Brick Township Man Sentenced For The 2019 Beating Death Of His Father

Monday, January 12, 2026, 7:00 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News, 

BRICK TOWNSHIP, NJ.- Last Thursday, a 34-year-old Brick Township, New Jersey, man learned he will die in New Jersey State Prison after being sentenced for his role in the September 2019 beating death of his 55-year-old father, inside their Brick Township, New Jersey, home.

     According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, on Thursday, January 8, 2026, Mark J. Austin, 34, of Brick Township, New Jersey, appeared in Ocean County Superior Court and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan to life in State Prison without the possibility of parole, for his conviction in connection with the death of his father, Mark Richard Austin, also of Brick Township, New Jersey.

     On October 2, 2025, following a five-week trial in Ocean County Superior Court before Judge Ryan, a jury found Austin guilty of first-degree Murder and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.

     The conviction and sentence stem from an investigation that began on Saturday, September 7, 2019, when members of the Brick Township Police Department responded to a 911 Emergency Call reporting an unresponsive man inside a residence located on Acorn Drive in the Township. Upon arrival, Police Officers located the lifeless body of Mark Richard Austin, 55, having succumbed to blunt force trauma.

     During the ensuing investigation, Detectives of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and the Brick Township Police Department, in conjunction with the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, determined that Austin conspired with Jeray Melton, 34, of Salem City, New Jersey, to kill his father. On September 13, 2019, Austin and Melton were taken into custody and formally charged. The two have remained in custody since that date.

     Further investigation uncovered 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 first-degree Murder; Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose; and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. On February 25, 2020, Melton appeared in Ocean County Superior Court and pleaded guilty before Judge Ryan to first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter, and has since been sentenced to a term of 18 years in New Jersey State Prison.

     “This sentence underscores the calculated and merciless nature of Austin’s crimes. By orchestrating the murder of his own father, Austin forfeited any right to ask the court for mercy,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated. “Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole reflects the severity of the crimes committed, delivers permanent accountability, and ensures that Austin will never have the opportunity to harm another human being,” Prosecutor Billhime added. “While no sentence can undo the harm caused, we are hopeful that Thursday’s outcome delivers some sense of peace and justice to the loved ones of Mark Richard Austin,” Prosecutor Billhimer concluded.