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Mark J. Austin, 30, of Brick Township, was charged Thursday with murder and weapons offenses, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
The son faces life in prison without parole if found guilty of murder-for-hire, the prosecutor said.
Austin allegedly killed his father, Mark Richard Austin, on Sept. 7, 2019, in Brick Township, the prosecutor said.
Thursday's Grand Jury "superseding Indictment" charges that Austin "procured the commission of the murder of his father by payment or promise of payment of anything of monetary value." It is considered an aggravating factor, Billhimer said, which if proven beyond a reasonable doubt at the time of trial - requires that Austin be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole eligibility.
Austin and his co-defendant, Jeray Melton, 30, of Salem City, were originally indicted in connection with the murder on Dec. 3, 2019. It apparently was unknown at that time that this was a murder for hire situation the prosecutor said Friday.
On the day of the alleged murder, Brick police were called to a residence on Acorn Drive and reportedly found a body.
The victim had been beaten to death, authorities sai.
Based on an extensive investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Major Crime Unit, Brick Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, it was determined that Austin and Melton had conspired to kill Austin's father.
The son and Jeray Melton were charged and taken into custody on Sept. 13, 2019, and have been jailed since that date.
Subsequent investigation allegedly found that the younger Austin agreed to pay Melton an unspecified sum of money in exchange for killing Mark Richard Austin.
On Feb. 25, 2020, Melton pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and is currently being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending sentencing.
Austin remains in in the Ocean County Jail awaiting trial.
Billhimer said law enforcement agencies in Ocean County also got assistance from the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, Salem City Police Department, New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit, New Jersey State Police TEAMS Unit, New Jersey Department of Corrections, Port Authority Police of New York and New Jersey, police departments in Manchester, Millville and Bayonne as well as from the FBI.
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