Jurors serving in the capital murder
trial of gay porn star Harlow Cuadra deadlocked on the decision to
send the convicted murderer to death row or prison. So he will spend
his life in prison without parole, a Luzerne County court affirmed
Monday afternoon, reports WNEP, an ABC affiliate.
Cuadra was found guilty of the
first-degree murder of Bryan Kocis on Thursday after a jury
deliberated for less than four hours.
Investigators allege Harlow Cuadra and
his former lover Joseph Kerekes killed gay porn producer Bryan Kocis,
44, in his Dallas Township, Pennsylvania home. Kocis' body was found
by firemen responding to a fire at Kocis' house on the night of
January 24, a Wednesday, his neck slashed to the point of near
decapitation and his torso stabbed 28 times.
Read
previous testimony in the trial and a complete story background.
Kocis founded Cobra Video, a gay porn
empire built off the backs of twink boys. His biggest star was Sean
Lockhart.
Prosecutors allege Cuadra and Kerekes
killed Kocis because they wanted to produce a pornographic film
starring Cuadra and Lockhart which they believed would be worth $1
million, but Kocis, who claimed ownership of Lockhart's stage name,
Brent Corrigan, stood in their way.
Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty to
second-degree murder last December and is now serving a life sentence
without parole.
Cuadra, 27, took the stand on Tuesday
and Wednesday. In his testimony, he blamed Kerekes for the murder.
“Takes out this knife and slashes
him. Bryan immediately grabs his throat,” Cuadra told the court.
Teary-eyed Cuadra told jurors he was
not a killer, and that he had been sexually molested at the age of 8.
The parents of Bryan Kocis told
reporters they were “satisfied” with the decision.