Brick Township Man Found Guilty Of Killing His Father In 2019
Tuesday, October 7, 2025, 9:15 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BRICK TOWNSHIP, NJ.- Last Thursday, following a nearly five-week trial in Ocean County Superior Court, a 34-year-old former Brick Township, New Jersey, man learned he would die in State Prison, after being found guilty in connection with his role in the brutal beating death of his father back in September of 2019 inside their Brick Township, New Jersey home.
According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, on Thursday, October 2, 2025, following a trial before Ocean County Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan, the jury found Mark J. Austin, 34, formerly of Brick Township, New Jersey, guilty of Murder in the death of his father, Mark Richard Austin also of Brick Township, New Jersey on September 2019.
In rendering the verdict, the jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Austin procured the commission of his father's murder by payment or promise of payment of anything of monetary value, as an aggravating factor. Following the jury returning their finding of guilt, Judge Ryan accepted the verdict and scheduled sentencing for December 12, 2025. At that time, Austin, due to the nature of the crime and the aggravating factors, will face up to life in New Jersey State Prison without the possibility of parole.
The conviction stems from an investigation that began on September 7, 2019, when members of the Brick Township Police Department responded to a home located on Acorn Drive in the Township, where they discovered the lifeless body of Mark Richard Austin, who had succumbed to apparent blunt force trauma.
Following an extensive investigation by Detectives of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Major Crime Unit, the Brick Township Police Department's Detective Bureau, and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Austin and Jeray Melton, 34, of Salem City, New Jersey, had conspired to kill Austin's father, Mark Richard Austin. The two men were taken into custody on September 13, 2019, and charged accordingly, and have been detained since their initial arrest.
During a subsequent investigation, Detectives learned that Austin agreed to pay Melton in exchange for killing his father. On October 7, 2021, a Grand Jury sitting in Ocean County, New Jersey, returned an indictment, charging Austin with Murder; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon; and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose.
On February 25, 2020, Melton appeared in Ocean County Superior Court and pleaded guilty before Judge Ryan to one count of first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter, and is currently awaiting sentencing.
"Justice was served today. This defendant orchestrated a calculated and cold-blooded plot to take the life of another human being - his own father," Prosecutor Billhimer stated. "We are grateful to the jury for arriving at the truth and holding Austin accountable for his actions. And we are hopeful this verdict delivers a level of peace and justice to the loved ones of Mark Richard Austin," Prosecutor Billhimer concluded.