A Bucks County judge on Friday found Justin Mohn guilty of killing and decapitating his father last year in their Levittown home.
Judge Stephen Corr delivered the verdict after a four-day bench trial that included testimony from 15 witnesses, including Mohn, and the presentation of more than 200 pieces of evidence.
In a bench trial, both the defense and prosecution agree to waive a jury and have a judge decide the case’s outcome.
Corr described Mohn’s crimes as “unspeakable.”
Mohn was then sentenced to life behind bars without the chance for parole.
Mohn’s family, who attended every day of the trial, delivered victim impact statements and called for him to sit in prison.
At sentencing, Mohn spoke and suggested he could be part of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia. He briefly mentioned the impact his crimes had on his family after his defense attorney passed him a note.
More to come to on the sentencing.
On January 30, 2024, at the family home on Upper Orchard Drive in Middletown Township’s Levittown section, Justin Mohn, 33, shot and decapitated his father, Michael Mohn, 68, in the late afternoon hours.
The gruesome details of the crime and the bench trial captured international attention.
According to testimony, the discovery of the crime was made by Denice Mohn, Justin’s mother, who returned home from work just before 7 p.m. to find her husband “crumpled” on the bathroom floor. She first thought he had fallen and her screams for help brought neighbor Jim Carnley, who made the shocking discovery that Michael Mohn was headless.
Carnley’s 9-1-1 call was played in court and relayed the chaos, with Denice Mohn’s screams audible in the background.
Based on testimony and evidence, she immediately suspected her son, Justin, was behind the crimes.
Middletown Township Police Detective Jake Gallagher testified that Justin Mohn quickly became the prime suspect as Michael Mohn’s white car was missing from the scene.
As detectives were heading to the crime scene, video began circulating on YouTube showing Justin Mohn holding his father’s severed head.
Prosecutors asserted that Michael Mohn had “no reason to believe that that day would be his last,” and the evidence presented strongly supported premeditation.
Detective Kevin Platenecky testified about a blood trail throughout the Mohn home, as well as bloody gloves and plastic water bottles consistent with those seen in the YouTube video, all recovered from the residence. Open emails mentioning “Mohn’s militia” were found on Justin Mohn’s computer after he fled.
Bucks County Detective Phil Kulan presented crime scene images, including a “to-do list” found in Justin Mohn’s room with “boom” and “slice” listed, which detectives understood to refer to shooting and decapitating his father.
Images of the bloody bathroom and the severed head, found in a stockpot, were displayed, prompting some Mohn family members to leave the courtroom.
Further evidence of premeditation came from Gavin McGuigan, an employee at the Bristol Township gun store where Mohn purchased the Sig Sauer 9mm handgun used in the killing the day prior. McGuigan testified that Mohn was dressed in business attire and asked “fairly normal” questions for a first-time gun owner.
Dr. Ian Hood, a forensic pathologist, detailed the autopsy findings, and said Michael Mohn was fatally shot in the head near his ear before being decapitated with a kitchen knife and machete with few signs of a struggle.
Bucks County Detective Tim Fuhrmann testified about Mohn’s arrest at the Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania National Guard training complex near Harrisburg.
Mohn was apprehended after breaching the perimeter, still armed, and claimed to be “totally sober.”
During his interrogation, which was played in court, Mohn expressed beliefs that he was owed $15 million to $30 million from the IRS as a whistleblower against Microsoft, where he had worked as a contractor. He apologized to detectives and asked about talking to Gov. Josh Shapiro, claiming he had “one card left to play” regarding his whistleblower claims and a “national security issue” related to cloud computing. Mohn expressed a desire to work a deal with the state through Shapiro to secure his federal whistleblower reward.
Items recovered from Mohn at the base included a gym bag, phone, and a rucksack containing survival gear like a shovel, tent shelter, sleeping bag, 9mm bullets, knives, a slingshot, a Pennsylvania map, and a book on foraging wild plants, along with snacks and wilderness survival books.
Fuhrmann also detailed Mohn’s outgoing mail from custody, including letters to the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Russian Embassy, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the U.S. Department of State, and the leader of the Pennsylvania National Guard. In the letters, Mohn claimed he was conducting a “citizen’s arrest” on his father, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractor and retired employee, and that the killing was “lawful deadly force.” Mohn admitted to holding his father’s head “Taliban style” in the video as part of his bid to establish a new government. Other letters were sent to the United Nations, Donald Trump, and conservative commentators like Joe Rogan, Alex Jones, Sean Hannity, and Tucker Carlson. Mohn expressed a desire in the letters to tell his story and “take America back from the traitors in the federal government.”
Justin Mohn took the stand in his own defense on Wednesday and described his actions as a “lawful” citizen’s arrest gone awry.
Mohn detailed his plans for January 30: apprehend his father for treason and take him to police or kill him if he resisted and then rally the Pennsylvania National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap.
His father resisted arrest and threatened to kill him first, which led to Mohn to shoot him in self-defense, the defendant claimed from the stand.
Mohn denied his actions were murder and claimed his actions were lawful.
Mohn stated he had resolved to conduct a citizen’s arrest of his father before his planned trip to Florida. He alleged his father’s “treason” stemmed from their differing political views and his parents’ supposed interference with his political aspirations, fearing he would become “similar to Donald Trump.”
The beheading was for “practical reasons” and not out of hatred. However, he hoped to draw attention to his video and inspire federal employees to resign, Mohn said.
The 33-year-old Neshaminy High School and Penn State graduate explained he did not contact police due to a 2023 incident where Bensalem Township Police, who were acting on an FBI tip, visited him over online posts.
Mohn admitted his self-described militia had no members other than himself and expressed belief in a broader federal conspiracy targeting him.
Mohn conceded he had a limited chance of success in rallying state forces but deemed his actions “very important.”
When questioned by prosecutors, Mohn stated that if the federal government had aligned with his worldview, his father would likely still be alive.
Mohn described a “toxic relationship” with his parents due to their “far-left” views and alleged his father told him he was mentally ill and compared him to Donald Trump. However, Mohn’s mother said the relationship was normal and a neighbor testified they were never aware of any problems at the house.
While on the stand, Mohn spoke of his past goal to “live the American dream” in Colorado after college and claimed discrimination as a white Christian conservative man and alleging a “labor racket” by former employers and the federal government. He also was upset the government let him borrow money for college and he could not pay it back.
Mohn said his family had been supportive and wanted him to secure a good job.
In an unusual move, Mohn delivered an opening argument for his defense near the end of the trial and stated that “far-left” federal officials and his father had committed crimes against him. He told the court he killed his father “to make an example,” blaming President Joe Biden for trampling his rights.
While speaking, Mohn stated he did not wish to pursue a mental health defense in his case. He had previously been found competent to stand trial.
Bucks County Detective Eric Landamia testified about Mohn’s phone and computer records, revealing extensive Google searches for instructions on making homemade bombs, information on public officials, blueprints of federal buildings, Fort Indiantown Gap, how to knock someone unconscious, guns, bullets, and whether a slingshot could be lethal. A document titled “battle plans” was also found.
Defense attorney Steven Jones suggested the searches could be attributed to Mohn’s fiction writing for his self-published books.
In closing arguments, Jones acknowledged Mohn did “unspeakable things” and said his client had guilt for abuse of a corpse, but murder was not the right charge.
Jones pointed to Mohn’s competency during the trial, including his extensive vocabulary and involvement in his defense.
The defense attorney leaned into Mohn’s claim of a “lawful” citizen’s arrest narrative and dismissed Mohn’s writings and militia as garbage.
Bucks County First Assistant District Attorney Ed Louka closed by telling the court Mohn’s “warped beliefs” led to the homicide and beheading.
Louka highlighted the “overwhelming amount of evidence,” including the to-do list, DNA, and the long sequence of events.
The prosecutor said that Mohn was “proud of his actions and remorseless.” He alleged Mohn “preyed” on his parents’ concern and compassion and argued Mohn’s plan was always to kill his father, with the “citizen’s arrest” narrative being a post-arrest fabrication.
“He wanted to be a terrorist and he turned out to be one,” Louka said.
The veteran prosecutor pointed to Mohn’s jailhouse letters as admissions of the crimes.
Jones later told reporters the defense had “saved Justin’s life” by prosecutors taking the death penalty off the table.
Both attorneys confirmed Mohn’s competency for trial.
Stories from the past days at trial:
