Son charged with murder after father found decapitated in their home: Police

ByJon Haworth and Meredith Deliso ABCNews logo
Thursday, February 1, 2024

A 32-year-old Pennsylvania man is accused of decapitating his father and then making threats against federal officials in a video posted online following the gruesome murder.

Officers responded to reports of a deceased man in his 60s at a home in Middletown Township Tuesday night, police said. The victim, Michael Mohn, was found dead in a bathroom by his wife, according to the police criminal complaint.

The victim had been decapitated, and a machete and a large kitchen knife were found at the scene, according to the complaint.

The victim's son, Justin Mohn -- the "prime suspect" in the homicide who lived at the home -- had fled the residence in his father's vehicle, police said. He was taken into custody a few hours later, about 100 miles away from the crime scene, according to Middletown Township Police Chief Joe Bartorilla.

Officers located the vehicle near Fort Indiantown Gap, a National Guard Training Center, after pinging the suspect's cellphone, according to Pennsylvania National Guard spokesperson Angela Watson. Justin Mohn was found inside the installation with a firearm and arrested without incident, according to Watson.

Justin Mohn has been charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and possession of a criminal weapon.

The suspect has been denied bail and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 8. It is unclear if he has an attorney at this time.

Police confirmed Tuesday night that officers are looking into a social media post that may be connected to this investigation.

According to the complaint, a video posted to YouTube shows Justin Mohn wearing rubber gloves that had been observed at the crime scene while saying that his father is "now in hell for eternity."

In the video, reviewed by ABC News, the suspect -- who says his father was a federal employee -- refers to the federal government as the enemy and makes threatening statements against federal agents, judges and other federal employees. The suspect also states that President Joe Biden is no longer in power and refers to himself as the acting president.

The video has been removed from YouTube and the account that it was posted to is no longer active.

"YouTube has strict policies prohibiting graphic violence and violent extremism," the company said in a statement on Wednesday. "The video was removed for violating our graphic violence policy and Justin Mohn's channel was terminated in line with our violent extremism policies."

YouTube said its teams are also tracking to remove any re-uploads of the video.

In a statement to ABC News, an FBI spokesperson said the agency is "aware of the incident and working closely with the lead agency to support their investigation."

The incident remains under investigation and there is no threat to the community, police said.

"We want to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victim," the Middletown Township Police Department said in a statement on Wednesday. "We will work hard to ensure the accused answers for these heinous crimes."

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