In July of 2017, the quiet community of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was shattered by the disappearance of four young men, one of whom was 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro. A lifetime resident of Middletown Township, Finocchiaro was last seen on July 7, 2017. The search for him and the other missing men, Jimi Taro Patrick, Thomas Meo, and Mark Sturgis, culminated in a grim discovery on a sprawling farm in Solebury Township owned by the parents of 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo. Authorities found Finocchiaro's remains, along with those of Meo and Sturgis, buried in a 12.5-foot-deep common grave. It was a homicide, a brutal end to a young life, orchestrated under the guise of a drug deal.
The investigation quickly zeroed in on Cosmo DiNardo and his 20-year-old cousin, Sean Kratz. Lured by the promise of purchasing marijuana, Finocchiaro was brought to the DiNardo family farm. There, in what should have been a simple transaction, his life was tragically cut short. Both DiNardo and Kratz gave statements to the police, each initially pointing the finger at the other for firing the fatal shots. DiNardo claimed he gave Kratz a. 357 handgun and that Kratz shot Finocchiaro in the head as they were leaving a barn. He admitted to then shooting Finocchiaro a second time as he lay on the ground. Kratz, in his statement, alleged that it was DiNardo who shot Finocchiaro. After the murder, Finocchiaro's body was placed in a metal tank, referred to by DiNardo as a 'pig roaster,' before being buried in the deep grave with the other victims.
The motive, as revealed by DiNardo, was to rob the men who came to the farm to buy marijuana. Following their arrests, both DiNardo and Kratz were charged with multiple counts of homicide, robbery, abuse of corpse, and conspiracy. To avoid the death penalty, Cosmo DiNardo confessed to the murders of all four men, providing information that led investigators to the body of the fourth victim, Jimi Taro Patrick, who was buried in a separate location on the property. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in state prison.
Sean Kratz's path through the justice system was more protracted. He initially agreed to a plea deal but rejected it at the last minute, leading to a trial. His defense argued that he acted under duress, fearing for his and his family's lives at the hands of his 'psychopath' cousin. However, prosecutors painted a picture of Kratz as a willing participant who shot Finocchiaro and acted as a lookout. In November 2019, a jury convicted Kratz of first and second-degree murder in the death of Dean Finocchiaro and voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Thomas Meo and Mark Sturgis. He was sentenced to life in prison for Finocchiaro's murder, with an additional 18 to 36 years for the other killings. Subsequent appeals by Kratz have been denied.
