Click here to subscribe today or Login.
First Posted: 3/12/2009
Edward Lewis [email protected]
POSTED 2:07 p.m.
Harlow Cuadra is led out of the Luzerne County Courthouse after a jury found him guilty of capital murder this afternoon.
timesleader.com video screen capture
WILKES-BARRE – A Luzerne County jury has found Harlow Cuadra guilty of first degree murder and all 11 other counts. The verdict was just announced.
Cuadra, 27, was on trial for killing Bryan Kocis, 44, at Kocis’ Dallas Township home in January 2007.
The jury of eight men and four women began deliberating at 10:30 this morning and took less than four hours to reach the verdict.
Because it’s a capital murder case, the jury will now have to decide whether Cuadra should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
Read the complete story in Friday’s edition of The Times Leader and on timesleader.com
POSTED 12:40 p.m.
WILKES-BARRE – Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. re-read instructions on first-degree homicide to the jury.
The jury asked the question, Can we convict on first degree murder if we don’t believe Harlow Cuadra slit Bryan Kocis’ throat. Can you explain?
Olszewski assembled the jury in the courtroom and explained the requirements for a verdict on first-degree homicide.
Cuadra, 27, is accused of killing Kocis, 44, at Kocis’ Dallas Township home in January 2007.
POSTED 10:47 a.m.
WILKES-BARRE – Harlow Cuadra’s fate now rests with the jury.
The jury of eight men and four women began deliberating at 10:30 this morning.
Cuadra, 27, is charged with the killing of Bryan Kocis, 44, and setting Kocis’ Dallas Township home on fire in January 2007.
Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. instructed jurors on the 12 criminal charges that took about two hours. If Cuadra is convicted of being the main participant in Kocis’ murder, the jury will then decide if he should spend the rest of his life in prison or be put to death.
If Cuadra is found to be an accomplice to Kocis’ murder, he’ll likely be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
A co-defendant in the case, Joseph Kerekes, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Prosecutors spent 10 days presenting 86 witnesses to the jury. Cuadra was the only witness to testify in his defense.
Investigators 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 gay film actor Sean Lockhart, who was a contract actor for Kocis’ company, Cobra Video.
Check back with timesleader.com during the day for further developments.
