GUILTY PA - Jonathan Austin, 22, found dismembered, Upper Mount Bethel, 25 May 2006

I've been reading about this case. Whatever was he thinking? I guess he thought he'd dispose of the body parts in different places, hoping they'd never be found. Their poor mother!
 
cathieq said:
I've been reading about this case. Whatever was he thinking? I guess he thought he'd dispose of the body parts in different places, hoping they'd never be found. Their poor mother!
He's on a suicide watch now. The motive remains unknown so far . The dead boy was said to have had a wonderful music career ahead of him .I wouldn't be surprised to hear this is another one of those "he stopped taking his meds" stories . It makes no sense . Looking at the picture of the older brother , it looked like he couldn't live with what he had done. Who could? To kill him and then do that to the body-
The poor mother has just lost two sons .
 
desertjade said:
He's on a suicide watch now. The motive remains unknown so far . The dead boy was said to have had a wonderful music career ahead of him .I wouldn't be surprised to hear this is another one of those "he stopped taking his meds" stories . It makes no sense . Looking at the picture of the older brother , it looked like he couldn't live with what he had done. Who could? To kill him and then do that to the body-
The poor mother has just lost two sons .



This is just horrible. Just so sad. I wonder how long he drove around with body parts in his vehicle? He is married with two children. Now his kids have to grow up with the knowledge of what their dad did to their uncle. It seems that now days if you don't like something another person said or did, etc, the solution is to murder them. It just gets worse and worse.

Where did you see the picture of the brother? I read the link that is posted but didn't see any pictures.
 
Bobbisangel said:
This is just horrible. Just so sad. I wonder how long he drove around with body parts in his vehicle? He is married with two children. Now his kids have to grow up with the knowledge of what their dad did to their uncle. It seems that now days if you don't like something another person said or did, etc, the solution is to murder them. It just gets worse and worse.

Where did you see the picture of the brother? I read the link that is posted but didn't see any pictures.
I saw the pictures on NBC10.com and a timeline of events on The Mercury .
In 1998 the boys father died in a helicopter crash . It didn't alter their behavior, the article said.
Sorry for not including the link. I recently changed my ISP and I don't know what I'm doing .I tried-but was making a mess out of it . Two good looking normal looking kids and you would never dream a nightmare like this in a million years .And on their mother's property . How can that poor woman live there , knowing ? And how do you live with something like this ?
 
My mother's keeper

"In the end, while the media continues wringing their metaphorical hands and engaging in their usual nonuseful sensationalism—in this case, focusing upon the gruesome details of Jonathan's murder—and others scratch their heads and wonder how someone could do such a thing to their very own brother, it will likely be lost to most that this tragic incident exemplifies one of the many problems of mental illness in America today. Otherwise put, what happens when young adults are faced with caring for a mentally ill parent? While the results in this case are on the extreme end of the spectrum—and must of course be addressed from the legal standpoint—people would do well to not be lulled into the naive belief that situations such as this are rare. Unfortunately, they are not and the type of stresses involved are not only very real to those who are caring for mentally ill loved ones but can have devastating and far-reaching effects. Effects that society rarely sees unless they result in murder and mayhem."
Full article: click here
 
Good article, thanks for posting it. I also wonder if Stephan had additional stressors i.e. financial woes depending on outcome of a divorce, perception that Jonathan was usurping his inheritance, thoughts that he would be the financial responsibility as well as caretaker of his mother. In other words, the world to 5 people as far as providing and caregiving.Not knowing his past
mental issues, I would think a paramedic reacts quickly to an emergency situation. Maybe the brothers got into a fight for your life...does Stephan have any injuries?

The dismemberment is extreme to say the least. This is a fairly complex set of factors. IMO. Granted mental illness affects all of the family but I believe it was an add on not the full story.
 
Thanks desertjade & concerned.

Concerned, you wrote in part:

concernedperson said:
I also wonder if Stephan had additional stressors i.e. financial woes depending on outcome of a divorce, perception that Jonathan was usurping his inheritance, thoughts that he would be the financial responsibility as well as caretaker of his mother. In other words, the world to 5 people as far as providing and caregiving. Not knowing his past
mental issues, I would think a paramedic reacts quickly to an emergency situation. Maybe the brothers got into a fight for your life...does Stephan have any injuries?
Part of the problem is we only get a tiny glimpse of part of the picture. And yes, I considered potential inheritance issues. He was apparently also a paramedic, which probably does not pay that well (but may have predisposed him to being able to dissociate himself from what he was doing to his brother's body after he killed him). In any event, I try my best to stick with what is known and speculate from that. What I do know is that mental illness takes a terrible toll on families. And if I were to suggest a way to curb these types of horrible situations, I would push for community education *and* support.


concernedperson said:
The dismemberment is extreme to say the least. This is a fairly complex set of factors. IMO. Granted mental illness affects all of the family but I believe it was an add on not the full story.
Arguably, dismemberment is extreme. However depending upon the context, it is not all that uncommon. I have seen it in various cases running the gamut from a fight gone bad to cases involving a psychopath playing out his/her fanatasies. From what I have read, most cases seem to revolve around getting rid of the evidence rather than the latter (i.e., Dahmer, Gein, etcetera).

There was however one case in Massachusetts (back in the 1990s, if I recall correctly) that did not really fall into either of these (i.e., getting rid of the evidence or playing out some psychopathic fantasy). In that case, a 70-something year-old man murdered his wife of many years, cut out her heart, beheaded her, and stuck her head on a stake in his back yard. What was the most disturbing about that case was that, from what I read, he had no criminal record or a history of mental illness. I never had a chance to see what came of it, as I was in the middle of a move at the time. I just recall how bizarre it was.

But anyway, the one thing that struck me odd about this case was the length of time Stephen apparently kept his brother's body parts. And to be quite honest, I am not the least bit surprised he is presently on suicide watch. I imagine he is in a state of emotional shock *even though* he is the one who perpetrated the crime.

All in all, and imho, it is a very sad situation, that I personally think could have been avoided in part through education by teaching people about stress, how to recognize it, manage it, and reach out for help, if necessary. And in part through support systems, something similar to hospice that assists in medication and intervention oversight, thereby giving those caring for loved ones some breathing space.
 
I didn't want to quote your entire post but there are ambiguities.Something about Stephan and the whole family dynamics is up in the air for me. But, I don't know if our mental health system can fix it without prior notification.

The fault lies frequently with families in denial..the same as child molestation cases. I won't give CPS a free pass but I know first hand about dysfunction in families. A bar-be-que would be in order if anyone questioned anything. Just personal experience not a barameter.
 
concernedperson said:
I didn't want to quote your entire post but there are ambiguities.Something about Stephan and the whole family dynamics is up in the air for me. But, I don't know if our mental health system can fix it without prior notification.

The fault lies frequently with families in denial..the same as child molestation cases. I won't give CPS a free pass but I know first hand about dysfunction in families. A bar-be-que would be in order if anyone questioned anything. Just personal experience not a barameter.
I agree with you about the family dynamic bit. We simply do not truly know, and I could be completely off base with my speculation (which is all that it is). As far as faults. I am not so much thinking in terms of faults, rather what can potentially be learned? If that makes any sense.
 
shadowraiths said:
I agree with you about the family dynamic bit. We simply do not truly know, and I could be completely off base with my speculation (which is all that it is). As far as faults. I am not so much thinking in terms of faults, rather what can potentially be learned? If that makes any sense.

Every time we post something about personal knowledge or an observation we are educating. The choices are up to the individual. It can only go so far. We can be beating our heads against a rock or someone listens. I choose to keep posting in hopes that someone listens and intervenes.

The early signs that don't make a lot of sense are good indicators of future behavior. I don't expect that I will be on the public block as an icon but if one person recognizes abhorrent behavior or feels that certain behavior should be looked at closer, than the message is sent. That is what we can do and do it non-stop.

Just trying all the time.
 
concernedperson said:
Every time we post something about personal knowledge or an observation we are educating. The choices are up to the individual. It can only go so far. We can be beating our heads against a rock or someone listens. I choose to keep posting in hopes that someone listens and intervenes.

The early signs that don't make a lot of sense are good indicators of future behavior. I don't expect that I will be on the public block as an icon but if one person recognizes abhorrent behavior or feels that certain behavior should be looked at closer, than the message is sent. That is what we can do and do it non-stop.

Just trying all the time.
I agree. And it looks like I may have been wrong. There are some very odd descrepancies in what is being reported, which I have noted in this article.
 
concernedperson said:
Every time we post something about personal knowledge or an observation we are educating. The choices are up to the individual. It can only go so far. We can be beating our heads against a rock or someone listens. I choose to keep posting in hopes that someone listens and intervenes.

The early signs that don't make a lot of sense are good indicators of future behavior. I don't expect that I will be on the public block as an icon but if one person recognizes abhorrent behavior or feels that certain behavior should be looked at closer, than the message is sent. That is what we can do and do it non-stop.

Just trying all the time.

That is true.

I am still perplexed as to what really happened to this family. There are some of the things learned that frankly dont make sense. One, being if he was trying to become Guardian over his mother she would have to be certified mentally unfit to care for herself. This can only be done by two qualified psychiatrist or psychologist and the Court usually chooses those doctors. So if the mother didn't have certifiable mental issues to incapacitate her it would not matter what he wanted or didn't want. The court is very reluctant about taking anyone's freedom away and proceeds with utmost caution. A family member cant just come in and say "okay I am going to be over you and you have no rights". All aspects must be proved.

Also obtaining Guardianship does not make the Guardian owner of the person's property. Any person mentally unfit cannot give away any property as they are not of a sound mind to make that decision and no Guardian can profit from being Guardian except the small nominal fee each year paid out with the approval of the Court for their efforts in keeping the ward and the property in good standing to protect the ward both financially and physically.

I do know it is much more common than some realize about the stresses felt by a lone caregiver.....IF his brother being younger was not really very attentive to their mothers needs it would eat at him as he had much more responsibility already being married, working 24/7 shifts, being a father to 3 children plus having to attend to his mother's needs too.

I dont think this brother got up one day and said I am going to kill my brother...imo it was building and building. Did he go there and she was in terrible shape due to not being given her meds correctly....is that what sparked this rage......that things were never going to change and his brother just wasn't going to help look after their mother? I really dont know but it is tragic. There is nothing in this guy's background that shows violence as far as I know.

He must pay dearly for what he has done that is a given.....whether it was the mounting stress or not.....no one has a right to take another's life to release that stress. No one.

IMO

Ocean
 
I feel very cynical writing this, but is it possible that the younger brother was doing a fine job of taking care of Mom, but his brother had some monetary interest in getting custody? Two years trying to reconcile a relationship, paying a lawyer and child support -- forgive the speculation, but maybe it's just about who gets the benefits his mother's collecting...
JMO
 
concernedperson said:
I didn't want to quote your entire post but there are ambiguities.Something about Stephan and the whole family dynamics is up in the air for me. But, I don't know if our mental health system can fix it without prior notification.

The fault lies frequently with families in denial..the same as child molestation cases. I won't give CPS a free pass but I know first hand about dysfunction in families. A bar-be-que would be in order if anyone questioned anything. Just personal experience not a barameter.

My husband's niece is Bi-Polar. The family struggles continuously with making sure she stays on her medication daily but she is a grown woman and will refuse, lie, spit them out and do whatever she can to not take them. She really believes she doesn't need them yet when she isn't properly medicated she spirals out of control. She has done some very bizarre things. Things that are not only harmful to herself but others. We have had to have her admitted on a 72 hour hold several times. I dont really understand all of it as she is able to function when she takes all of her medication. Why she fights it so much I dont know. At first it made her sleep all the time but they have now corrected that.

It does make me wonder what causes this.....why only one out of an entire large family? Thank goodness her mother is a RN and will seek legal avenues to make sure she DOES take her meds. It is tough love but it must be done.

IMO

Ocean
 
blonde1 said:
I feel very cynical writing this, but is it possible that the younger brother was doing a fine job of taking care of Mom, but his brother had some monetary interest in getting custody? Two years trying to reconcile a relationship, paying a lawyer and child support -- forgive the speculation, but maybe it's just about who gets the benefits his mother's collecting...
JMO

I think some think by being a Guardian people have free rein of the ward's money. That is far from the truth. Every receipt no matter how small even if it is for band-aids must be kept and at the end of the year it has to be filed to the Court in total including a full accounting of all moneys received and spent. A Probate attorney can be called in by the Probate Judge at anytime to check all accounting matters to do with Guardianships.

I do not know if the younger brother was doing a fine job or not. I guess we will learn the truth about that sooner or later. However I do know this the younger generation usually are not very doting or attentive to a parent's needs. They are usually more about themselves.......being a free spirit...not a nursemaid to their parents.

Did it say this guy was getting a divorce? :waitasec: Maybe I missed that part of the story. I thought the wife said they were close?

Plus, Blonde it is up to the Probate Judge when deciding who gets custody after all facts have been represented.

IMO

Ocean
 

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