Inmate confesses to killing 4 men, says where bodies are

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — A jailed man who has been the focus of an investigation into the disappearances of four men said Thursday he killed them and agreed to plead guilty to four murder counts, his attorney said in a surprise development.

Cosmo DiNardo, 20, confessed to the commission or participation in four murders, attorney Paul Lang said outside court, where DiNardo had met with investigators. DiNardo also told investigators where the bodies are.

“I’m sorry,” a shackled DiNardo said as he left the courthouse.

In exchange for his client’s cooperation, Lang said, prosecutors were taking the death penalty off the table. There was no immediate comment from prosecutors.

A person with firsthand knowledge of DiNardo’s confession said DiNardo killed the four men separately after selling them marijuana and burned their bodies at his family’s farm.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the details of the case. The person said a coconspirator was involved in three of the killings.

The mystery of the four men’s disappearances has transfixed the Philadelphia area over the past week, taking a grisly turn when human remains were discovered in a 12 1/2-footdeep grave on a farm.

The four men, all residents of Bucks County, disappeared last week. At least three knew each other. The remains of only one, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro, have been identified, though authorities said other remains were found in the hole as well.

DiNardo, the 20-yearold son of the farm property’s owners, was being held on $5 million cash bail, accused of trying to sell one of the victims’ cars at the time of his confession.

Authorities have not revealed any details about how the victims found in the grave may have died or how they got there. The prosecutor had said at one point that he thought a backhoe may have been on the property.