who served a brief stint in the Marines, first hooked up online in 2000. After several dates, Kerekes admitted that he escorted for a living and eventually brought his new lover into the fold. The pair began producing and starring in online military-themed bareback videos at Boybatter.com from their Virginia Beach, Virginia home.

While Cuadra and Kerekes were raking in large sums of money from their porn ventures, it had not kept pace with their indulgent lifestyle. Several reports indicate that by 2007 the pair were almost $1 million in debt.

Kocis had built his own gay porn empire off the backs of barely legal young boys called Cobra Video; his most lucrative star was Sean Lockhart, who starred in several videos under the name Brent Corrigan. The two also met on the Internet when Lockhart was living in San Diego and desperate for cash. But after being turned into a porn star – and Kocis' part-time lover – Lockhart wanted out, and new boyfriend, Grant Roy, wanted in as manager.

Lockhart told the FBI he was underage when he filmed Every Poolboy's Dream, Casting Couch 4, Schoolboy Crush and Bareboned Twinks for Cobra Video in an effort to sever his ties with his previous mentor.

The two faced off in court and eventually reached a settlement.

Nearly free from Kocis, Lockhart and Roy began scouting for new models for Lockhart's eventual return to gay porn when they came upon Cuadra.

According to statements Roy made to gay monthly Out, the four men agreed to produce a film starring Lockhart and Cuadra which they believed would be worth $1 million. Kocis, who had yet to contractually release his former sex star, stood in the way of their million dollar plan.

Both Lockhart and Roy are expected to testify at the trial, but Kerekes has refused. Jury selection begins Tuesday.

Cuadra could face the death penalty if found guilty of the murder of Bryan Kocis.

http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx...=1&Category=26

So what are your thoughts on this, think Cuadra will get the death penalty? A book deal? A movie deal?

Regards,

Lee

[DirtyNick]

So whens the TV movie coming out on Logo?

Did they think they were going to get money from him by getting Sean out of his contract?

Seems like an odd motive to kill someone wheres the profit or revenge motive

[GayGeek]

I knew Bryan Kocis and considered him a friend. I started making videos in '97 and he came to me a few years later for advice as he was entering the business. His videos quickly surpassed mine in quality and distribution, and I was pleased (and a bit envious) at his success.

I was stunned when I learned he had been murdered and have followed the case closely. There is an excellent(!!!) blog about the case here:

http://handjtrial.blogspot.com/

I recommend anyone follow it who is interested in the case. Just stick it in your blog reader and check it out as the trial begins next week.

I am 100% absolutely convinced of the guilt of Kerekes and Cuadro. I was pleased no end when Kerekes plead guilty and received a life sentence with no chance of parole. Even if the governor commutes his sentence (which he won't), he still gets several more years after that for willful desecration of a corpse (he burned Bryan's body).

The amount of evidence against the two was simply staggering. The fact that they rented a car, drove it to Bryan's county in PA and rented a nearby hotel room just before the murder. The knife they bought at Wal-Mart just before the crime. The fact that their cell phones were used on towers just outside Bryan's home at the time of the murder. The fact they left the hotel and drove back to VA immediately after the murder. Bryan's camera being found in their possession back in Virginia. (They had sanded off the serial number, but then stupidly posted a message at an online customer support forums saying they had just purchased the camera but didn't have a manual, and how did certain features work?) The conversation at the nude beach when Cuadro talks about how upsetting the murder was, and that he had trouble sleeping for nights after. Although killing Kocis felt "kinda good".

Say what you want about Bryan -- he was no saint, no one deserves to be drugged by a potential model. Then when you realize something is wrong and try to get to a phone the model opens the door and lets in an accomplice. Bryan had been stabbed 29 (or was it more?), and nearly beheaded by one of the blows. His body was dumped on the floor, covered with gasoline, and lit on fire.

All because the two heavily indebted thugs had this delusional idea that they were going to net a million dollars out of their deal with Lockhart. An absolutely ludicrous idea for a relatively untested video producer. A few videos on BoyBatter does not Bel Ami make!

I have long been of the opinion that Cuadro should accept his fate, plead guilty, and forever give up his rights as a free man. Failing that, I look forward to him being disgraced in court and locked away for the rest of his life. And while I am a moral opponent of the death penalty, I won't write any letters in protest of his execution.

--Aaron

PS, I have attached a picture of me in Brazil. One of my models tipped off several thugs that I was photographing models in my apartment and, presumably, had a large amount of cash. I was tricked into allowing them into my apartment where they tried to rob me. They didn't get a dime, but as you see I got more than I bargained for.

Moral of the story: What happened to Bryan (or me) can happen to any of you. I was traveling in a crime-ridden country but Bryan felt safe and secure in his own home. Don't ever let your guard down for a moment, because that mistake may be your last.

[gaybucks_chip]

I suspect that there will be a lot more to the story that will probably never be revealed unless the FBI or other law enforcement pursue charges against Brent Corrigan and his boyfriend/business partner Grant Roy.

Grant was openly going around asking practically anyone in earshot if they knew a hit man. The fact that these guys acknowledge that there was a conversation between Grant and Sean, and Harlow and Joe, a week or so before Bryan was murdered, where a discussion of the murder happened... and Grant and Sean did nothing to warn Bryan or notify authorities simply stinks.

I will be interested to hear what, if any, comes out of the testimony of Roy and Corrigan at the trial, and for that reason alone, I'm glad this case is going to trial and not pleading out.

[derekt]

.

According to statements Roy made to gay monthly Out, the four men agreed to produce a film starring Lockhart and Cuadra which they believed would be worth $1 million. Kocis, who had yet to contractually release his former sex star, stood in the way of their million dollar plan.

Both Lockhart and Roy are expected to testify at the trial, but Kerekes has refused. Jury selection begins Tuesday.

Cuadra could face the death penalty if found guilty of the murder of Bryan Kocis......

Here's updated info from the local newspaper here.
http://www.citizensvoice.com/article...07296_top3.txt

[Rich]

wow i didnt know about this