Police Arrest Second Person of Interest in Bucks County Murders
A law enforcement official escorts Cosmo DiNardo to a vehicle Thursday, July 13, 2017, in Doylestown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Hours after 20-year-old Bucks County resident Cosmo DiNardo confessed to killing four men reported missing last week, police arrested a second person of interest Thursday night in Northeast Philly.
Sean Kratz, 20, was taken into custody on the 800 block of Magee Avenue, a source told Philly.com. The news organization reports that Kratz was out on bail for burglary, criminal trespassing, theft and other charges stemming from two pending burglary cases in Philadelphia courts. In March, he posted 10 percent of $10,000 bail.
No charges related to the Bucks County murders have been filed against Kratz. Police are reportedly trying to determine whether or not he could be a co-conspirator in the killings, though District Attorney Matthew Weintraub has not confirmed that Kratz is in custody.
An anonymous source told the Associated Press Thursday that DiNardo had an accomplice. The source said DiNardo, who has a history of mental illness, killed the men after feeling cheated or threatened during multiple drug transactions, then burned their bodies and buried them in a 12-foot grave on his family’s Solebury Township farm using heavy equipment from his father’s construction business.
Police discovered several human remains on the property Wednesday night, including those of 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro. The other victims are 21-year-old Thomas Meo of Plumstead Township, 22-year-old Mark Sturgis of Pennsburg and 19-year-old Jimi Patrick of Newtown Township.
Police have not identified the other bodies. DiNardo said Thursday that three bodies were located in the grave, according to an anonymous source cited in a Philly.com report.
On Monday, Police identified DiNardo as a person of interest and took him into custody on a firearms charge. He was released on $1 million bail. On Wednesday, he was arrested again for allegedly stealing and trying to sell Meo’s car. He was held on $5 million bail.
DiNardo will escape the death penalty in exchange for confessing to “participation or commission” of the killings. He gave no motive for the murders.
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