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Man Sentenced For Killing Loyola University Student, 3 Others

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Less than one year ago, he committed four cold-blooded killings. Now, a Pennsylvania man will spend his life behind bars.

Cosmo DiNardo pleaded guilty Wednesday to the murders of four young men, including a Loyola University honor student.

Attorney Fortunato Perri said DiNardo has undergone numerous mental health evaluations.

"As we can see here from this situation, mental illness is real," Perri said. "Mental illness is sad, and sometimes it can be tragic."

Minutes after Perri said that inside a Bucks County courtroom, a judge sentenced DiNardo to four consecutive life sentences for his killing spree, which included the murder of 19-year-old Loyola University honor student Jimi Patrick.

Raised by his grandparents, Patrick was home for the summer before he vanished.

"I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me. We hugged each other, and I told him to come home early. He said he would," Sharon Patrick told reporters in March.

Investigators say he was lured to his death by the promise of a drug deal. Instead, his former high school classmate shot Patrick and buried his body on his parent's farm.

He was the first victim in the beginning of a bloodbath.

Investigators say DiNardo and his cousin, alleged co-conspirator Sean Kratz, then murdered Dean Finochiarro, Thomas Meo, and Mark Sturgis.

Their remains were dumped in a pig roaster.

In court, Meo's mother unloaded. She told DiNardo, "You [expletive] piece of [expletive]. It's taken everything now for me not to [expletive] kill you."

DiNardo's family dodged questions.

Meanwhile, in a last minute decision, Kratz pulled his plea deal. He was offered jail time, but instead now faces trial.

The Bucks County District Attorney's Office said it will go after the death penalty for Kratz, which had been taken off the table as part of the plea deal.

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