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HARLOW CUADRA FOUND GUILTY AND COULD FACE DEATH
By: Keith Witchka, Staff Writer - 03-12-09 - 3:44 p.m. PDT
The jury has come in on Harlow Cuadra, GUILTY on All Counts. It is confirmed that the jury took less than four hours today, Thursday March 13, 2009, to convict defendent Harlow Cuadra of first-degree murder and a total of eleven (11) other felony counts charged against him in connection with the slaying of gay porn producer Bryan Kocis.
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The consequences Harlow Cuadra are not over yet because the four women and eight men jury are now charged with deciding whether or not Cuadra should spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole or receive the death penalty.
Cuadra, now 27, told the jury in his defense that he didn't know beforehand or that he had participated in any attacks on Mr. Bryan Kocis. Kerekes is the one who committed the murder that took place at Kocis's Pennsylvania home back in January 27, 2007.
The autopsy found that Kocis died of massive blood loss after his head was nearly sliced off. The coroner also stated that Mr. Kocis suffered between 28 and 29 post mortem stab wounds before he was torched in his home.
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Kocis' remains which reported to have 28 stab wounds and, he was nearly decapitated. His body was truly burned beyond recognition. There is some sign of the jury giving Cuadra life in prison. Why you ask? Well, the jury may have been swayed by Cuadra's tearful testimony, as members indicated some confusion when they asked presiding judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. whether they could convict if they were unsure who struck the death blow.
Here is the actual quote taken from court records "Can we convict on first-degree murder if we don't believe Harlow Cuadra slit Bryan Kocis' throat?" they wanted to know. Olszewski explained that Pennsylvania law requires the jury to find the defendant was a "main participant" in order to render a first-degree verdict.Whether Cuadra struck the death blow or merely served as an accomplice should determine the jury's recommendation on sentencing, he told them: If Cuadra struck the death blow, he may be sentenced to death; if he was an accomplice, life in prison would be a more appropriate sentence.
The Harlow Cuadra trial went through quickly considering all of the news media covering this story worldwide. It lasted a mere 10 days which includes less than 4 ours of deliberations.
When Kerekes came forward to testify on Cuadra's behalf and might I say, he was the only defense witness in this case, he elected not to answer any questions. Could it be that he doesn' t want to incriminate himself? The jury will begin the sentencing phase in the coming days. We'll keep you posted on this story.
