365Gay: Guilty plea in gay porn producer murder

FROM 365GAY.COM:

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania — One of two men accused of killing a gay porn producer, who he thought was a competitor, has been sentenced to life behind bars.

Under a deal with prosecutors, Joseph Kerekes pleaded guilty Monday to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. It is expected he will testify against his onetime lover Harlow Cuadra, who is still facing a first degree murder charge in the 2006 slaying of Bryan Kocis, the owner of Cobra Video.

Both Kerkes and Cuadra originally were charged with first degree murder and prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty. Second-degree murder carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison.

At a preliminary hearing last year, two medical examiners testified that Kocis died of massive blood loss after his head was nearly sliced off.

Luzerne County Coroner Dr. John Consalvo testified that Kocis suffered between 28 and 29 post mortem stab wounds before his home was torched in an attempt to cover up the killing last January.

When Kocis’ body was discovered by firefighters, more than 80 percent of the body was covered by third-degree burns.

Homicide detectives were able to find Kocis’ computer in the charred remains of the rural home and forensics scientists salvaged and reconstructed part of the hard drive.

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Anti-gay Hate Crime in Brooklyn Leads to Death of Ecuadorian Man

FROM THE GLAAD MEDIA CENTER:

December 09, 2008

An Ecuadorian man has passed away from injuries received late Sunday night in what has been described as an anti-gay and anti-Latino hate crime. Jose Sucuzhanay was walking home arm-in-arm with his brother Romel to their Brooklyn home when they were approached by four men. Shouting anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs, the assailants broke a bottle over Jose’s head and continued to beat him with a baseball bat while his brother ran for help. Jose, 31, died from extensive brain damage and skull fractures early Tuesday morning. According to The New York Times, Brooklyn district attorney Charles J. Hynes has vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. The New York Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating and has yet to find the attackers. The NYPD urges anyone with information to call 1-800-577-TIPS.

Related Media Coverage:

The New York Times- December 9, 2008
“Ecuadorian Dies From Attack That May Be Treated as Hate Crime”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/nyregion/10assault.html

The Associated Press- December 9, 2008
“NYPD: Anti-Gay, anti-Hispanic beating investigated”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jFilhkKapr8HDB_gRxtnS_7AzvPwD94UUMNG1

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Dallas Voice: Tragedy of the closet; cop’s secret gay love affair and tragic death

FROM THE DALLAS VOICE:

As murder retrial gets under way, story of a clandestine gay love affair and a young man’s tragic death should serve as a cautionary tale

By Hardy Haberman

For some people, being “in the closet” is a personal hell. But it often affects others, too.

Take the case of Steven Rios, a married police officer from Columbia, Mo.

According to prosecutors, Officer Rios, when faced with the possibility of having his gay relationship revealed to his wife and family, decided to reach into his closet and pull out a knife — a knife he used to slash the throat of Jesse Valencia, a 23-year-old student attending college at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Officer Rios began the relationship with Valencia in 2004 when he arrested the student for interfering with a police call about a loud party. Rios told the court that their sexual relationship began that very night.

Rios was convicted of the murder three years ago, but an appeals court ordered a retrial, saying the trial court allowed inadmissible hearsay testimony the first time around.

The new trial began Monday, Dec. 1, and Rios faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole if he is convicted. Court officials said they expect the trial to end by Friday, Dec. 5.

The story is a graphic example of how the closet can kill. It should be a wake-up call for every LGBT person that is trying to hide their sexual orientation.

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Dallas Voice: News editor wins ‘Best Column’ award for article about bipolar gay man’s religious struggles

FROM THE DALLAS VOICE:

Winning entry detailed bipolar gay man’s ordeal with religious group, ‘ex-gay’ therapy, and his road back home to his supportive family

By Arnold Wayne Jones

As Dallas Voice news editor John Wright sat in the audience of the Sixth Floor Museum, listening as the winners of the Katie Awards were read, his heart sank a little. When he heard “best column” awarded to someone other than himself, he considered leaving right then.

“I didn’t know about the large market/medium market newspaper distinction, so when they announced that ‘best column’ went to the Dallas Morning News, I figured I must have lost,” he says.

He’s glad he stuck around. A few minutes later, Wright found himself on the podium, accepting a Katie Award — his first — from the Press Club of Dallas.

“I’m very happy. It’s gratifying. It’s not the first time I’ve won something, but it is the biggest in terms of prestige and just physical stature,” he says, referring to the more-than-a-foot-tall statuette. “And it made the five-dollar sports jacket I bought for the ceremony from the Salvation Army a good investment.”

Wright received the award for a column he wrote in last year’s Dec. 14 edition of Dallas Voice called “Purity sieges lead gay man into bipolar hell.” In it, Wright examined how a local man had been exploited by anti-gay protesters.

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