Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Introduction, and Welcome!

On January 24th of this year, a brutal murder and arson took place in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The victim, Bryan Kocis, was a gay porn producer, most famous for unwittingly hiring an underage porn star (Brent Corrigan), then vindictively filing suit against him in retaliation for revealing said underage status.

Right after a legal settlement between Corrigan and Kocis was reached, Kocis was murdered. His throat was slit, he was stabbed 28 times, and his house was burned to conceal the crime.

After months of careful investigation, two Virginia male escorts were arrested for the crime: Harlow Cuadra and Joe Kerekes. The motive appears to have been an overwhelming desire to film with the formerly underage porn star Brent Corrigan, and the murderers viewed Kocis as an impediment to that ambition.

The purpose of this blog is not to cover the trial; http://handjtrial.blogspot.com/ already do that superbly. Neither is it to engage in fanciful theories that the police got the wrong men; the evidence against Harlow and Joe is so overwhelming it simply leaves little doubt that they are guilty. Thus, the trial scheduled to occur in March is a mere formality...assuming a plea deal does not occur first, of course.

No, the purpose of this blog is to examine the root causes of this tragedy. Was it the bitter and emotional Corrigan litigation that spurred Cuadra and Kerekes to unilaterally decide to bring vigilante justice to Kocis? Perhaps something mental about Harlow and/or Joe, that turned them into cold, calculating murderers? Some flaw in their character or upbringing? Or was it as the Out Magazine article opined, some vague concept about the anonymity of the internet? We'll look at each of these the theories in turn, and try to answer that most basic of questions: Why did this happen?

Plus, we'll look at the consequences and aftermath of the murder. What kind of sentence will Harlow and Joe receive? What will become of Kocis' now defunct company, Cobra Video? What effect has this drama had on the enigmatic motivation behind all this: Brent Corrigan? And what of the defenders of Harlow and Joe...what causes them to persist in their disbelief of the evidence right under their noses? How will they react when they plead and/or are found guilty?

And any other thing that happens to strike my fancy. In particular, I have in mind to cull the archives of all the other blogs in the Kocisphere for some of my more notable past comments...jim's greatest hits! All gathered here, in one convenient blog!

Humbly, as always, at your service...the one and only! jim

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cold, calculating murderers?
They bought a gun and a knife the day before the murder with the cameras of the shop filming their faces and using they credit cards. I'd say idiots (and it's stange: they runned several activities so they must have a little of brain) or not guilty.

DeWayne In San Diego said...

Hey Jim Welcome you caught the Blog bug. I love your Chinchilla mascot.

That coat (and Auction) has summarized in a bizarre way the off kilter values and ambition of the two defendants. It kind of reminds me of Amber Waves who lived in this plastic world doing porn completely divorced from the reality of her life.(She had a lousy fur coat too)

Boogie Nights captured a mindset perfectly of people with a detached sense of reality.

Jim good luck here this will be more of a slow builder this type of material and Analysis takes longer to write and post.

You are welcome to any material you need I maintain an Archive started Jan 26, 2007 as well as what is posted on my 4 blogs (one is private until the Trial conclusion)

brynawel said...

"And any other thing that happens to strike my fancy. In particular, I have in mind to cull the archives of all the other blogs in the Kocisphere for some of my more notable past comments...jim's greatest hits!"

You stole my idea! I am collecting for months now in order to compile "The very best of Jim" after the trial. It is my idea, you stole it. *pouts*

Anonymous said...

jim,
Your site looks great, good luck and I look forward to reading your posts!

>>> ab said...

hey jim, nice to see your new blog.

as the most energetic poster on the other blogs i think now its time to start your own. ;-)

i m a little tired from the back and forth you described so i hope we can start here something new and get some interessting discussions lie n the first few weeks after the murder where actually new information were contributed and theories were discussed.

and i know is still owe you a mai tai ;-)

Rob said...

Jim, I like what you propose here. I will certainly be reading attentively and frequently.

For Anonymous: PC determined Harlow's Discover card was used to purchase the 9 mm handgun and the folding, survival knife. And yes, Harlow and Joe ran several activities.

For Dewayne: Harlow and Joe thought the Rolex watches (together they both had several), the luxury, sport cars, and gaudy looking fur coats gave them the varnish of respectability and entitlement.

For Brynawel: A long overdue Hello. I have missed you. Your gentle lady qualities bring a much needed air of respectability to the blogs. I would gladly offer my arm to escort you and hold doors open for you as well. Okay so I am gay but being a gentleman for a classy lady is never out of fashion.

quickysrt said...

Great idea Jim. Looking forword to your new posts and recap of Greatest Hits!

Now on with the show!

I also find it interesting that Harlow has a few supporters that seem to truly believe that the evidence so far does not tell a true and correct story of the events that happened. Internetguy seems sure enough that Harlow is innocent, and has just recently restated that position (again) on Harlow's blog comments section.

Yet none of these people have an alternate version to present. And when you ask them to be specific, or why they believe he did not do this, they say "I know him", or "I have written him", or "he is not the type", or "he could never do those things they say he did."

internetguy's hopes that "things get better, or "go alright for him", is so vague that I can't wrap my head around the concept of that hope, nor can I visualize internetguy's friendship with Harlow. Because my idea of things going better, or VERY well for Harlow is 25 years, and release at age 52. That is a really good optimistic outcome if they can't get all of the evidence thrown out. I think I would be less insulted if internetguy said "I hope he did not do this" as then I could sense some clear thinking and honesty being communicated.

Why do I find parts of the whole Harlow/Joe story so void of truth and reason? Is this the power that sexuality has over those who do not have it? The power of an image of materialistic attainment and financial security over those who have none? And why do porn actor/models so very often meet tragic ends? They have a high meltdown rate compared to your average working guy.

Was Harlow a really great trick in bed, and a few sincerely do miss that weekly date on the calendar?

We're not getting intelligent dialog with these people sure of innocence. No doubt Harlow's attorney would do well to ignore all five of them when planning a defense and plea deal.

Anonymous said...

quickysrt,

read your post.
Harlow still have his supporters around, as what internetguy said,
that he's innocent that is a good friend which I'm sure he is. Ihope Harlow didn't do this. this internetguy friend who knows Harlow too.

quickysrt said...

Anonymous, thanks for posting. While a lot of us differ in our opinions, those of us that believe the evidence is revealing have said why we think it's pretty good work on DA's part, why it tells a story with a good plot even if the ending is not a good and happy one.

If I was Harlow's friend or close relative I think I would avoid all these blogs. I would be anguished that I had no alternate story to reveal or spin that made any sense. But I am glad you are here if you are going to post your ideas and thoughts on why you believe in Harlow's innocence, I'm not the only one interested. You just might enlighten us.

But if you just posted to let it be known Harlow has true believers in his innocence, well then......okay good.