Defense Attorney Calls Sean Kratz 'Idiot' With A Low IQ During Murder Trial In Bucks County
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- A notorious murder trial began Wednesday in Bucks County. Sean Kratz, who is charged with the deaths of three men, is expected to take the stand and testify in his own defense. Authorities found the victims' remains on a farm in Solebury in 2017.
Kratz is accused of helping his cousin, Cosmo DiNardo, murder three men in 2017 and conspired to cover them up. Kratz's defense attorney told the jury that Kratz is an "idiot" with a low IQ, saying he only killed after following the directions of his "psychopathic" cousin.
Bucks County prosecutors argued that Kratz should get the death penalty.
Authorities say he lured the victims to the Solebury farm to sell them marijuana but killed them, stuffing the victims' bodies into a pig roaster as they tried to set them on fire.
At the Bucks County Courthouse, Kratz's defense attorney, Charles Peruto, pinned the blame on DiNardo during opening statements.
"The victims were killed at the hands of a lunatic. He [Kratz] is not a lunatic. Cosmo DiNardo is. That's what the evidence will show. He says [to Kratz], 'Do what I say or I'll kill you,'" Peruto argued.
However, Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler told the jury, "This defendant and his cousin were on a mission to rob, kill and burn the victims' bodies. They didn't care about the sanctity of life, it was something to do that day."
Kratz originally gave police a full videotaped confession and was set to plead guilty to third-degree murder, but he backed out of that deal at the last minute.
Peruto said Kratz plead guilty because of bad advice given by former public defender Craig Penglase. Peruto called Penglase a "scumbag" who was only trying to help the district attorney's office close the case for his own benefit.
"You get what you pay for," Peruto said. "Penglase takes this case, and like Howie Roseman for the Philadelphia Eagles, he deals idiot over there [referring to Kratz] for a future draft pick."
Penglase didn't return our call for comment.
DiNardo confessed to those three murders and one other.