DALLAS TOWNSHIP, Pa — Two men connected to a Dallas Township man who was brutally stabbed to death last week are seeking a criminal lawyer before talking to police, an attorney for the men said Tuesday.
Sean Lockhart [aka Brent Corrigan-pictured] and Grant Roy, both of San Diego, have information about a man said to have met with Bryan Charles Kocis, 44, the night he was stabbed 28 times, said John Yates, a Los Angles-based attorney representing the men in a civil dispute involving Mr. Kocis.
The men had been in a federal lawsuit over the ownership of the image of Mr. Lockhart, who works as an adult film actor and model under the stage name “Brent Corrigan.” A settlement to the federal suit was to be mailed to Mr. Kocis the day after he was found dead, Mr. Yates said.
Mr. Yates said he understands police want to question his clients about the man said to have been scheduled to model for Mr. Kocis, a pornography producer, the day he was killed.
Prosecutors were granted a search warrant Friday to review Mr. Kocis’ telephone and Internet records. They hope to learn Mr. Kocis’ “associates” and “activities” in the week prior to his murder because investigators believe he may have been in contact with his attacker or attackers.
An affidavit of probable cause filed with an application for the warrant stated a “folding-style knife” was found near the victim’s body, which was burnt beyond recognition, forcing medical examiners to identify Mr. Kocis from dental records.
Luzerne County Coroner Dr. Jack Consalvo determined Mr. Kocis died some time before the fire started, but Dr. Consalvo could not determine exactly when because of the body’s condition.
The blaze also prevented Dr. Consalvo from determining whether the knife discovered at the crime scene was the murder weapon.
“It was capable of producing those wounds,” he said, “but to say definitely it was the weapon, you’d need to get DNA off the knife, which is unlikely because of the fire.”
The affidavit states the fire originated near the living room couch where investigators found Mr. Kocis’ body, which was stabbed in the torso and slashed across the throat.
According to the affidavit, police saw no sign of struggle or forced entry. No accelerants were used to fuel the fire, Dr. Consalvo said Tuesday.