Pennsylvania man who posted video of father’s severed head online is found guilty of murder
DOYLESTOWN Pa AP A Pennsylvania man who posted a video of his father s severed head on YouTube was convicted of murder Friday and sentenced to life without parole Bucks County Judge Stephen A Corr determined Justin D Mohn guilty in the January shooting death of his father at their home in the Philadelphia suburb of Levittown After the sentencing Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn stated reporters Mohn had exhibited a complete and utter lack of remorse calling it an unimaginable unfathomable crime We are satisfied that this was the right outcome to guarantee that the group at large is safe from Justin Mohn Schorn declared Messages seeking comment were left Friday for Mohn s defense attorney Steven M Jones Prosecutors stated Mohn shot his father Michael F Mohn with a newly purchased pistol then decapitated him with a kitchen knife and machete The -minute YouTube video he posted was live for several hours before it was removed Mohn testified during the trial that he shot his father while trying to arrest him on what he stated were false statements and treason but his father resisted so he fired at him He announced he severed his head to send a message to federal workers to meet his demands which included their resignation among other things In victim impact statements read in court Friday family members and others recalled Michael Mohn as a loving husband and father a man of humility and humor who enjoyed reading exercising and playing the guitar Justin Mohn was arrested later on the day of the murder after scaling a fence at Fort Indiantown Gap the state s National Guard headquarters Prosecutors commented he called for others to join him in attempting to overthrow the U S administration Mohn had a USB device containing photos of federal buildings and apparent instructions for making explosives when he was arrested government noted He also expressed violent anti-government rhetoric in writings he published online going back several years During the trial the judge heard from Justin Mohn s mother who explained police came to the house he shared with his parents and warned him about his online postings before the killing Denice Mohn testified that she and her husband had been offering financial sponsorship and guidance as Justin Mohn looked for a job It s unimaginable what the defendant did to his father and to his family Schorn announced I know this verdict does provide a few level of justice but it will never heal their wounds He was also convicted of possession of an instrument of crime gun charges criminal use of a communication facility terroristic threats defiant trespassing and abuse of a corpse Prosecutors described the homicide as something straight out of a horror film They mentioned Justin Mohn killed his father who had been an engineer with the geoenvironmental section of the U S Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District to intimidate federal workers calling it a cold calculated organized plan The YouTube video included rants about the administration immigration and the boundary fiscal framework urban crime and the war in Ukraine In the video posted on YouTube Justin Mohn described his father as a -year federal employee and called him a traitor During a competency hearing last year a defense expert announced Mohn wrote a letter to Russia s ambassador to the United States seeking to strike a deal to give Mohn refuge and apologizing to President Vladimir Putin for claiming to be the czar of Russia The judge ruled Mohn was competent to stand trial Evidence presented at the trial included graphic photos and the video posted to YouTube The judge warned members of the citizens at the trial about the images and reported they could leave before the photos were shown The proceedings are known as a bench trial with only a judge not a jury
