Former Arcadia student Cosmo DiNardo’s parents settle wrongful death suit with victims’ families five years after their son’s mass murder

Cosmo DiNardo, a former Arcadia student who made national headlines in 2017 after confessing to a quadruple murder in Solebury, Bucks County, is in the news again.

The Associated Press recently reported that DiNardo’s parents have settled a lawsuit with the families of the four young men he killed at a family farm, described by Philly Burbs as “one of the most horrific mass murders in the history of Bucks County.” Their article continues:

Five years after the gruesome killings, the family of Cosmo DiNardo has settled the wrongful death case filed by the relatives of murder victims Mark Sturgis, Thomas Meo, Dean Finocchiaro, and Jimi Patrick with a confidential settlement in Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court, court records show.

According to Philly Burbs, the victims’ families alleged negligence by DiNardo’s parents “who provided him access to ATVs, guns, and construction equipment despite his past behavior and commitment to mental health institutions.” 

Image courtesy of Yourtango.com


Cosmo DiNardo, now 26 years old, attended Arcadia University in 2015 for one semester.

According to Arcadia, he returned in the fall of 2016 as a non-student and had interactions with members of the school community they described as “disturbing,” or “off.”

The incidents were reported to university and local police, and DiNardo was subsequently banned from campus.

A friend of his told CBS Philadelphia that DiNardo wasn’t a violent person, but something happened with him over the last year.

“I’ll tell you that he was normal up until last year. He was in a quad accident and hit his head and was stranded for a day or so with a brain bleed. He had frontal lobe damage,” the friend told CBS.

Law enforcement officials said DiNardo suffers from schizophrenia. In 2016, Cosmo DiNardo began treatment for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and was on anti-psychotics, according to Philly Burbs.

According to a recent article by Freshers Live, DiNardo has been relocated from SCI Retreat, a medium-security prison in Luzerne County, to SCI Huntingdon in the Allegheny Mountains, known as one of the state’s highest-security facilities.

The reason behind DiNardo’s transfer has not been disclosed by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. 

For the full story by Philly Burbs, you can click here.

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Feature photo courtesy of FOX29