Vigil at 9/11 Memorial Held for 4 Men Found Slain on Bucks County Farm
The event honored Jimi Taro Patrick, 19, of Newtown Township; Dean Finocchiaro, 19, of Middletown Township; Mark Sturgis, 22, of Pennsburg, Montgomery County; and Tom Meo, 21, of Plumstead Township
By Brian X. McCrone and David Chang ••
NBC10’s Pamela Osborne shares the latest from Bucks County where counselors helped people impacted by the killing of four young men at a farm.
Family, friends and community members in Pennsylvania gathered for a vigil to remember the slain four young men whose bodies were found on a sprawling 90-acre Solebury Township farm.
The Sunday night vigil at the Garden of Reflection 9/11 Memorial in Lower Makefield Township and included prayers, music and the lighting of candles. Matthew Schuler, a former contestant on NBC's "The Voice'' and a Bucks County native, sang the song "Hallelujah."
The event honored Jimi Taro Patrick, 19, of Newtown Township; Dean Finocchiaro, 19, of Middletown Township; Mark Sturgis, 22, of Pennsburg, Montgomery County; and Tom Meo, 21, of Plumstead Township.
"In light of recent tragic events in our County, it is more important than ever that we gather to reflect and remember that we are a community and together we are strong," an organizer for the event wrote.
Patrick's grandparents released a statement thanking authorities who took part in the search as well as the parents of the victims.
"These parents gave us the strength and resolve to persevere and accept the fact that the victims were no longer with us," they wrote. "We, as a group, made the decision to forgo the death penalty for the defendant in return for locating our grandson."
And, Neshaminy High School opened its doors Monday so that people dealing with the death of graduate Finocchiaro and the other young men could talk to counselors.
A preliminary hearing for the suspects, meanwhile, is scheduled for July 31. Suspects Cosmo DiNardo and Sean Michael Kratz, both 20, will face District Judge Maggie Snow at Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown.
Authorities on Friday filed charges against Cosmo DiNardo and Sean Michael Kratz that include four counts of criminal homicide against DiNardo and three counts of criminal homicide against Kratz.
DiNardo, of Bensalem, also is charged with 20 other counts, including conspiracy, robbery and abuse of a corpse, according to court documents. Kratz, of Northeast Philadelphia, also faces 17 other counts of the same charges.
"I feel a lot of sadness," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said while announcing the charges Friday. "I feel relief. I feel so proud of my team, and I feel resolve. We have so much more to do to bring justice to this case."
DiNardo and Kratz, described as cousins in the criminal affidavit, allegedly murdered the four men between July 5 and July 7 on the 70-acre DiNardo family farm in Solebury Township. Kratz is charged for three of the murders, while DiNardo faces charges for all four.
At an arraignment Friday afternoon, both men entered not guilty pleas.
Snow ordered that they be held in separate prisons out of concern for their safety.
SkyForce10/Bucks County DA
Dennis Byrne
Wednesday, July 5nJimi Patrick, from Newtown, Pennsylvania, goes missing. Officials say he was last seen on July 5 at about 6 p.m. He was reported missing the next day after he had no contact with friends and family.
Officials say that on July 5, Patrick drives to the the property owned by family of Cosmo DiNardo to buy $8,000 worth of marijuana. Patrick allegedly did not have enough money for the purchase, and DiNardo took him to a remote part of the property and shot him.
Court documents allege that DiNardo then used a backhoe to dig a hole and bury Patrick in a secluded part of the property.
Bucks County District Attorney's Office
Friday, July 7nMark Sturgis, pictured left, tells his father he is going to meet his friend Thomas Meo, pictured right, of Doylestown in Bucks County. Sturgis leaves his Pennsburg home and was not heard from again.
Bucks County DA
Dean Finocchiaro, 19, of Langhorne, also went missing on Friday, July 7. Police say he was last seen around 6:30 p.m. getting into a vehicle.
Officials revealed that on Friday, July 7, Finocchiaro got into a car with DiNardo and his cousin, Sean Kratz to purchase $700 worth of marijuana. The two decided to rob Finocchiaro. Kratz allegedly shot Finocchiaro in the head, and DiNardo shot him a second time. Officials say the cousins then used a backhoe to place the body in a metal tank.
The same night, officials say DiNardo sets up a drug deal with Meo and Sturgis. When Meo and Sturgis arrived at the Solebury farm, officials say DiNardo shot Meo in the back, and then shot Sturgis as he was running away. He and Kratz allegedly used a backhoe to place the bodies in the tank, where Finocchiaro's body was. DiNardo confesses that he and Kratz poured gasoline in the tank and burned the bodies, before using a backhoe to bury Finocchiaro, Sturgis, and Meo's bodies.
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Saturday, July 8 nCosmo DiNardo allegedly tries to sell Meo's car to a friend in Bensalem. Meo's mother reports him missing after he fails to show up for work and fails to respond to texts from his girlfriend.
NBC10 - Brian X. McCrone
That same day, DiNardo contacted a man named "KBM" around 5:00 p.m. to try and sell Meo's car for $500.
AP/FILE
Sunday, July 9 At 2:10 a.m., Sturgis' vehicle is found in the area of Peddler's Village in Buckingham Township, about 2 miles away from a DiNardo family home on Aquetong Road.
NBC10 - Brian X. McCrone
Just two hours after Sturgis' car was found Sunday morning, Meo's car was discovered inside a garage on the DiNardo property. Authorities found Meo's diabetic supplies were in the car, and his car keys hanging on a wall in the garage.
Monday, July 10nVarious law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, help in the search, focusing on a vast property. The 90-acre farm in New Hope, Solebury Township belongs to the DiNardo family.
Later that day, Bucks County District Attorney Mark Weintraub says he believes "foul play" is involved in the disappearance of the men as information began to surface that all four men were connected.
Police also search another property belonging to the DiNardo family Monday, in Bensalem where Cosmo DiNardo lives.
DiNardo, 20, is arrested Monday his home is searched. He is arrested on an unrelated gun charge and held on $1 million bond.
Bensalem Police, Bucks County District Attorney's Office
Tuesday, July 11nAs the search continues, Weintraub reveals for the first time that DiNardo, whose family owns real estate in the area, is a "person of interest" in the disappearances. Prosecutors also confirm that all four of the young men seem to have a connection to each other and DiNardo.
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Throughout the day on Tuesday, a massive police force searches the DiNardo property in Solebury Township, digging and sifting through dirt. Officials report more than 50 people, including FBI agents and police recruits, are searching for clues.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
That day, DiNardo's father, Antonio DiNardo, posts $100,000 (10 percent of $1 million) bail.
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Wednesday, July 12 nWeintraub says they have found "several pieces of evidence" on the DiNardo property.
Weintraub says, "The search at the scene right up the road is really intensifying." He says he's confident they will find something: "We have been utilizing resources, resources I didn't even know existed."
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On Wednesday, DiNardo is arrested again for trying to sell Meo's car. Bail is set at $5 million. Weintraub considers DiNardo "to be even more of a flight risk."
Weintraub announces later that day that Meo's diabetic kit, "which he never went anywhere without," was found in his vehicle. The DA says that without the kit, Meo could go into "diabetic shock."
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Thursday, July 13 nIn a midnight news conference, Weintraub announces remains have been found in a 12-1/2 foot hole, a "common grave," on the DiNardo property.
NBC10
In that press conference, authorities identify 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro's remains. They are still working to identify the other remains. "This is a homicide, make no mistake about it," Weintraub said.
NBC10
Thursday, July 13 About 5:45 p.m., Cosmo DiNardo's attorney Paul Lang announced his client admitted in a "full confession" to participation in the murders of four men who disappeared in early July. The confession is part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, Lang said.
Matt Rourke/AP
"I'm sorry," a shackled Cosmo DiNardo said as he left the courthouse in an orange prison uniform.
Katy Zachary
Friday, July 14 nInformation is released around 12:30 p.m. that Sean Kratz, 20, is in custody and charged with allegedly killing the four young men. Kratz was taken into custody from this house on Magee Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia on July 13.
Bucks County District Attorney's Office via AP
Bucks County DA Matthew Weintraub announces charges against DiNardo and Kratz. DiNardo faces four counts each of criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, and robbery inflicted injury, as well as a possession of weapon charge. Kratz faces three counts each of criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, and robbery inflicted injury, as well as possession of weapon. Both were denied bail. DiNardo is being held in the Bucks County Jail, Kratz in another county's facility. Both have preliminary hearings scheduled for September 7.
Tuesday, July 18 nPhiladelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said his department hoped to interview DiNardo after sources said DiNardo claimed he killed other people in the past in Philly.
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Sources inform NBC10 later that day that DiNardo told Bucks County detectives that he killed a woman in the basement of a Philadelphia home. Sources say DiNardo also claimed to kill another man, but only offered a nickname for the individual. Authorities say that the dates, times, and locations surrounding DiNardo's haven’t been corroborated.
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Thursday, July 20 nPhiladelphia police joined the search for clues. Bucks County DA Weintraub said various agencies wanted to comb the farm before turning it back over to the DiNardo family.
On Thursday, in what his attorney called a "full confession," DiNardo admitted to authorities that he'd been involved in killing all four men.
Patrick was shot to death by DiNardo on July 5 as the two were alone on the farm, prosecutors charge. DiNardo told authorities that he and Patrick had arranged to meet on the farm for a marijuana drug deal, but once Patrick had arrived, DiNardo fatally shot him instead. He said he used a backhoe to dig the hole in which he buried Patrick's body.
The other three victims were killed July 7 in two separate incidents at the farm, both of which were under the guise of a drug deal, according to the affidavit.
Kratz and DiNardo had planned to rob Finocchiaro after luring him to the farm, but he was shot in the head by Kratz, the affidavit said. Later in the day, the two met up with Sturgis and Meo and shot them to death in a similarly sudden manner, the charging document said.
After killing Finocchiaro, Sturgis and Meo, DiNardo and Kratz put their bodies into a large container — what DiNardo called a "pig roaster" — and burned them using gasoline, according to the affidavit.
On Thursday, DiNardo's lawyer announced that his client had admitted to the killings and was cooperating with investigators. Kratz was arrested later the same day, authorities said.
NBC10 journalists Deanna Durante, Rosemary Connors, Randy Gyllenhaal and Katy Zachry contributed to this report.
