Guilty: Brick Man, 34, Hired Former Cellmate to Murder His Father With Baseball Bat

Mark Richard Austin (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

A Brick man was found guilty Thursday of hiring two men to murder his father in 2019, paving the way for a potential sentence of life without parole in the state prison system.

Mark J. Austin, 34, of Brick Township, was found guilty of murder in connection with the death of his father, Mark Richard Austin, also of Brick Township, at his home on Sept. 7, 2019, following a nearly five-week-long jury trial before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan. In rendering its verdict, the jury also concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Austin “procured the commission of his father’s murder by payment or promise of payment,” an aggravating factor which requires that Austin be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole eligibility. The jury also found Austin guilty of unlawful possession of a weapon. Austin is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Ryan on Dec. 12, 2025.

The case began after officers from the Brick Township Police Department were called to a residence on Acorn Drive on a Saturday morning, and discovered the victim’s lifeless body with apparent blunt force trauma. Following an extensive investigation by Brick Police and county detectives, it was determined that the younger Austin and Jeray Melton, 34, of Salem City, had conspired to kill the victim by hitting him with a baseball bat. Mark J. Austin and Jeray Melton were charged and taken into custody on Sept. 13, 2019, and have remained behind bars since then.

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Mark Richard Austin (left) and Jeray Melton. (Photo: OCPO)

It was later discovered that Austin and Melton had met in a juvenile detention center, where they were cellmates. The bloody baseball bat used as the murder weapon was found near the home, and Melton eventually took a plea deal in the case in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. He would go on to tell jurors that Austin offered to pay him $50,000 to kill his father over monetary and family disputes. The trial chronicled the drug-fueled relationship shared by nearly all involved in the case.

On February 25, 2020, Melton pled guilty to aggravated manslaughter before Judge Ryan and is being held in custody pending sentencing.

“Justice was served today,” said Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. “This defendant orchestrated a calculated and cold-blooded plot to take the life of another human being – his own father. We are grateful to the jury for arriving at the truth and holding Austin accountable for his actions. And we are hopeful this verdict delivers a level of peace and justice to the loved ones of Mark Richard Austin.”

Assistant Ocean County Prosecutors Mara Brater and Meghan O’Neill handled the case for the state.