advertisement

Vigil held to remember 4 men found dead on Pennsylvania farm

YARDLEY, Pa. (AP) - Hundreds of family, friends and community members in Pennsylvania gathered for a vigil to remember four missing young men who were killed and their remains buried on a sprawling family farm.

The vigil was held Sunday night at the Garden of Reflection 9/11 Memorial in Lower Makefield Township. Matthew Schuler, a former contestant on NBC's "The Voice" and a Bucks County native, sang "Hallelujah."

The vigil was held in honor of 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick.

Kaitlyn Masone, 19, of Newtown Township, wept while holding a photo of her childhood friend Patrick and herself when they were both 5.

"When I saw his picture on the news that he was missing, I turned to my mom and said, 'He'll be OK. He'll be home soon,'" Masone told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Police found the missing men's remains on a farm in Solebury Township last week. A county prosecutor said the remains of Meo, Finocchiaro and Sturgis were found buried 12-feet-deep (3.7-meters-deep) in a common grave. The remains of Patrick were recovered from a separate location.

Cosmo DiNardo is charged in all four killings, which took place on a farm owned by his parents. His cousin, Sean Kratz, is charged in the killings of the three men who were found in the same grave. All four were shot and least three set afire.

According to court papers, DiNardo, 20, who graduated from a Catholic prep school two years ago, said he killed Patrick, a former schoolmate, when he arrived with $800 to buy $8,000 worth of marijuana. He said he shot another man in the back as he tried to run away.

DiNardo pinned one of the deaths on Kratz, 20, although Kratz told police that DiNardo shot all four.

The only motive disclosed by investigators was that DiNardo said he wanted to set the victims up when they went to the farm to buy marijuana. One man vanished July 5, and the others vanished two days later.

DiNardo told police where to find Patrick, and agreed to plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder. In exchange, he will be spared the death penalty.

In a statement given to reporters after Sunday night's vigil, Patrick's grandparents, Sharon and Rich Patrick, thanked investigators "who worked so long and hard to bring our boys home."

They also thanked the other parents of the missing men.

"We, as a group, made the decision to forgo the death penalty for the defendant in return for locating our grandson. Our deep thanks to this strong group of friends," the statement said.

Pennsylvania State Police officers walk up a driveway, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., as the investigation of four missing young Pennsylvania men continues. Lawyer Paul Lang, a defense attorney for Cosmo DiNardo, said Thursday that his client has admitted killing the four men who went missing last week and told authorities the location of the bodies. Lang says prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table in return for DiNardo's cooperation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The Associated Press
In this aerial photo, investigators work under tents as they search for clues in the disappearance of four men, Thursday, July 13, 2017 in Solebury, Pa. Cosmo DiNardo, 20, a jailed man who has been the focus of an investigation into the disappearances of the four men, admitted on Thursday that he killed them and agreed to plead guilty to four murder counts, his attorney said. (Michael Bryant/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) The Associated Press
This undated photo provided by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office in Doylestown, Pa., shows Cosmo DiNardo, of Bensalem, Pa., an admitted drug dealer with a history of mental illness who was charged Friday, July 14, 2017, with the killings of four Pennsylvania men who vanished a week ago. A second suspect was also arrested and charged in three of the deaths. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office via AP) The Associated Press
This undated photo provided by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office in Doylestown, Pa., shows Sean Kratz of Philadelphia. Kratz was charged Friday, July 14, 2017, with 20 counts, including three counts of criminal homicide in the Friday, July 7, 2017, killings of three Pennsylvania men. Cosmo DiNardo, an admitted drug dealer with a history of mental illness was also charged in the July 5, 2017, killing of a fourth man. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office via AP) The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.