WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The father of murdered gay porn producer Bryan Kocis has been awarded a default judgment in a civil lawsuit against the men accused of killing his son.
Michael Kocis said he filed the suit on behalf of the Kocis family in order to establish a claim to any assets Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes may have. Authorities in the accused murderers' home state of Virginia in July seized assets belonging to the men as part of a plea bargain involving racketeering and conspiracy to launder money charges.
Public defenders are representing Cuadra and Kerekes under Pennsylvania indigent laws in the murder trial. They were in custody in Pennsylvania at the time of the civil hearing and did not respond to the lawsuit. However, according to the attorney representing Michael Kocis, the pair may move to reverse the judgment. If they do not, the trial will move forward to the phase where damages will be specified.
The company that insured Kocis' home, which was destroyed by arson in an alleged attempt to destroy evidence of the murder, also had a stake in the lawsuit, Kocis attorney Conrad Falvello said.
Cuadra also is appealing a court decision that barred his original court-appointed attorney from participating in the trial. Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. ruled Demetrius Fannick could not represent Cuadra due to a conflict of interest arising from his acquaintance with the defendant prior to the time he was appointed his attorney. He also ruled that despite Cuadra's appeal of that decision, the trial will begin in September, as scheduled.
Cuadra and Kerekes are accused of stabbing to death Kocis, the owner of Cobra Video, in order to free gay porn performer Brent Corrigan from a contract with Cobra. Both have pleaded not guilty. Detectives began investigating Cuadra after one of his publicity photos was found on the charred remains of a computer hard drive among the ashes of Kocis' rural-Pennsylvania home. He and Kerekes, who is said to be his lover, were charged with the murder in May 2007.
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