New Jersey Son Allegedly Murdered Father In Their Home; Police Continue Investigation

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Authorities charged a 19-year-old man with murdering his father in their Maplewood home on Wednesday morning. Police identified the preliminary cause of death as “blunt force trauma.”

Police found Wesley Reason, 53, suffering from fatal injuries in his Broadview Avenue home around 2:30 a.m. He was pronounced dead at 3:08 a.m., according to a joint news release from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino.

The exact cause of death will be determined by an autopsy conducted by at the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, authorities said.

On Wednesday evening, police arrested Reason's son, Alexander Taylor Reason, in connection with his father's death. Both men lived in the residence with other family members, authorities stated.
Prosecutors charged Alexander Reason with murder and weapons offenses. He was lodged in the Essex county Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing.

A police investigation is ongoing, authorities said.