MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man is accused of decapitating his father and then allegedly posting a YouTube video in which he displayed the victim’s severed head, authorities said Wednesday.
Justin Mohn, 32, of the Levittown area of Middletown Township, was arrested late Tuesday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He was charged Wednesday in Bucks County with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and possessing an instrument of a crime, according to the newspaper.
He is being held without bail at the Bucks County Correctional Facility, according to a news release from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
A Levittown man was taken into custody late Tuesday after he allegedly decapitated his father, posted a YouTube video in which he spouted right-wing conspiracy theories and displayed his father’s head, then fled to Lebanon County, authorities say.https://t.co/URVUkHhmfp
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) January 31, 2024
Mohn is accused of not only beheading his father -- identified as 68-year-old Michael F. Mohn, of Levittown -- but also posting a gruesome video to YouTube, WPVI-TV reported.
Police said that Justin Mohn jumped a fence at a National Guard facility about 100 miles away from his residence, according to The Associated Press. He had driven to Fort Indiantown Gap, a National Guard training facility in Lebanon County, KYW-TV reported. Justin Mohr was arrested inside the base and his father’s white Toyota Corolla was located near a fence along the property, according to the television station.
The victim was a retired civil engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, law enforcement officials told the Inquirer.
The district attorney’s office said that the victim’s wife called police at 7 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
According to a criminal complaint, “a large amount of blood” surrounded the victim’s body. Police found a machete and knife in a bathtub on the first floor of the residence, according to the district attorney’s office.
The complaint stated that police found Michael Mohn’s severed head wrapped in a plastic bag inside a cooking pot in one of the home’s bedrooms located next to the bathroom, the Inquirer reported.
Police found bloodied rubber gloves on a desk and in a trash can in another bedroom, WPVI reported.
“As far as the crime itself, it’s not something we typically see here,” Middletown Township Police Capt. Pete Feeney told the television station.
A Pennsylvania man is accused of not only beheading his father but also posting the video of him committing the act to YouTube. https://t.co/1Rl9rzKdlC
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) January 31, 2024
Police said that after the murder, Justin Mohn posted a graphic 14-minute video on YouTube, the Inquirer reported. In the video, police said that the suspect displayed his father’s head, complained about the federal government and urged the U.S. Postal Service to cease operations, according to the newspaper.
Justin Mohn also identified his father as he held up his severed head, the AP reported.
YouTube removed the video hours after it was posted, NBC News reported.
In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson said the video was taken down because of its “strict policies prohibiting graphic violence and violent extremism,” according to the news outlet.
“The video was removed for violating our graphic violence policy and Justin Mohn’s channel was terminated in line with our violent extremism policies,” the statement said. “Our teams are closely tracking to remove any re-uploads of the video.”
© 2024 Cox Media Group
Sign Up
