Man who decapitated dad and showed severed head online receives sentence after explaining why he did it

A 33-year-old man named Justin D. Mohn has been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole after brutally killing his father and sharing the aftermath online. He committed the horrific crime while still living with his parents, whom the judge said had shown him nothing but unconditional love and support.

The incident happened in January of last year. Mohn shot and killed his father, Michael F. Mohn, who had been a respected engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After the killing, Justin went on to decapitate his father and post a deeply disturbing video on YouTube. In the 14-minute clip, he held up his father’s severed head and made political demands, calling on federal workers to quit their jobs and for the government to cancel public debt.

The judge, Stephen Corr, sentenced Mohn to two life terms for both first- and second-degree murder, along with additional sentences for ten other charges, including terrorism and desecration of a corpse. The video he posted online played a big part in those extra charges. On top of the life sentences, Mohn received up to 40 more years for the remaining charges.

During sentencing, the judge addressed the trauma Mohn inflicted on his family, particularly his mother, saying her suffering was beyond words. He emphasized that Mohn’s parents had supported him throughout his life, making the crime all the more heartbreaking.

Mohn tried to explain his actions in court, claiming that his father had criticized him and tried to stop him from becoming a political figure, saying he was “turning into the next Donald Trump.” Mohn said he had different political views from his left-leaning parents and believed his father was holding him back from leadership.

He described the killing as a backup plan—what he called “plan B”—after a supposed attempt to carry out a citizen’s arrest on his father failed. He claimed he had wanted to arrest his dad for “treason,” but said his father resisted and tried to take his handgun. Mohn then fired at his father from the bathroom of their home in Levittown, Pennsylvania, saying he felt he had no choice but to use deadly force.

Despite denying that he had committed murder, the evidence, including the video he made and posted, left little doubt. The court ruled decisively, sentencing him to spend the rest of his life behind bars.