Chris Austin Guilty of Murder

On October 1, 2019, Chris Austin shot and murdered his father, John Austin, at his home in Madison Heights.  Chris Austin was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony at the scene and held with no bond. 

On December 11, 2019, Chris Austin waived his preliminary hearing, and the charges were certified to the next term of the grand jury.  On February 11, 2020, the grand jury in the Amherst County Circuit Court returned true bills for one count of first-degree murder and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and the matters were set for a jury trial on June 15, 2020.  Prior to the jury trial, but after the start of the COVID pandemic, the defense attorney filed a motion for competency to stand trial and for sanity at the time of the offense and an order for such evaluations was entered.  Due to the pandemic, these  evaluations were halted as were the ability of the court to hold a jury trial.  The trial set for June 15, 2020, was continued by the court until such time as the evaluations could be completed. 

On October 14, 2020, the Court ordered that the defendant be moved from the Blue Ridge Regional Jail to Western State Hospital as the evaluator opined that he could not conduct the required evaluations on an outpatient basis.  After the evaluations were submitted to the Court, the defendant was found competent on June 15, 2021, and a jury trial was scheduled for September 29, 2021.  On August 1, 2021, the defense attorney filed another motion for competency and such motion was granted, thus continuing the jury trial.  The court entered additional orders for competency evaluations on April 19, 2023, and September 12, 2023, based on varying opinions by the evaluators.

On December 1, 2023, the court deemed the defendant incompetent and entered an Order for the Treatment of Incompetent Defendant.  Subsequent orders were entered on June 5, 2024, and December 17, 2024.  On March 26, 2025, the Court held a hearing to determine whether the defendant had been restored to competency and/or was malingering.  The Court found that the defendant was competent and a jury trial was scheduled for October 2, 2025.

The defendant was found guilty by a jury of his peers of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.  His sentencing is scheduled for February 18, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.