Cosmo DiNardo and Sean Kratz
Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
Two men accused of being behind the deaths of several young men on a Solebury farm last year will be in court next week.
Cosmo DiNardo, 21, of Bensalem, and his cousin, Sean Kratz, 21, of Philadelphia, are set to take part in miscellaneous pre-trial hearings at the Justice Center in Doylestown next Wednesday. DiNardo’s hearing will take place at 10 a.m. and Kratz’s will happen at 2 p.m.
DiNardo and Kratz both face multiple charges of homicide, conspiracy, robbery and related offenses stemming from the summer 2017 killings of Dean Finocchiaro, 19, of Middletown; Thomas Meo, 21, of Plumstead Township; and Mark Sturgis, 22, of Pennsburg, Montgomery County. DiNardo is also accused of killing Jimi Patrick, 19, of Newtown Township.
A status conference with prosecutors and defense teams happened late last month in a judge’s chambers.
DiNardo has a deal with prosecutors that in exchange for assisting them, they would not seek the death penalty.
Kratz did not have such a deal.
There have been courthouse rumors in the past week that there has been movement in the case. Any movement in the case could be made public at next week’s hearings.
“We are hopeful that May 16 will be the final hearing in this matter,” attorney Niels Eriksen, who is representing Kratz along with attorney Craig Penglase, told LevittownNow.com.
An attorney representing DiNardo said he was not going to comment.
“Many things can happen at a miscellaneous hearing,” Larry King, the spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, said while declining further comment.
Late last year, prosecutors filed aggravating circumstances motions that will open the door for the district attorney’s office to go for a capital punishment sentence if the two are convicted of first-degree murder and at least one aggravating circumstance. District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in fall that the filing was standard and the previously agreed upon deal that would have DiNardo avoiding capital punishment in exchange for cooperation remains in place.
Trials for DiNardo and Kratz have been set for fall.
Finocchiaro, Meo, Patrick, and Sturgis were all lured to a nearly 70-acre property owned by DiNardo’s family in Solebury last July. Prosecutors allege that DiNardo and Kratz took part in killing the men.
After an exhaustive search, authorities found the bodies of Finocchiaro, Meo and Sturgis buried near a field on the farm. Patrick’s body was found in a wooded area on another portion of the property. Prosecutors have said that Patrick’s body may not have been located if not for DiNardo’s cooperation.
Mark Sturgis’ family filed a civil lawsuit related to his homicide last year. In March, Finocchiaro, Meo, and Patrick’s families filed wrongful death complaints against the DiNardo families and their business.
