Monday, January 14th:
*Miscellaneous Criminal Hearing (Day 1) (@ ET) - PA - Jimi Taro Patrick (19), Mark R. Sturgis (22), Thomas C. Meto (21) & Dean R. Finocchiaro (18) murdered (July 5-9, 2017, Bucks County) – *Sean Kratz (20) (CN’s cousin) indicted (7/14/17) on 3 counts of 1st degree murder, abuse of corpse, robbery, illegal poss. of weapon & conspiracy; plead not guilty. No bail. DA will seek DP.
5/16/18: Sean Kratz rejected a deal that would have had him serve 59-118 years in jail for the deaths of three of the four victims, who ranged in age from 19 to 22. Prosecutors say they will now seek the death penalty against Kratz.
5/23 hearing: Def. attys released confession tapes after Judge sealed them. 5/30/18: Judge appoints attorney for Kratz and imposes a gag order on the case. 7/16/18: Trial to begin next year – no dates.
10/29/18 Update: Hearing – Kratz changed attorneys. The pretrial hearings will be continued on a later date to allow for Peruto to get up to speed on the case & ensure he has necessary certification to represent a client in a capital case.
1/13/19 Update: Misc. Criminal hearings on 1/14 to 1/16/19. Trial has been set for April 15, 2019.
*Cosmo DiNardo (20) (confessed in exchange for DP off table) indicted (7/14/17) on 4 counts of 1st degree murder, abuse of corpse, robbery, illegal poss. of weapon & conspiracy; plead not guilty.
5/16/18: DiNardo pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of first-degree murder, among other charges, in the July slayings. DiNardo was sentenced to 4 consecutive life sentences in prison, which upholds a previous deal in which the district attorney agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for information from DiNardo.
11/8/18: DiNardo pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony gun charge stemming from an offense committed about five months prior to murdering four men on his parents’ rural property in Solebury in 2017. The offense could have carried with it a 10-year prison sentence, but in exchange for a guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend probation concurrent to the four life sentences DiNardo is serving for killing the 4 young men.