A 34-year-old New Jersey man has been sentenced to life in prison for arranging his father’s murder in 2019.
Following a trial that lasted nearly five weeks, a jury in October determined Mark J. Austin plotted the bludgeoning death of his dad with accomplice Jeray Milton, according to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office.
On Thursday, a New Jersey judge ordered Austin to a life sentence with no possibility for parole.
According to prosecutors, Austin’s father, Mark Richard Austin, was found dead from apparent blunt force trauma in his Brick Township home on Sept. 7, 2019.
Investigators determined that Melton and the younger Austin plotted to kill the 55-year-old victim and took the pair into custody six days later. Prosecutors said both men have remained in custody since their arrests.
Melton, of Salem City, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in February 2020, but he has not yet been sentenced.
Melton first claimed that Austin — who was his cellmate at a youth correctional facility — put a gun to his head and threatened to kill him and his family if he didn’t help murder his father, according to the Asbury Park Press. Melton later said he was offered $50,000 to beat the victim with a baseball bat. He alleged the killing happened over money Austin owed his dad.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Austin’s life sentence “underscores the calculated and merciless nature” of the hit he put on his own father.
The victim was described in his obituary as “a big lovable personality” and top-notch handyman who was active in his church and supported his namesake’s efforts to become an Eagle Scout.
With News Wire Services
