PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Montgomery County man has pleaded guilty to murder after admitting in court that he shot his father in the head, then claimed it was suicide.
Justin Wilson, 24, called 911 just after midnight on Feb. 1, and said he saw his father, 61-year-old Kevin Wilson, shoot himself in a bedroom in their Dewees Place home.
Prosecutor Samantha Cauffman said at the sentencing that family members told the court Justin planned his father’s funeral before detectives determined it was murder.
“For example, the victim's niece described how this defendant planned the funeral down to paying the extra money to have the enhanced sound system, picking out the songs and what pieces from the Bible would be read.”
Investigators said there were obvious signs of a struggle, and the gun used in the shooting was registered to Justin — purchased less than a month before the shooting.
Family members immediately suspected the son, noting his anger management issues and an apparent lack of remorse. They said the next morning he asked if he’d get the house.
Cauffman said the guilty plea keeps them from having to testify, and she hopes it gives them some closure.
Justin will spend 17.5 to 35 years in state prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder.
