Pennsylvania man's parents tried to get him help. Then he beheaded his father: Prosecutors
A judge will soon decide the fate of a Pennsylvania man who is on trial in his father's beheading death, which prosecutors say was recorded on video and posted on YouTube for hours.
Justin Mohn, 33, is facing murder and terrorism charges in his father's grisly death on Jan. 30, 2024, in their home in Levittown, about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia.
He has pleaded not guilty to killing his father, Michael Mohn, and has been found competent to stand trial. The case is underway in a Bucks County courtroom and saw testimony from Justin Mohn's mother, who described the horrifying moment she found her husband's head in a bathroom of their house.
Here's what we know about the trial, including when a verdict is expected.
What do prosecutors say happened?
On Jan. 30, 2024, prosecutors say that Justin Mohn shot his father in the head, decapitated him and later posted a 14-minute video on YouTube holding the head.
"This is truly unimaginable," District Attorney Jen Schorn said during a news conference about the crime.
Michael Mohn was 68 at the time of his death. His wife, Denice Mohn, found the head the same day and called 911. When police arrived, they found a machete and a large knife in a bathtub, and Michael Mohn's head inside a plastic bag, which was in a cooking pot.
Police later found out about a video they say showed Justin Mohn holding up the head and identifying his father, who was a federal employee with the Army Corps of Engineers. In the video, Justin Mohn "ordered all militia and patriots across the United States to kill all federal employees," according to prosecutors.
After the killing, prosecutors say Mohn stole his father's car and drove to Fort Indiantown Gap, home of the National Guard Training Center, where he scaled a 20-foot fence topped with barbed around the base.
He was arrested shortly after. He had a loaded 9-millimeter handgun and a flash drive containing photos of federal buildings and instructions that appeared to show how to make explosive devices along with other survival gear and books, prosecutors said.
Mohn told police that he went to the military base to look for then-Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, so he could convince him to 'join forces' with him in his planned coup. Prosecutors said Mohn wanted to "mobilize the National Guard to raise arms against the federal government."
What has happened during the trial so far?
In her opening arguments, Bucks County Assistant District Attorney Ashley Towhey said that Justin Mohn made a calculated deliberate plan to murder his father to intimidate the federal government to cave into his demands, including forcing out then-President Joe Biden.
"He is proud of his murder," Towhey said. "This case is about how Justin Mohn assassinated his father and callously used him as a prop."
Prosecutors played the full, gruesome YouTube video in court on Monday. In it, Mohn identifies himself as 'commander of America's national network of militias' and orders his followers to seize control of all federal law enforcement offices and federal courthouses.
"Mohn also listed specific federal officials who should be captured and publicly executed, including giving the name and address of a U.S. District Court Judge as one of his targets," according to prosecutors.
During her emotional testimony, Denice Mohn said she never saw the murder coming, saying that she and her husband had lunch with their son in the home just hours before the beheading. She also described the relationship between father and son as normal.
But she did say that she and her husband noticed that their son's personality seemed to change after he returned to live with them following four years in Colorado, where he got a series of jobs for short periods of time. She described her son's behavior as "an emotional breakdown."
"He was not the same person. I don't think he was happy with his life," Denice Mohn said. "We were worried sick about him. We were just trying to help him."
She said her son appeared to blame the federal government for his lack of professional success. Denice and Michael Mohn tried to be supportive, she said, by paying for a cellphone, clothes, and haircuts for job interviews, and urging him to get mental help.
In writings, including several failed lawsuits in which he represented himself, Mohn repeatedly complained that his status as an 'overeducated white man' was keeping him from achieving his dream of financial security as a fantasy-fiction writer and musician.
In an unusual move, Justin Mohn's defense attorneys delivered no opening statements in the trial, which is being held before Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Stephen Corr. There is no jury, and Corr will issue verdicts on the 13 charges in what is known as a bench trial.
One of Mohn's defense attorneys, Steven Jones, said during a court break that the death penalty is off the table but declined to say if his client plans to testify.
Justin Mohn's attorneys didn't respond to a request from USA TODAY about what their defense is but there's a gag order in the case that bars them from commenting on too much to reporters.
When is a decision expected?
The three-day trial is expected to wrap up on Wednesday, July 9, with closing arguments. Corr could announce his verdicts anytime after that, including as early as Wednesday.
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