Cosmo DiNardo, Admitted Killer in Bucks County Slayings, Was Banned From His High School, College
"The behavior was enough for us to be concerned," a spokesman for Holy Ghost Prep said
By Vince Lattanzio and Manuel Smith ••
New information has been released about the suspect accused of going on a killing spree in Bucks County. NBC10’s Deanna Durante uncovered more about Cosmo DiNardo’s mental health issues and how it concerned others.
When Cosmo DiNardo showed up to an open house at Holy Ghost Preparatory School, his alma mater, last October, school administrators noticed he was acting odd.
The event, designed to attract potential new students, did not include the 2015 graduate as part of the program.
School spokesman William Doherty wouldn't elaborate on what exactly transpired that Sunday other than saying, "the behavior was enough for us to be concerned."
When he was asked to leave, DiNardo became disruptive and police were called.
Doherty said the school filed a police report and called DiNardo's parents, Antonio and Sandra DiNardo, to let them know Cosmo was banned from the prep school's Bucks County campus.
The incident at Holy Ghost Prep coincides with a separate episode at a Montgomery County college that resulted in his banning from that institution.
The new information about DiNardo's past continues to paint a picture of a troubled young man who graduated to the murders of four men he admitted to shooting and burying on his family's sprawling rural estate in Solebury Township, according to authorities. Three of the bodies were doused in gasoline and lit on fire inside what was described in court documents as a "pig roaster."
DiNardo, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was involuntarily committed to a mental institution in the past. The circumstances surrounding that committal remain unclear. He was barred from having a firearm.
Last fall, the 20-year-old was banned from Arcadia University in Glenside, Montgomery County. He spent a semester at the school in the fall 2015 and tried to return the following fall, but school officials said he was not welcome.
A university spokesperson said DiNardo had verbal incidents with members of the university community and made some people uncomfortable. They added that the matter was considered a public safety issue.
DiNardo was informed he would be trespassing if he stepped foot on school grounds, a university spokesperson said. DiNardo and his parents were notified of his banning via a certified letter that was also sent to Cheltenham police.
About half a year after DiNardo was banned, he killed Jimi Taro Patrick, 19; Dean Finocchiaro, 19; Mark Sturgis, 22; and Tom Meo, 21, prosecutors said. DiNardo allegedly admitted to the killings in a confession last Thursday to avoid the death penalty.
Prosecutors said DiNardo's 20-year-old cousin, Sean Kratz, also participated in the murders. Both have been charged in the case. Kratz's attorney, Abby Leeds, told NBC10 Tuesday that her client is "presumed innocent."
Both remain jailed in Bucks County.
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.
NBC10
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.
SkyForce10
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.
SkyForce10
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."
NBC10
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."
SkyForce10
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.
NBC10
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.
SkyForce10
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.
