Son of ‘Manhunters’ reality TV cop Luddie Austin murdered in Trenton

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Facebook. James Austin, 18.

The son of an A&E reality television cast member was shot and killed in Trenton, N.J. yesterday afternoon, according to a report from The Times of Trenton.

James Austin, 18, was murdered around 1:45 p.m. during an apparent argument on the 900 block of East State Street, about a half block away from P.J. Hill Elementary School.

The teen is the son of former Trenton police Sgt. Luddie Austin, also known for appearing on A&E reality television show “Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force,” which chronicles the activities of members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.

Luddie Austin was depicted on the show as a lifelong Trenton resident with extensive connections to a network of sources around the city. He  joined the U.S. Marshals New York-New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force in 2004, but left for a year to serve a tour in Iraq with the U.S. Army, according to his biography on the show’s website. He retired from the Trenton police force in 2011.

“I want kids to grow up and play the way I used to play,” Austin is quoted as saying on the show’s site. His slain son was reportedly a new dad himself, having recently fathered two twin infants.

“Thanks for support, during my time of sorrow for the [loss] of my son,” Austin wrote on his Facebook page last night.

No arrests have yet been made in connection with the murder.