DALLAS TWP., Pa — Soon, the home where Bryan Charles Kocis built his multi-million dollar pornography business — and later met his violent demise — will be nothing more than patch of dirt on a grassy knoll.
The half-charred home, guarded by no trespassing signs and crime scene tape, had been a haunting sight for residents of Midland Drive, a constant reminder of the night seven months ago police found the 44-year-old slashed and stabbed to death inside the burning home.
Until about 9 a.m. Friday when a demolition team arrived, that is.
In little more than a half hour, an excavator reduced what was left of Kocis’ two-story home on Midland Drive to a pile of rubble.
“I feel so sorry for him,” said Nancy Parsons, Kocis’ next-door neighbor. “Once the ground is smoothed over, it’s like you’re erasing him.”
Some residents of Midland Drive speculated that the home, where Kocis’ body was set on fire, might remain standing until after the trial in case it was needed as evidence. But it hasn’t been an active crime scene since shortly after the murder.
Prosecutors are pursuing murder charges against Virginia Beach partners Harlow Cuadra, 25, and Joseph Kerekes, 33, who considered Kocis a rival in the gay porn industry, according to investigators. They are scheduled to face a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Monday before Magisterial District Judge James E. Tupper in Trucksville.
The demolition drew a small crowd of about a dozen neighbors Friday morning. Michael and Nancy Parsons, who were Kocis’ closest friends on the street, said it was almost alarming to see the home fall so quickly. When the claw of the huge excavator bit through the wall of Kocis’ upstairs bedroom, Nancy Parsons noticed some of his clothes still hanging in the closet.
Soon, his remaining personal possessions, which were not salvageable after the fire, fell into a heap on top of the foundation.
Automobile magazines — Kocis owned two high-end sports cars — and some photography equipment, proof of his life passion — first as a biomedical photographer, then as a successful porn producer — were visible in the wreckage Friday afternoon.
When the lot is leveled and back filled, the Parsonses plan to buy it from Kocis’ parents, who manage his estate.
“All we have to do is sign the paperwork,” Nancy Parsons said.
Other neighbors were relieved to no longer have, each day, the eerie feeling of seeing a house where a man was murdered and set on fire. The dead-end street has experienced heavy traffic from curious gawkers ever since the murder.
“We were happy to see it go down,” said 45-year-old Donna Yachim, who lives across the street. “It’s a good thing they’re doing that. I don’t think anyone would have bought it.”