Princeton, New Jersey is known as a high school star student who is allegedly accused of murdering a brother and family cat, according to court records obtained by local news outlets.
Matthew Hertgen, 31 years old He was accused of murder His 26-year-old brother, Joseph Hartgen, is said to be a knife and a golf club at his family's Princeton apartment. He is also charged with animal cruelty related to the death of a cat.
Princeton police initially reported a fire and his brother's body at the Michelle Muse Apartment complex on February 22, 911 calls from Matthew at about 11:16pm.
When the dispatcher asked Matthew how his brother was injured, he said, “I'm not going to go into more details right now,” a statement of cause that appears to have been caused. Retrieved by NJ.com I'll read it.
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Matthew Hertgen has been accused of killing his younger brother and cat in his Princeton, New Jersey apartment. (University of Michigan/Mercer County Prosecutor/Google Maps)
Police arrive and discover that Matthew is in the residence with his brother's body. The brothers' bodies were seriously injured, including injuries to Joseph's chest and upper body, including lack of eyes. Police also found a full set of blood with tools and plates, NJ.com reported, citing a probable cause document.
While interviewing Matthew, who apparently had his hand cut, he told police he “gotten like maybe 40 minutes ago.”
Princeton Preppy, accused of a brother's horrifying murder, heads to court: What do you know?
Photos from Joseph and Matthew Hartgen's high school yearbook.
The murder detective also interviewed Matthew's other surviving brothers. He told police the 31-year-old suspect had been suffering from mental health issues for about five years.
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According to NJ.com, the brothers were experiencing depression episodes and “terrifying visions” and saw Matthew while he was experiencing depression episodes and “terrifying visions.”
The Princeton man is said to have killed a former star athlete brother, cat before sharing a creepy poem on social media
Matthew Hertgen has been accused of killing his younger brother and cat in his Princeton, New Jersey apartment. (Facebook)
The horrifying details of the probable cause statement are likely to be discussed at Matthew's 11am detention hearing Thursday at 11am, according to David Gelman, CEO of Germain Law and former New Jersey prosecutor.
“That's very disturbing. We don't see much murder like this,” Germain told Fox News Digital. “You can see it's very personal. …I'm a prosecutor and I've dealt with a lot of murders…and I also deal with murders. And when you see these types of really horrifying, graphic, heinous crimes…I feel that this individual definitely has some kind of mental illness.”
The Princeton man was accused of killing a former star athlete brother, a golf club cat and a knife near an Ivy League school
From left, David Hertgen, Debra Hertgen and David Hertgen Jr. will be attending Joseph Hertgen's funeral at St. Luke's Roman Catholic Church on Saturday, March 1, 2025, on the Toms River, New Jersey. Joezf was allegedly killed by his brother Matthew on February 22nd in his Princeton apartment. (Fox News Digital's Stephanie Keith)
He described the detention hearing as “like a mini trial.” With New Jersey's bail there is no bail, the hearing is to determine whether Matthew is a major threat to the public that he should stay behind the bar. Both the prosecution and the defense advance certain evidence.
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“I was a defense attorney. I wouldn't fight that. I would say, what do you know? I think we have mental issues,” Germain said.
The office of public defense attorneys representing Hertgen told Fox News Digital that the attorney had not commented on the pending case.
Matthew Hertgen will appear in court on February 27th for a detention hearing. (Mercer County)
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Joseph Hertgen has been declared dead at the scene, and the results of his autopsy are pending. Local and state officials are investigating the death of the 26-year-old as a murder.
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Joseph and Matthew Hartgen were high school and college star soccer players. They were both athletes at Toms River High School, and Matthew continued his studies at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Joseph Hertgen was hired to play football at the University of Michigan.
