(Image: AP/Irish Daily Mirror)
A Pennsylvania man who shockingly beheaded his father and posted a graphic video of the crime on YouTube has been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Justin D. Mohn, 33, was found guilty by Bucks County Judge Stephen A. Corr in a bench trial for the brutal January 2024 killing of his father, 68-year-old Michael F. Mohn, at their home in Levittown, a suburb of Philadelphia. Judge Corr called the crime “unimaginable.”
Prosecutors said Mohn used a newly purchased pistol to fatally shoot his father before decapitating him with a kitchen knife and machete. He then recorded a 14-minute video showing his father’s severed head and posted it on YouTube, where it remained for several hours before being removed.
The disturbing footage featured lengthy rants in which Mohn condemned the U.S. government, immigration policy, urban crime, and the war in Ukraine. He labeled his father—a longtime engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—as a “traitor” and claimed the killing was a warning meant to intimidate federal employees into resigning, telling the Irish Daily Mirror.
“This was cold, calculated, organized something straight out of a horror film,” prosecutors said in court. Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn, reacting to the sentence, stated: “It’s unimaginable what the defendant did to his father and to his family. I know this verdict does provide some level of justice, but it will never heal their wounds. We are satisfied that this was the right outcome to guarantee that the community at large is safe from Justin Mohn.”
Family members delivered emotional statements in court, remembering Michael Mohn as a devoted father and husband who enjoyed reading, music, and exercise. His wife, Denice, shared that she and her husband had been financially and emotionally supporting their son, even amid prior police visits related to his extremist internet posts.
Mohn, who represented himself during parts of the trial, admitted to killing and decapitating his father. After the murder, he was arrested at Fort Indiantown Gap, where he was found with a USB drive containing images of federal buildings and bomb-making instructions.
He was also convicted of multiple other charges, including firearms violations, making terroristic threats, corpse abuse, and misuse of communication devices. His defense attorney acknowledged the gravity of the case, but did not comment on any potential appeal.
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