Cosmo DiNardo, the suburban Philadelphia man charged last week with killing and burying four men, reportedly confessed to at least two additional homicides.
DiNardo, 20, told detectives he killed two people in Philadelphia when he was 15, The New York Times reported Monday, citing “a person with knowledge of Mr. DiNardo’s statement.” LevittownNow.com reported it had independently confirmed the statement.
DiNardo made the admission last week, when he confessed to killing Mark Sturgis, 22, Tom Meo, 21, Dean Finocchiaro, 19, and Jimi Tar Patrick, 19, according to the reports. DiNardo described what he had done and told detectives where he buried the bodies to escape the death penalty, his lawyer said.
DiNardo’s cousin, Sean Michael Kratz, has also been charged in the homicides of Finocchiaro, Meo, and Sturgis.
Larry King, a spokesman with the Bucks County District Attorney’s office, declined to confirm whether DiNardo had confessed to additional killings.
“We’re not commenting on whether he did or did not say that,” King told HuffPost. “We’re just saying that our office is not giving out any information beyond what is in the public documents.”
It appears authorities are taking the reported claim seriously. Philadelphia police Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum told New Hope Patch detectives were investigating DiNardo’s potential links to unsolved crimes, including the disappearance of a 22-year-old man last month.
Court documents allege DiNardo killed Patrick on July 5 and buried him in a single grave on his parents’ farm in Solebuery, Bucks County. On July 7, DiNardo and Kratz then allegedly lured the three other men to Solebury with the promise of marijuana purchases. They inexplicably killed the men shortly after they arrived, police said.
All four victims had been shot, according to a probable cause affidavit. DiNardo told detectives he ran over Meo with a backhoe, then used the tractor to hoist the body into a tank with the remains of Finocchiaro and Sturgis. He said he set the bodies afire and buried them in a 12-foot-deep grave, according to a police affidavit.
Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said he couldn’t explain the suspects’ motives. “I don’t know if we can ever answer that question,” he said Friday.
A friend of DiNardo’s told HuffPost last week that DiNardo’s behavior was altered after a head injury in a dirt bike accident a few months ago. Court documents cite a history of mental illness.
In addition to the murder charges, DiNardo and Kratz face charges of robbery, abuse of corpse, possessing instruments of crime and conspiracy. They are scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on July 31.
David Lohr covers crime and missing persons. Tips? Feedback? Send an email or follow him on Twitter.
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