The search for four missing Pennsylvania men between the ages of 19 to 22 has sadly ended in tragedy. Late last week, 18-year-old Dean Finocchiaro, 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick, 21-year-old Tom Meo, and 22-year-old Mark Sturgis were all reported missing — last seen between Wednesday and Friday — and now after several days of searching, Bucks County authorities have discovered the human remains of several bodies buried in a mass grave.
Of the remains found, only Finocchiaro has been identified, although police are not yet saying how many bodies were found and the cause of death. The remains were found on a property owned by the family of 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo, who apparently became a person of interest when he was caught attempting to sell Meo’s car — also found on the property with his diabetic supplies inside — for $500 the day after his disappearance.
DiNardo has since been arrested on $5 million cash bail.
“We have found human remains in an approximately 12-and-a-half-foot deep common grave that we have painstakingly dug,” said Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub, during a midnight press conference. “And I am very, very sad to say that we can now identity Dean Finocchiaro, 19 years old, of Middletown, as one of the people that was found buried in that grave.”
Authorities are still trying to ascertain a connection between the five men, but have learned that both Patrick and DiNardo were friends on Facebook, and apparently attended the same high school together a year apart in grade.
Police have also still not released a possible motive for the killings, however a friend of DiNardo’s who spoke to CBS Philadelphia on a condition of anonymity, claimed that the 20-year-old was never known to be violent. “I’ll tell you that he was normal up until last year,” the friend said. “He was in a quad accident and hit his head and was stranded for a day or so with a brain bleed. He had frontal lobe damage.”
Police sources, on the other hand, claim that DiNardo has previously exhibited violent tendencies, and has not been cooperating with the investigation.
(Via CBS Philly)