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Pennsylvania missing youths: one body found and person of interest named Man admits to killing four youths who went missing in Pennsylvania
(35 minutes later)
When helicopters started buzzing around Solebury on Sunday night, most local residents assumed the action concerned a rescue on the Delaware river. In high summer, it is not uncommon for tourists to get into trouble in the currents. A man who was a person of interest in the search for four missing men in Pennsylvania has admitted to killing them and told authorities the location of their bodies, his defense attorney said Thursday.
When it became apparent that the focus of activity was a couple of miles inland, over the bucolic rolling farmland of Solebury itself, the mood became more uneasy. And when the activity was linked to the hunt for first two and then four local young men gone missing, curiosity turned to concern. The lawyer, Paul Lang, said that his client, Cosmo DiNardo, 20, was ready to plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder. Lang says prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table in return for DiNardo’s cooperation. Before his admission, DiNardo was being held on $5m bail for allegedly stealing the car of one of the missing men.
Parents began interrogating their teenagers, sharing knowledge and Facebook rumors and calling local police to see if they should lock their doors or cancel backyard camping sleepovers. Prosecutors did not immediately comment.
Reassurances from the authorities had a curiously valedictory feel – there were few warnings to remain on guard. The investigative focus quickly and visibly moved to the aftermath of events whose scale is only now emerging. At midnight on Wednesday, investigators announced that they had found the body of one of the four young men, along with other human remains buried on DiNardo’s parents’ farm in Solebury Township and vowed to “bring each and every one of these lost boys home to their families”.
At midnight on Wednesday, investigators announced that they had found the body of one of the four young men, along with other human remains buried on a farm, and vowed to “bring each and every one of these lost boys home to their families”. Cadaver dogs led searchers to the spot on the 90-acre farm in Solebury, owned by DiNardo’s parents, where they discovered human remains inside a common grave, Bucks County district attorney Matthew Weintraub said.
Cadaver dogs led searchers to the spot on the 90-acre farm in Solebury where they discovered human remains inside a common grave, Bucks County district attorney Matthew Weintraub said.
“I don’t understand the science behind it,” he said, “but those dogs could smell these poor boys 12ft below the ground.”“I don’t understand the science behind it,” he said, “but those dogs could smell these poor boys 12ft below the ground.”
The body identified was that of 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro. Weintraub did not say how he died. The other remains were not immediately identified.The body identified was that of 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro. Weintraub did not say how he died. The other remains were not immediately identified.
The missing men are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick. Patrick, who attended a Catholic high school for boys with the man authorities consider a person of interest in the case, was last seen on Wednesday last week. The other three vanished Friday. The missing men are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick. Patrick, who attended a Catholic high school for boys with the man authorities DiNardo, was last seen on Wednesday last week. The other three vanished Friday.
“This is a homicide, make no mistake about it,” Weintraub said. “We just don’t know how many homicides.”
Solebury, with the adjacent river town of New Hope, is home to an affluent mix of multi-generational farmers, wealthy commuters to New York or Philadelphia, and young families drawn to excellent schools. The rolling plains above the river are full of horse farms, preserved land, old-growth forests and expensively refurbished stone farmhouses.Solebury, with the adjacent river town of New Hope, is home to an affluent mix of multi-generational farmers, wealthy commuters to New York or Philadelphia, and young families drawn to excellent schools. The rolling plains above the river are full of horse farms, preserved land, old-growth forests and expensively refurbished stone farmhouses.
New Hope has a reputation as an artsy town that goes back almost a century to when it became a popular second home for writers, musicians and artists from New York. Ironically, that reputation was burnished when the trial in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case took place in nearby Flemington, New Jersey in 1934. Drawn to the area for an extended period, many writers and journalists retained permanent links.New Hope has a reputation as an artsy town that goes back almost a century to when it became a popular second home for writers, musicians and artists from New York. Ironically, that reputation was burnished when the trial in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case took place in nearby Flemington, New Jersey in 1934. Drawn to the area for an extended period, many writers and journalists retained permanent links.
A thriving playhouse and independent bookshop still operate in the town, as well as a strong gay community with a popular annual Pride festival. Each weekend the population swells with tourists drawn to its river views, bars and restaurants. If there is disquiet about local teenagers sneaking into some such venues, it’s generally tempered with the sense that the area is a safe place to raise kids.A thriving playhouse and independent bookshop still operate in the town, as well as a strong gay community with a popular annual Pride festival. Each weekend the population swells with tourists drawn to its river views, bars and restaurants. If there is disquiet about local teenagers sneaking into some such venues, it’s generally tempered with the sense that the area is a safe place to raise kids.
Some of those kids were being quizzed by anxious parents this week, as locals and authorities scrambled to make sense of the links between the young men, the local teenage scene and Cosmo DiNardo, the man named as a person of interest. On Sunday night, when helicopters started buzzing around Solebury most local residents assumed the action concerned a rescue on the Delaware river. In high summer, it is not uncommon for tourists to get into trouble in the currents.
DiNardo, 20, was being held on $5m bail for allegedly stealing the car of one of the missing men, Thomas Meo, and trying to sell it. His parents, who own the farmland on which the remains were found, were subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. They were said to be co-operating. When it became apparent that the focus of activity was a couple of miles inland, over the bucolic rolling farmland of Solebury itself, the mood became more uneasy. And when the activity was linked to the hunt for first two and then four local young men gone missing, curiosity turned to concern.
At the Wednesday night press conference, Weintraub said he was weighing more serious charges but stopped short of calling DiNardo a suspect. The DA parried one question after another, saying he could not or would not answer. Parents began interrogating their teenagers, sharing knowledge and Facebook rumors and calling local police to see if they should lock their doors or cancel backyard camping sleepovers.
Police were back at the farm on Thursday, digging in the dust and the 90F-plus heat, using plywood to shore up the deep, tent-covered trench. For days, TV news helicopters have trained their cameras on the excavation, creating an unsettling racket but allowing the public to follow the forensic work from their computers. On one day, viewers could watch investigators haul up buckets of dirt and sift it through hand-held screens in what looked like an archaeological dig. Locals and authorities scrambled to make sense of the links between the young men, the local teenage scene and DiNardo.
On Thursday, police were back at the farm, digging in the dust and the 90F-plus heat, using plywood to shore up the deep, tent-covered trench. For days, TV news helicopters have trained their cameras on the excavation, creating an unsettling racket but allowing the public to follow the forensic work from their computers. On one day, viewers could watch investigators haul up buckets of dirt and sift it through hand-held screens in what looked like an archaeological dig.
“They’re tenderly, painstakingly, reverentially recovering the remains of people they do not even know,” Weintraub said.“They’re tenderly, painstakingly, reverentially recovering the remains of people they do not even know,” Weintraub said.
A local resident, Susan Coleman, told news outlets she and her husband were in their back yard last Saturday afternoon when they heard several rounds of what they believed was shotgun fire coming from the direction of the DiNardo farm.A local resident, Susan Coleman, told news outlets she and her husband were in their back yard last Saturday afternoon when they heard several rounds of what they believed was shotgun fire coming from the direction of the DiNardo farm.
DiNardo, whose parents own construction and concrete businesses in the Philadelphia area, was arrested on Monday on an unrelated gun charge dating from February, accused of illegally possessing a shotgun and ammunition after being involuntarily committed to a mental institution. DiNardo, whose parents own construction and concrete businesses in the Philadelphia area, was arrested Monday on an unrelated gun charge dating from February, accused of illegally possessing a shotgun and ammunition after being involuntarily committed to a mental institution.
His father bailed him out, but he was jailed again later in the week on the stolen-car charges and bail was set much higher, after a prosecutor said he was a danger to the community because he had been diagnosed as schizophrenic. On Thursday his attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr, would not comment. His father bailed him out, but DiNardo was jailed again later in the week on the stolen-car charges and bail was set much higher, after a prosecutor said he was a danger to the community because he had been diagnosed as schizophrenic.
His parents, who own the farmland on which the remains were found, were subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. They were said to be co-operating.