277: Michael Byrnes - Quadruple Homicide Crime Scene Search

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In this episode, retired agent Michael Byrnes reviews the tragic 2017 quadruple homicide of four young men in Solebury, PA, specifically the human remains search and recovery operation conducted by Philadelphia FBI ERT to assist local law enforcement officers.

Mike oversaw team members from FBI, state, county, and local agencies as they identified and processed 6 separate excavation sites, ultimately recovering all four victims, Thomas Meo, 21, Mark Sturgis, 22, Jimi Patrick, 19, and Dean Finocchiaro, five days after commencing the operation. The quadruple homicides were carried out by Cosmo DiNardo and Sean Michael Kratz, who were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by the state of Pennsylvania.

Mike Byrnes served in the FBI for more than 25 years. During his career, he was assigned to the Boston, New York, and Philadelphia field offices. He has worked white collar economic crimes and organized crime.

He was involved with the FBI’s crime scene Evidence Response Team (ERT) for his entire career, using his B.S. in Chemistry from Villanova University and M.S. in Forensic Toxicology from the University of Florida. For nearly 9 years, Mike oversaw the FBI New York City Evidence Response Team as the Senior Team Leader. He was also team leader in Boston and held the position of Senior Team Leader for six years in Philadelphia.

His work investigating and processing crime scenes has repeatedly taken him to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Some of the more recognizable events and locations include the U.S. Embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam (1998), Tanzania, EgyptAir 990 plane crash (1999), 9/11 (NYC, 2001), US Air 1549 (Sully Sullenberger) Hudson River water landing (2009), the terrorist bombings in Kampala, Uganda (2010), New York Times Square Bombing attempt (2010), the Benghazi (Libya) attack on Ambassador Christopher Stevens (2012), the Boston Marathon bombing (2013), and the Westgate Mall terrorist attack in Nairobi, Kenya (2013) as well as operational deployments and trainings in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Since his recent retirement, Mike has continued working for the FBI as a contract employee, doing background checks for the Security Division.

Special Agent (Retired)

Michael Byrnes

4/1996 – 12/2021

“We knew that something grisly had happened there, and the backhoe was involved, which is why trying to excavate or recover remains would be even more difficult.”—Retired Agent Mike Byrnes