You’ve got to hand it to Harlow Cuadra: He knows how to play the part.
Although skies outside were overcast with a hint of drizzle, Harlow lit up a Luzerne County courtroom Tuesday afternoon with the performance of his life. I suppose that’s significant, because he’s facing the death penalty in the brutal slashing death of Bryan Kochis of Dallas in January of 2007.
Harlow’s defense attorneys had Joseph Kerekes penciled in on their day planners as the star witness today. Imagine their surprise when Harlow stole the show. According to The Times Leader, Kerekes, who pleaded guilty to second degree murder last year in connection with Kochis’ death, declined an opportunity to take the stand and the rap. Here’s what he said before leaving the courtroom: "I've been thinking a lot about my parents, I think it will destroy them to say something that I didn't do," Kerekes said. "What I told you (D'Andrea) is untrue." Attorney D’Andrea is one of the lawyers representing Harlow Cuadra. Can the statement be interpreted as an admission of innocence from a guy who pleaded guilty?
So, against the advice of his counsel, Harlow took the stand today, recounting his revelation of his sexual preference to his parents and remembering his stint in the service.
It was the afternoon session that was most provocative.
Cuadra casually told the jury about his dual careers as a male escort and pornographic actor. “I fit the part and that’s all that matters,” he told the jury in a matter-of-fact manner, as if discussing a casting call for “Chicago” instead of high-end prostitution. Removing his square framed glasses, the boyish Harlow faced the folks who might hold his life in their hands and detailed the fine points of the male escort/actor trade, mentioning the hungry nature of the newcomers and the quest for site traffic of an internet business. The self-professed motorhead threw his charm into fifth gear as he explained his craft and that horrible night in Dallas.
He also talked about Kochis’ long-distance fascination with a man he thought was named Danny, but was actually Harlow. “He was swooning over me. He was doting,” he recounted. Harlow seems to like Harlow quite a bit.
He also detailed a trip he took with Kerekes to a Virginia pawn shop, where Kerekes purchased a gun and a switchblade.
“Throw it in,” Kerekes told the clerk. Harlow said that showed his impulsive nature, telling the jury his former lover once bought a BMW while the two were on a Chinese food run. Cuadra was deliberate in his description of the sway Kerekes held over him, even detailing how he didn’t carry his own license or credit card.
Harlow then gave the jury a travelogue of their trip to NEPA, including staying at a local hotel (“a real dump”), working out at a gym and shopping at a grocery store he never heard of before arriving here. The two ate a Cornish hen with sides before Harlow’s eventual rendezvous with Kocis in his Back Mountain home. Harlow said most of his clients live in really nice neighborhoods, so it would be out of character for Kerekes to cool his heels out front while Cuadra did his business.
The transaction was going well at first. “He liked me a lot,” Harlow opined, saying Kochis was “smitten.” He added, “I did not feel like something bad was going to happen.”
But, something bad did happen. As the two conversed, there was a series of angry knocks on the door. Cuadra testified Kerekes burst through the door, throwing haymakers. First, he punched Kocis in the face. Then, he took a swing at Cuadra, clocking him in the nose before grabbing Kochis and “punching the hell” out of him.
Cuadra said Kerekes then whipped out a knife, slashing Kocis across the throat. A still coherent Kocis asked, “What are you doing?” before blood began cascading from the wound. Kerekes ordered Cuadra to the car and emerged several minutes later. “He pulls away and I don’t notice fire,” Cuadra added.
If that fire had done its job, the dark tale of the gay porn murder would have gone up in smoke. Instead, enough evidence emerged and here we are.
I cannot imagine the burden that rests on the shoulders of the Luzerne County jury charged with deciding Harlow’s fate. The one person who knows the truth is dead. The man who said he was guilty doesn’t seem so sure. The man on trial claims he’s the victim of a ruthless controller. What a mess. But, what else would you expect in the county of Luzerne?
Corbett
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