Police in Pennsylvania have provided grim new particulars within the case involving a 32-year-old man who was charged earlier this week with killing and decapitating his father after exhibiting off the severed head in a video posted to YouTube.
How the grisly killing unfolded
At a press convention Friday, Bucks County District Legal professional Jennifer Schorn mentioned that Justin Daniel Mohn was performing with a “clear thoughts” when he killed and dismembered his father, Michael Mohn, on the household’s residence in Middletown Township, simply north of Philadelphia. The 68-year-old labored for the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers. Daniel Mohn lived at residence together with his dad and mom.
Schorn mentioned that Michael Mohn’s spouse got here residence on Tuesday evening to seek out her husband’s physique, then ran to a neighbor’s home and referred to as 911. When police arrived, officers discovered a decapitated “aged male within the downstairs toilet with a considerable amount of blood round him.” A machete and a big knife have been situated within the bathtub, and a head “wrapped in Saran Wrap” was found within the subsequent room.
Mohn’s spouse advised police that she had left round 2 p.m. and that her husband and son have been the one folks at residence. She additionally reported that her husband’s Toyota Corolla was lacking when she returned.
A disturbing YouTube video
Across the identical time, police obtained a number of calls alerting authorities to a disturbing 14-and-a-half-minute video posted to YouTube exhibiting Justin Mohn displaying Michael Mohn’s severed head whereas claiming his father was a “traitor to his nation” and urging members of “Mohn’s militia” and “patriots across the nation” to take up arms in opposition to different federal staff, together with a federal decide whose tackle he disclosed.
The video had been seen at the least 5,000 occasions earlier than it was taken down, Schorn mentioned.
After viewing the YouTube video, investigators confirmed “the gloves, decapitated head, and room are the identical as depicted within the video,” the affidavit says.
In an announcement Wednesday, YouTube mentioned “the video was eliminated for violating our graphic violence coverage” and that Mohn’s YouTube channel was “terminated in step with our violent extremism insurance policies.”
“Our groups are intently monitoring to take away any re-uploads of the video,” the corporate added.
Suspect fled to army base
Schorn mentioned police have been capable of shortly ping Justin Mohn’s cellphone and find the lacking car, which had been pushed previous barricades at a army set up in Fort Indiantown Hole, which is about 110 miles west of Middletown Township.
In keeping with Schorn, Mohn deserted the car, climbed over a barbed wire fence and entered the bottom, the place he was taken into custody.
He had a loaded 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun that was lacking one spherical on the time of his arrest, Schorn mentioned, including that he had bought the weapon legally the day earlier than the killing and had even surrendered his medical marijuana card in an effort to purchase it.
Mohn advised authorities that he had gone to the outpost “in an effort to mobilize the Pa. Nationwide Guard to lift arms in opposition to the federal authorities,” and that he was trying to contact Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to get the state to assist that effort.
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Post-mortem confirms beheading after deadly taking pictures
An post-mortem carried out Thursday decided that Michael Mohn died of a gunshot wound to the pinnacle, and that his head was subsequently eliminated utilizing a machete.
Justin Mohn was shortly charged together with his father’s homicide and abusing his corpse. He’s being held with out bail at a correction facility in Bucks County.
He has no historical past of identified psychological well being points, Schorn mentioned.
“It was evident to us that he was of clear thoughts in his goal,” she mentioned, including: “There’s a full and utter distinction between what we might time period ‘that particular person’s loopy’ and authorized madness. And that will likely be evident later after we prosecute this matter.”
Suspect had little historical past with police
On the press convention, Middletown Township Police confirmed that they’d three prior contacts with the suspect, however none resulted in prices.
In 2011, police responded to Justin Mohn’s residence after a reported argument with a neighbor. In 2019, Mohn reported that he obtained a risk from Progressive Insurance coverage over a lawsuit he had filed in opposition to the corporate. And in 2023, Mohn’s employer in Philadelphia referred to as police in Middletown Township to precise “concern” and ask police for recommendation about terminating him. The employer was referred to exterior authorized assets and the Philadelphia police.
According to NBC News, Mohn printed a collection of books stuffed with anti-government rhetoric:
One e book, titled “The Revolution Chief’s Survival Information,” contains “the transcript of a letter to then-President Donald Trump warning of “a peaceable revolution helped by the creator if optimistic change doesn’t come to America and the world quickly.”
The horrific case comes amid one other divisive election season led by Trump, who’s vowing retribution in opposition to the Biden administration and federal businesses, together with the Division of Justice, which is prosecuting him for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
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