2nd man in custody connected to killings of 4 Pa. men

Yesterday, authorities found multiple remains on a farm, and now, they’ve identified 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro as one of the buried bodies.

The four men who went missing last week: Tom Meo, top left; Jimi Tar Patrick, bottom left; Dean Finocchiaro, top right; and Mark Sturgis, bottom right..

A second person of interest was taken into custody late Thursday in the investigation into the gruesome murders of four men on a secluded farm in Pennsylvania.

Each victim has been positively identified, Weintraub said, and their family members were briefed on details of the case this morning.

Cosmo DiNardo was being held on US$5 million (NZ$6.83 million) cash bail after he was charged with trying to sell another victim’s vehicle after he disappeared. But when they arrived, DiNardo said, Patrick had only $800. A Bensalem man also told police that the day before DiNardo offered to sell him Meo’s auto for $500. Both men walked to a remote area of the property, where DiNardo allegedly said he fatally shot Patrick with a.22 caliber rifle, according to the affidavit. He said he used a backhoe to dig the hole in which he buried Patrick’s body. In exchange, he will be spared the death penalty.

For good measure, DiNardo said he took the gun from Kratz and also shot Finocchiaro while he was lying face down on the floor, but claimed Finocchiaro was already dead when he shot him.

For five days, dozens of law enforcement officers searched the farmland owned by Dinardo’s parents.

On July 7, Dinardo agreed to sell a quarter-pound of marijuana to Finocchiaro, the affidavit states.

Weintraub sought the high bail for DiNardo on the gun charge because he now considers him a flight risk. Meo, in his Maxima, with Sturgis, followed DiNardo to his parent’s property on the 2800 block of Aquetong Road. The location was within a couple of miles from where Meo’s auto was found and where Sturgis’ vehicle was discovered, a short distance away. Sturgis started running away, but he shot him, too, with a Smith and Wesson.

Sturgis dropped to the ground as a bullet struck him.

As police led the handcuffed suspect to a van Thursday evening, DiNardo said “I’m sorry” when asked by reporters whether he had sympathy for the victims’ families.

DiNardo was charged Friday with counts of conspiracy, homicide and abuse of a corpse. It is unclear if either man has entered a plea to the charges against them.

Kratz was arraigned through video conferencing conference at the magristrates office, before DiNardo was formally arraigned.

Finocchiaro and the three others went missing over several days last week within miles of each other.

The back-to-back arrests bought investigators time as they scoured the farm and other spots across the county for clues to the men’s disappearance, Weintraub said.

That same night, DiNardo said he also set up a deal to sell Meo some weed. Kratz was arrested later the same day, authorities said. The suspect remains in custody on $5 million cash bail. He had a long-standing history of mental illness and thus the authorities had forbidden him to have it. They also own a concrete company near their home in Bensalem, closer to Philadelphia. DiNardo was accused of illegally possessing a shotgun and ammunition after being involuntarily committed to a mental institution.

When Kratz was picked up, he was out on bail for separate charges stemming from two burglary cases in Philadelphia. By, Wednesday Dinardo was arrested again for one count each of theft and receiving stolen property. Meo’s girlfriend last heard from him in a text message on July 7, according to court records, and he did not show up for work on July 8.