Jason Monsell

Article:
Jason Monsell charged only two days after mother is buried.

Although authorities maintain he didn't point and shoot, Jason Monsell was indicted Thursday on a charge of murdering his father, James Monsell. The grand jury indictment comes two days after the funeral of Monsell's mother, Patricia, who was also facing a charge of murder in connection with the March 20 shooting death of her husband. While out on bail, Patricia Monsell overdosed on pills June 5 and died a few days later at Nuhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield.

Grand jurors handed up a seven count indictment against Jason Monsell, including conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, hindering apprehension, obstructing justice and the newest allegation - false swearing. False swearing, Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne J. Forrest said, was added because Monsell gave authorities sworn statements that later proved to be lies.

Forrest said Jason Monsell won't face the death penalty because the indictment doesn't charge him with actually pulling the trigger. "There's no allegation he's the shooter," Forrest said. "That's never been the allegation." Jason Monsell told police he was power washing the side of his family's Martinsville house to cover the sounds of his mother shooting his father three times in the head and once in the chest.

After getting their alibis straight, mother and son then met up with daughter Jennifer Monsell, 27, at the Bridgewater Commons mall movie theater to watch the film "Taking Lives."

George Thomas, a professor of law at Rutgers University, Newark, said grand jurors did not need to see compelling evidence to hand up the murder indictment. "He (Jason Monsell) didn't have to pull the trigger, but he could have been part of the plan and wanted it to happen," Thomas said. "The standard is probable cause, " Thomas said. "If there's a conspiracy involving two people, and the other person does the crime, then both are equally guilty of murder."

Public defender Johnnie Mask has been assigned to represent Jason Monsell and declined comment Thursday, saying he had not read the indictment. Jason Monsell was arrested May 13 for drug possession after Warren police found him in a car with 99 packets of heroin. During questioning, he told police his mother gave him money to hire a someone to kill James Monsell. Instead, the son used the money to buy illegal drugs.

Jason Monsell was indicted on the drug charges last week and remained in jail Thursday evening, with bail sett at $500,0000.

- The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) Friday, June 18 , 2004 on page 17. Written by Anna Bakalis and contribution by the Associated Press.