In a horrifying incident in Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, 32-year-old Justin Mohn has been charged with the murder of his 68-year-old father, Michael Mohn.
The gruesome case involving the decapitation of Michael Mohn has drawn widespread attention due to the disturbing nature of the crime and how it was disclosed to the public.
Justin Mohn was arrested following a police investigation that began after his mother, Denice Mohn, discovered her husband’s headless body in their family home.
The discovery was made around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, prompting an immediate law enforcement response.
According to court documents, Michael Mohn’s decapitated body was found in the bathroom, with a large amount of blood surrounding the scene. The police also found his head inside a plastic bag, which was placed in a cooking pot in a first-floor bedroom adjacent to the bathroom.
Nearby, officers recovered a machete and a large kitchen knife in the bathtub, along with bloody rubber gloves in the bedroom, indicating the tools used in the crime.
Justin Mohn fled the scene after committing the murder but was apprehended hours later at Fort Indiantown Gap, approximately 100 miles away from the crime scene. At the time of his arrest, he was found near a National Guard base, armed with a firearm.
The police investigation revealed that Justin Mohn had posted a disturbing 14-minute video on YouTube before his arrest, where he was seen holding up his father’s severed head and identifying him.
In the video, Justin Mohn expressed far-right conspiracy theories and called his father a traitor for his two-decade service with the federal government.
The video, which has since been removed for violating YouTube’s policies, was viewed approximately 5,000 times before it was taken down.
Neighbors described Justin Mohn as exhibiting odd behavior in the months leading up to the crime, including staring at houses and making unsettling remarks.
One neighbor remarked how Justin Mohn referred to himself as a militia leader in the video, declaring his father a traitor for working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This behavior raised concerns about his mental state and possible motivations for the crime.
Justin Mohn’s history was punctuated by a pattern of contentious actions and legal disputes, reflecting a trail of often controversial behavior well before the current charges against him.
According to legal documents, he has initiated at least three legal actions against federal entities, including the U.S. government, for allegedly causing him to incur student loans from 2010 until he graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2014.
He paid a $2,000 filing fee and later requested the presiding judge be removed from his case, accusing the judge of bias and a conflict of interest.
The judge deemed Mohn’s claims baseless and speculative, dismissing them as unfounded complaints from an unsatisfied college graduate.
Mohn then brought a lawsuit against Progressive Insurance, his one-time employer, in 2020, claiming he was unjustly fired and discriminated against as a male.
His employment as a customer service representative, starting in October 2016, ended in August 2017 following an incident where he kicked open the company’s doors, as found in court documents. The court concluded that Mohn did not prove discrimination.
During his legal challenges, Mohn’s parents financially supported him with approximately $540 monthly. He disclosed in legal filings that just before his dismissal from Progressive, he ventured to Las Vegas to explore opportunities in the music industry.
Mohn chose to represent himself in each of the legal matters.
His presence on social media was marked by the promotion of his independently published music and literature, including dystopian science fiction works.
In 2017, he self-published “The Revolution Leader’s Survival Guide” on Amazon. This nonfiction work includes a letter to then-President Donald Trump, cautioning of a potential “peaceful revolution” spearheaded by the author should significant reforms not be realized in the United States and globally.
Justin Mohn faces charges of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and possession of an instrument of crime. The case has prompted discussions about the impact of extremist ideologies and the importance of mental health support.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and Middletown Township Police Department are continuing their investigation into the murder.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 8, where further details of the case are expected to be disclosed.