Gay-porn star's arrest reopens murder investigation

The arrest of a gay-porn star in connection with the brutal beating of a Rhode Island man has led police to reopen an investigation into a 1999 bludgeoning death of another man, reports the Woonsocket [R.I.] Call. State police major John Leyden said Tuesday that investgators have taken a "renewed interest" in Theodore Cox since he was arrested January 6 in connection with a brutal assault on Edward Boucher, 65. Cox has allegedly starred in gay erotic films under the name Vince Cobretti. Boucher was found in his home January 4 with facial injuries so severe he could not communicate and required surgery for a blood clot in his brain. Police arrested Cox, 34, and charged him with one count of first-degree robbery, one count of larceny of a motor vehicle, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon--his shoe. Police said Cox repeatedly kicked Boucher in the face. They said that Cox had been living in Boucher's home for about a week before the attack. Now police are looking at Cox as a possible suspect in the 1999 bludgeoning death of radiologist Alfred Moon. Leyden said Cox was questioned within weeks of Moon's murder but that "he had an alibi, so we didn't look at him real hard." Leyden said Cox is not officially a suspect but that police are evaluating new evidence that could change that. He would not elaborate on what the new evidence is. Some gays in Providence have spoken out about Cox. Raymond Fay and Patrick Himmelsbach, owners of several gay bars in Providence and Woonsocket, told the Call that Cox has a reputation as a street hustler who swindles older men. Cox is being held without bail at a correctional facility in Cranston.