Son, who wanted his father dead over money owed so he hired a man he previously bunked with in a juvenile detention facility to beat his father to death, was sentenced
New Jersey – In a deeply disturbing case in New Jersey that drew nationwide attention, a 34-year-old man, identified as Mark J. A., was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury convicted him in the brutal murder‑for‑hire death of his 55-year-old father, identified as Mark R. A. The 34-year-old son was found guilty in October 2025 on one count each of murder and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to a press release from the prosecutor’s office. Prosecutors argued that Mark J. A. plotted the killing because his father owed him money and had mistreated him during his childhood.
On Thursday, a judge imposed the sentence of life imprisonment without parole, saying the defendant’s actions were “calculated and merciless.” The sentence reflects not only the cold‑blooded nature of the homicide, but also the determination that Mark J. A. should never again be permitted to harm another person.
According to court testimony and evidence presented at trial, the crime was the culmination of a months‑long dispute that played out over the summer of 2019 and came to a head in September of that year. Instead of confronting his father directly, prosecutors say Mark J. A. turned to a former acquaintance from his youth, a man with whom he shared a cell in a juvenile detention facility, to carry out the crime. That man, 34‑year‑old J. Melton, became the state’s key witness against Mark J. A. Melton testified during the trial that Mark J. A. paid him—or promised to—$50,000 to beat his father to death. Instead of fulfilling that promise, the defendant reportedly renege on the agreement after the killing, giving Melton only some marijuana and a handful of $20 bills from an ATM.
On the day of the crime, Melton said Mark J. A. drove him to the father’s home. Once there, Melton assaulted the victim with a baseball bat, repeatedly striking him until he was dead. Melton later pled guilty in 2020 to aggravated manslaughter in connection with the killing after originally being charged with murder. He has yet to be sentenced and faces 10 to 30 years in prison for that plea. In the hours after the killing, Mark J. A. attempted to craft an alibi that prosecutors described as bizarre and self‑serving. He sent his father a text message that read, “Dad, you want a cheesesteak? I’m at Geno’s,” referring to a famous sandwich shop in Philadelphia. Prosecutors revealed that this text was sent despite the fact that his father was already dead.
Investigators used GPS data to track the movement of both Mark J. A.’s and the victim’s phones in the area where Melton was living at the time, further undermining the defendant’s narrative. After the assault, Melton testified that Mark J. A. took steps to cover up evidence of the crime. He said Mark J. A. had him remove his clothes, place them in a garbage bag, douse them with bleach, and dispose of them. At approximately 7 p.m. on the night of the homicide, a friend of the victim found him lying dead on a couch. Other friends and the victim’s ex‑wife arrived soon after and attempted to render aid, but it was too late. Inside the residence, investigators found the baseball bat used in the attack, along with items believed to be drug paraphernalia — including a spoon and a belt — though investigators did not allege drugs were directly linked to the motive.
During the investigation, Mark J. A. told detectives a story in which his father had asked him to pick up a Black man he did not know and stay at the house while Mark R. A. went to buy heroin. The defense argued that Melton, allegedly acting on his own, committed the killing to steal drugs. The jury, however, rejected that version of events. At his sentencing hearing, Mark J. A. maintained his innocence. Reading from a prepared statement, he said, “I had no involvement in my dad’s death. He was an amazing dad, an amazing grandfather, and that’s how he should be remembered.” Prosecutor B. Billhimer said the life sentence “underscores the calculated and merciless nature of” Mark J. A.’s crimes and ensures he will spend the rest of his life behind bars for orchestrating the murder of his own father.
