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Body found in search for four missing Pennsylvania men, suspect confesses

By Andrew V. Pestano

July 13 (UPI) -- Bucks County, Pa., District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said authorities found the body of 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro, one of four missing Pennsylvania men.

The suspect in the case, Cosmo DiNardo, 20, has confessed to the murders in exchange for a guarantee that prosecutors won't ask for the death penalty.

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Weintraub said a cadaver-sniffing dog led authorities to a 12.5-foot deep "common grave" in an isolated 68-acre Pennsylvania farm in the Solebury Township that was under investigation. Officials found Finocchiaro and other human remains that have not yet been identified.

"We are not done yet. This is a homicide, make no mistake about it," Weintraub told reporters early Thursday. "We are going to bring each and every one of these lost boys home to their families -- one way or another -- and we will not rest until we do that."

Finocchiaro, Mark R. Sturgis, 22, and Thomas C. Meo, 21, were last seen on Friday. Jimi Tar Patrick, 19, was last seen July 5. All are local men and believed to be friends, Weintraub said.

The discovery of Finocchiaro's remains followed the arrest of DiNardo, who police took into custody Monday on a February firearms possession charge that was dismissed but refiled. DiNardo is prohibited from possessing a firearm because he has a mental illness and had previously been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility.

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DiNardo's father posted bail for his son on Tuesday, but police re-arrested DiNardo on Wednesday on accusations he attempted to sell Meo's car for $500 the day after Meo was last seen.

The property on which police found Finocchiaro's remains belongs to DiNardo's father. No charges related to the killing of Finocchiaro or the found human remains have yet been filed, Weintraub said.

Weintraub said police will "continue digging and searching that property until we're satisfied that they are not there."

"This is just really, really rough on everybody involved because of the heat, the magnitude, the scope -- and the stakes are incredibly high -- life and death," Weintraub said

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