WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – One of two men sentenced to life in prison for the gruesome 2007 slaying of gay porn producer Bryan Kocis has asked for a new trial on the grounds his former lover committed the crime.
Harlow Cuadra, 31, is serving a life sentence in the State Correctional Institution at Coal Township, Pa., after narrowly escaping the death sentence during his March 2009 trial. Although jury members unanimously voted to convict the then-escort and aspiring gay porn producer of first-degree murder for his role in stabbing to death and beheading Kocis in the producer’s rural Pennsylvania home, the jury deadlocked on sentencing.
From the beginning, Cuadra blamed the murder and subsequent arson on his lover and business partner, Joseph Kerekes. During tearful testimony at trial, Cuadra told the jury Kerekes forced him to leave the Navy, work as a male prostitute and perform in gay adult movies. It was while Kocis interviewed Cuadra for one of his movies that Kerekes, in a jealous rage, stormed into Kocis’ home, slit the producer’s throat, stabbed him 28 times and then set fire to the residence, Cuadra claimed. He also said he fled the attack to hide in the rented car parked in the driveway.
The jury found Cuadra’s testimony unpersuasive. Credit card receipts and video evidence indicated Cuadra bought the weapons and rented the car employed in the crime. In addition, conversations taped by the FBI with the cooperation of adult performer Brent Corrigan suggested Cuadra actually planned and carried out the murder without coercion.
During a Monday hearing on a motion submitted under Pennsylvania’s Post-Conviction Relief Act, Cuadra’s new attorney told the court additional evidence has emerged. He declined to elaborate, but indicated in an earlier filing that he intends to introduce proof Kerekes used abuse to control Cuadra. The filing also alleges Cuadra’s previous attorneys presented an ineffective defense.
In a response filed with the court, prosecutors objected to a new trial, calling Cuadra’s claims “meritless” and asserting battered-spouse allegations are “not a defense to a homicide charge.”
Kerekes, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December 2008 and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
[SIZE=1]Image: Shortly after their arrests, Cuadra, left, and Kerekes appeared on the front page of the Oct. 5, 2007, issue of Pennsylvania’s Citizens’ Voice above a headline reading “Murder Suspects Claim Innocence: Pair pleads not guilty in brutal death of rival gay pornography producer.”[/SIZE]
