BRICK – Police indicted a local man for murdering his father, and paying someone to be part of the crime.
Mark J. Austin, 30, was indicted for Murder, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. Furthermore, the indictment states that Austin had agreed to pay Jeray Melton, 30, of Salem City, to kill his father.
Police had previously indicted the two men in conspiring to murder; they learned of the murder-for-hire part of this later.
Austin faces a life sentence without parole if found guilty.
His father, Mark Richard Austin, was beaten to death on September 7, 2019. The son and Melton were taken into custody on September 13, 2019, and have been in jail ever since.
On February 25, 2020, Melton pled guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer acknowledged the efforts of Chief Trial Attorney Michael Weatherstone and Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Carr who are handling the case on behalf of the State, as well as the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crime Unit, Brick Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Brick Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, 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, Manchester Township Police Department, Millville Police Department, Bayonne Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their collective and cooperative efforts in connection with this investigation.
Charges are merely accusations until proven in a court of law.
