Meeting The #Missing4

The four young men who were killed and buried on a 68-acre farm in Solebury last week were not just names. The young men had stories and were members of our communities.

LevittownNow.com and NewtownPANow.com took time this week to learn about victims and who they were.

Dean Finocchiaro

 

The 19-year-old man from Middletown’s Langhorne section worked in the community and was known by friends for being a quad bike enthusiast and fan of all-terrain vehicles.

He graduated from Neshaminy High School in June 2016 and had a reputation around school for being fun-loving. Some young adults who grew up with him remember their time spent at Maple Point Middle School.

“He had a sweetness about him,” Neshaminy High School teacher Suzi Drake told WHYY’s Newsworks. “He had a lot of friends. He was a well-liked kid, despite choices that were made.”

One of Finocchiaro’s friends told LevittownNow.com their buddy had some run-ins with the law in recent years, but that did not stop him from being there for his friends and family. He recalled Finocchiaro enjoyed having a good time with his friends.

“You would never think something like this would happen to your own family,” Johnny Finocchiaro wrote on Facebook.

 

Richman’s Ice Cream in Levittown, which is where Finocchiaro worked, released the following statement Saturday:

During this dark time for our community, we would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the loss of these 4 young men.

We have lost someone so dear to us, Dean Finocchiaro. Your bright smile, humor, hard work, politeness, and your contagious personality will be missed everyday. Your strong presence within this workplace created a bond that we will always call a family. The friendships you have made and the love that was shared will be continued by everyone at Richman’s Ice Cream & Burger Company.

With heavy hearts, we send love to the families during this time of grief.

Also a special thanks to all the authorities that relentlessly helped bring these boys to their families.

Thomas Meo and Mark Sturgis

Meo, 21, from Plumstead Township graduated from Bensalem High School in 2014 and was friends with Mark Sturgis, 22, of  Pennsburg in Montgomery County, who was also killed at the Solebury farm.

Sturgis’ father, Mark Potash, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that both young men were “good kids” who worked together at his construction business.

Meo had not only worked in construction but also at a Doylestown gas station.

“I thought maybe they had a night of drinking and slept somewhere,” Potash said. “That was my hope.”

“He was, like, an easygoing person; he was a really nice dude. He’d get along with any single person.” Devin Houser, a friend of Sturgis’, told Philly.com.

Jimi Patrick

The 19-year-old who attended Holy Ghost High School in Bensalem with defendant Cosmo DiNardo lived with his grandparents, Sharon and Rich Patrick, in Newtown Township.

In a statement earlier this week provided to media outlets, Patrick’s grandparents said he had just finished his freshman year at Loyola University in Maryland and was majoring in business.

Patrick had received honors in high school and also made the Dean’s List at Loyola University

“He had a very successful year, and he is poised for a great success at Loyola,” Loyola University President Rev. Brian Linnane told the Baltimore Sun. “We want to be with him and his family and hope for the best.”

The 19-year-old was part of the St. Andrew Catholic Church community and grew up playing little league and baseball in the Newtown community while growing up.

“I know that I speak for the entire Newtown Township Police Department as I say that our thoughts and prayers will remain with the Patrick family, along with the families of the other young men involved in this case,” Newtown Township police Chief Rick Pasqualini said.

Patrick was most recently working at a restaurant in Buckingham and previously was employed at D’Youville Manor, an assisted-living facility in Lower Makefield.