15 July, 2017
The person with firsthand knowledge of DiNardo's confession said the men were killed after DiNardo felt cheated or threatened during three drug transactions.
DiNardo's lawyer announced Thursday that his client had admitted to the killings and was cooperating with investigators. Kratz was charged with three counts of criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and robbery.
DiNardo, 20, is charged with all four homicides and 20 other counts, including abuse of corpse, conspiracy and robbery, according to court documents. The Washington Post reported the killings were related to a string of marijuana sales engineered by DiNardo.
"As parents, Mr. and Mrs. DiNardo sympathize with the parents and families of the missing young men and they are cooperating in every way possible with the investigation being conducted by law enforcement", the family attorney wrote.
DiNardo confessed to the slayings Thursday in a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
Both suspects were scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to publicly discuss details of the case.
Photo Cosmo DiNardo has been charged with stealing the auto of one of the four missing men.
Several media outlets later reported that investigators from Bucks and Montgomery counties on Friday were searching the Ambler home of Kratz's family, focusing much of their attention on the garage.
Cosmo DiNardo, a 20-year-old pot dealer, was charged after confessing on Thursday to the killings and telling the district attorney in Bucks County where to find the bodies, his lawyer, Paul Lang, told reporters.
The four that went missing are Dean Finocchiaro, 19, of Middletown Township; Thomas Meo, 21, of Plumstead Township; Mark Sturgis, 22, of Pennsburg; and Jimi Patrick, 19, of Newtown Township. Patrick, a fellow student with DiNardo at a Catholic high school for boys, was last seen July 5, while the other three disappeared two days later. It is unclear how Kratz is linked to the crimes, but police took him into custody soon after DiNardo admitted to the crimes. He placed Finocchiaro's body in a metal tank, which he referred to as a "pig roaster", according to court records.
Bail was initially set at 10 percent of $35,000 on February 12, court records show.
Meo had diabetes and "never went anywhere without" his insulin kit as he couldn't survive without it, said Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub during a late Wednesday night press conference, according to Thursday, July 13, release.
He was out on bail for two active burglary cases in Philadelphia when the horrendous murders occurred.
That offense also occurred in Philadelphia and happened on December 16.
Hours before officials announced that human remains of one of the missing men were discovered, police arrested DiNardo on suspicion of stealing the vehicle belonging to Meo. "It's very spooky", said Laura Hefty, who lives a few miles from the gravesite in Solebury Township, where farms bump up against new residential developments. DiNardo admitted that there are two different sites where the bodies are buried. He is being held at the Bucks County Jail on $5 million bail.
