In a crime that has rocked the US state of Pennsylvania, two cousins, both aged 20, have been charged with murder following the brutal killings of four young men who disappeared last week.
Cosmo DiNardo, an admitted drug dealer and “troubled rich kid”, is charged with all four murders, and has reportedly made a confession to police, leading them to the location of the men’s bodies.
DiNardo’s cousin Sean Krantz was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning, and per Pennsylvania prosecutors, he faces charges in relation to three of the murders.
The first of the victims to be formally identified was 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro. Three others, 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo and 19-year-old Jimi Taro Patrick have since been confirmed dead.
The four vanished on different days between July 5 and 7 in Bucks County, sparking an extensive search effort. Per DiNardo’s confession, it appears that all four were killed during would-be drug deals.
Breaking; Bucks County PA says all four victims of been positively identified.
— Chris O’Connell (@CoconnellFox29) July 14, 2017
DiNardo reportedly told police that he and his cousin Krantz hatched a scheme to rob several of the men after luring them in with an offer to sell marijuana, but that the plan instead ended in murder.
It is claimed that the killings began on July 5 when DiNardo lured Patrick to a farm in rural Solebury Pennsylvania, owned by his parents, on the pretext of a drug deal.
Per the confession given to police, DiNardo offered to sell the victim a gun instead, then fatally shot him, using a backhoe to bury his body on a remote part of the property.
It is alleged that the three other men were killed on July 7 by both DiNardo and Krantz.
Finocchiaro was by himself when he was shot, while Meo and Sturgis were together, having been picked up by the cousins from a nearby church parking lot. All three of their bodies were later found in another grave.
Police connected DiNardo to the killings after he was caught attempting to sell a 1996 Nissan Maxima owned by Meo. The car and its keys were found on a separate property owned by the accused killer’s family.
In addition to the murders, DiNardo is charged with numerous other counts, including abuse of a corpse, conspiracy and robbery. It is understood that he will avoid the death penalty in exchange for his confession.
During a bail hearing, prosecutors noted that 20-year-old DiNardo is a diagnosed schizophrenic who suffered a serious head injury in an all-terrain vehicle accident last year and had previously been charged with gun possession.
His parents have pledged to cooperate “in every possible way” with law enforcement.
Krantz faces 20 charges, including three of criminal homicide.
Photo: Allentown Morning Caller / Getty / Supplied.
