Son Paid NJ Man To Beat His Father To Death With A Baseball Bat. He's Headed To Prison

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Brick Township man has been sentenced to life in prison in the slaying of his father in September 2019, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Mark J. Austin, 34, was sentenced Thursday to life without the possibility of parole by Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan, the prosecutor's office said.

He was found guilty on Oct. 2, 2025, following a nearly five-week trial of paying a second man, Jeray Melton 34, of Salem City, to kill his father, Mark Richard Austin, in 2019.

Mark Richard Austin, 55, of Brick, was found dead in his home in Cedar Bridge Manor on Sept. 7, 2019, when police were called to the home. Authorities later said he had been savagely beaten with a baseball bat, and on Sept. 13, 2019, arrested Mark J. Austin and Melton. Both have been in the Ocean County Jail since that date.

Melton pled guilty to aggravated manslaughter before Ryan on Feb. 25, 2020, and is pending sentencing, the prosecutor's office said.

"This sentence underscores the calculated and merciless nature of Austin’s crimes," Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. "By orchestrating the murder of his own father, Austin forfeited any right to now ask the court for mercy,."

"Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole reflects the severity of the crimes committed, delivers permanent accountability, and ensures that Austin will never again have the opportunity to harm another human being," Billhimer said.

"While no sentence can undo the harm caused, we are hopeful that today’s outcome delivers some sense of peace and justice to the loved ones of Mark Richard Austin," he said.