Brick Township Man Convicted of Killing His Own Father

According to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, on October 2, 2025, Mark J. Austin, 34, of Brick Township, was found guilty of Murder in connection with the death of his father, Mark Richard Austin, also of Brick Township, at his home on September 7, 2019.

In rendering its verdict, the jury concluded 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 - an aggravating factor which requires that Austin be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole eligibility.

The jury also found Austin guilty of Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. Austin is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Ryan on December 12, 2025.

On Saturday, September 7, 2019, Officers from the Brick Township Police Department were summoned to a residence on Acorn Drive and discovered the victim’s lifeless body with apparent blunt force trauma.

It was determined that Austin and Jeray Melton 34, of Salem City, had conspired to kill the victim. Mark J. Austin and Jeray Melton were charged accordingly and taken into custody on September 13, 2019, and have been incarcerated since that date.

Austin agreed to pay Melton in exchange for killing his father, according to the results of a later investigation.

A grand jury in Ocean County indicted Austin on October 7, 2021, on charges of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Melton entered a guilty plea to aggravated manslaughter before Judge Ryan on February 25, 2020, and is currently awaiting sentencing.