Bryan Kocis
By Mallory Simon
Court TV
Two gay porn actors are facing murder charges for allegedly killing a porn executive in a dispute over a coveted actor.
Police believe Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes went to the Dallas, Pa., home of Cobra Video boss Bryan Kocis on Jan. 24 and slashed his throat. After he was dead, they stabbed him 28 times and burned his body and home to hide the crime, according to court documents.
Kocis’ body was found that night when firefighters responded to the fire. The smoke detectors were disabled and there were no signs of forced entry. Police believe Cuadra and Kerekes gained access to the porn executive’s home by tricking him into thinking Cuadra was a new model who was interested in making a movie for Cobra Video.
Cuadra and Kerekes were arrested in May, almost four months after the murder. The pair had been held in the Virginia Beach County Beach Jail while they initially fought extradition. They were extradited Tuesday to Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Police made the arrests after they found evidence on a computer that survived the fire. E-mails showed that Cuadra, pretending to be a new model, arranged a meeting with Kocis on the night of his murder, according to court documents.
Investigators believe Cuadra and Kerekes killed Kocis because they wanted to work with Kocis’ lead actor, Sean Lockhart, 20, known in the adult entertainment industry as Brent Corrigan.
According to police, Cuadra wanted to make a film with the “Every Poolboy’s Dream” star, but because of pending litigation and contractual obligations between production company LSG Media, Lockhart and Cobra Videos, the plan could not move forward.
Regardless of those obstacles, on Jan. 11, the pair met with Lockhart and Grant Roy, a partner with LSG Media, at a convention in Las Vegas to discuss a movie. At the meeting, according to police, Cuadra alluded to killing Kocis if necessary to secure the movie.
“What if Bryan [Kocis] left the country?” Cuadra suggested to the group, according to the documents.
“Harlow knows someone who would do anything for him,” Kerekes allegedly quipped. Roy told police he knew this meant Cuadra could have Kocis killed.
After that meeting, investigators say the plan to kill Kocis was put into motion.
Sean Lockhart, the object of desire
On Jan. 20, Cuadra ordered a background check on Kocis, which he paid for with his credit card, according to court documents. Then, Cuadra bought a prepaid cellphone, which was first activated near his house. The only phone calls made were to Kocis. The last call made was a hundred yards from Kocis’ home the day after the murder.
Cuadra also created a new e-mail address, dmbottompa@yahoo.com. Police say the e-mail address and the cellphone were solely for use in the murder plot.
In the days leading up to Kocis’ death, Cuadra e-mailed the executive, pretending to be a model named Danny Moilin. Cuadra sent the Kocis his own headshot and asked to set up a meeting at which, presumably, the two would have sex, according to the court documents.
“Umm, can we please be alone … at least this first time,” Cuadra wrote in an e-mail, according to court documents.
Kocis made plans to meet the model on Jan. 24 at 7:15 p.m.
Cuadra, 25, and Kerekes, 33, rented a gray Nissan Xterra SUV and a hotel room for their stay in Dallas, Pa.
The day before the murder, surveillance cameras show Kerekes and Cuadra entering the Superior Pawn and Gun Shop and purchasing a lock blade folding knife, a revolver and ammunition. The knife purchased by Cuadra is believed to be consistent with the knife that killed Kocis, according to court documents.
Harlow Cuadra (left) and Joseph Kerekes (right)
Police believe Cuadra showed up at Kocis’ home on schedule, but quickly became nervous that the porn executive recognized him. Shortly after Cuadra’s arrival, there was a knock at the door, according to conversations police later intercepted.
Minutes later, an unidentified witness called 911 to report a fire at Kocis’ house. That person said the gray SUV that had been parked in the driveway was no longer there, according to the court documents.
When the fire department arrived, they found Kocis dead in the living room. They noticed several computer towers missing, although the monitors and keyboards remained. Several video cameras were also later reported missing.
The next day, police say, Cuadra called Lockhart and told him to visit a television station Web site, where he found a story about Kocis’ death, according to court documents.
“I guess my guy went overboard,” Cuadra said, according to documents detailing police surveillance of the conversation.
In the days following Kocis’ murder, police intercepted conversations between Kerekes, Cuadra, Roy and Lockhart. Court documents did not explain why police initially suspected the pair, and Pennsylvania State police would not comment.
In one conversation, Roy asked Kerekes and Cuadra if Kocis had felt any pain.
“Don’t worry, he went quick,” Cuadra said, according to the surveillance.
The foursome were also recorded having a conversation at a nude beach, in which Cuadra talked about being at Kocis’ house during the time of the murder, discussed taking some of the porn executive’s computers, most of which he said he later destroyed, according to court documents. When police searched the home of Kerekes and Cuadra, they found video cameras with the serial numbers filed off, which they believed to be stolen from Kocis’ home.
“Actually seeing that f—er going down, it’s actually sick, but it made me feel better inside,” Cuadra said, according to the documents. “It almost felt like I got revenge and I know that sounds f—ed up.”
Kerekes and Cuadra maintain their innocence. The pair has created a page on MySpace called “2wronglyaccused,” and Cuadra continues to blog from jail by phoning and mailing messages to his friends.
“I just know in my heart that i am innocent and i did not commit this crime and then when i go to trial this will all come out and THE TRUTH WILL PREVAIL!,” Cuadra wrote in his blog.
Both men were charged in Luzerene County, Pa., with criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, robbery, burglary, theft and two counts of arson.
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