Latest news with #Hertgen
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
Princeton preppy murder suspect attempts suicide as slain brother laid to rest: report
A New Jersey man accused of savagely killing his brother and ripping out his eyeball attempted to kill himself inside his jail cell, according to the New York Post. Matthew Hertgen, 31, tried to hang himself at Mercer County Correction Center just hours after he made a virtual court appearance in relation to murder charges he is facing for the slaying of his 26-year-old brother, per the report, citing a law enforcement source. Hertgen is accused of killing his brother Joseph at the family's luxury Princeton apartment last Saturday, allegedly with a knife and golf club. Police believe Matthew may have ripped out his brother's eye and tried to eat it, a law enforcement source told the New York Post. Princeton Man Accused Of Killing Former Star Athlete Brother, Cat With Golf Club, Knife Near Ivy League School He is also charged with animal cruelty after the family's cat was set on fire. Fox News Digital reached out to Mercer County Correction Center for more information on the reported attempted suicide but did not immediately receive a response. Read On The Fox News App Joseph Hertgen's wake took place on Friday and his funeral is scheduled to take place today St. Luke Roman Catholic Church in Toms River, according to his obituary. "He played on many sports teams, loved traveling with his friends, and always enjoyed a good game of ping pong or chess," the obituary reads. "He was such a kind person, had a great love of life and his smile brightened every room." Princeton police initially responded to a 911 call on Feb. 22 at around 11:16 p.m. reporting a fire and a dead body at the Michelle Mews Apartments complex. Upon arrival, police found Matthew Hertgen, who was determined to be the 911 caller, in the residence along with his brother's body, which "exhibited signs of blunt force trauma and lacerations," the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said in a press release. Authorities have yet to describe any kind of motive related to Hertgen's murder charges. Wife Of Murdered Minnesota Pastor Charged In Alleged Plot To Kill Husband On Mission Trip: Church Matthew Hertgen shared some disturbing, graphic poetry on his Facebook profile in September and May 2024 that described blood oozing out of eyes and "knives sharpening." One of Matthew Hertgen's friends from Toms River High School told Fox News Digital that he has "nothing bad to say" about the former soccer player, who went on to study at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Joseph Hertgen also played soccer at Toms River before he was recruited to the University of Michigan. Daniel Gotlin of Gotlin & Jaffe in New York told Fox News Digital that he knew the Hertgen brothers to be very smart, but he added that Matthew "obviously" had some "mental health issues." Gotlin, who is not involved in the Hertgen case, successfully tried a mental health defense in 2014 while representing a man accused of fatally stabbing his mother. He believes Matthew's public defenders will consider an insanity plea for the 31-year-old suspect, which would ensure that he is kept in the custody of a mental health facility rather than prison until and if he is determined not to be a threat to society. "There's absolutely no doubt he's got a phychiatric disorder," he said. "I don't know what kind of physical evidence they have on him, but if [prosecutors] have got a good case, you've got to look at a psychiatric defense. "Gotlin believes it is "very unlikely this guy would see the light of day" if he were to be committed to a mental health facility. The defense attorney noted the possibility of schizophrenia, which typically appears in men when they are in their late teens and early 20s through their late 20s. A new pre-trial hearing has been rescheduled for March 6 to allow both prosecutors and the defense more time to gather discovery, or information about Hertgen's article source: Princeton preppy murder suspect attempts suicide as slain brother laid to rest: report
Fox News
01-03-2025
- Fox News
Princeton preppy murder suspect attempts suicide as slain brother laid to rest: report
A New Jersey man accused of savagely killing his brother and ripping out his eyeball attempted to kill himself inside his jail cell, according to the New York Post. Matthew Hertgen, 31, tried to hang himself at Mercer County Correction Center just hours after he made a virtual court appearance in relation to murder charges he is facing for the slaying of his 26-year-old brother, per the report, citing a law enforcement source. Hertgen is accused of killing his brother Joseph at the family's luxury Princeton apartment last Saturday, allegedly with a knife and golf club. Police believe Matthew may have ripped out his brother's eye and tried to eat it, a law enforcement source told the New York Post. He is also charged with animal cruelty after the family's cat was set on fire. Fox News Digital reached out to Mercer County Correction Center for more information on the reported attempted suicide but did not immediately receive a response. Joseph Hertgen's wake took place on Friday and his funeral is scheduled to take place today St. Luke Roman Catholic Church in Toms River, according to his obituary. "He played on many sports teams, loved traveling with his friends, and always enjoyed a good game of ping pong or chess," the obituary reads. "He was such a kind person, had a great love of life and his smile brightened every room." Princeton police initially responded to a 911 call on Feb. 22 at around 11:16 p.m. reporting a fire and a dead body at the Michelle Mews Apartments complex. Upon arrival, police found Matthew Hertgen, who was determined to be the 911 caller, in the residence along with his brother's body, which "exhibited signs of blunt force trauma and lacerations," the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said in a press release. Authorities have yet to describe any kind of motive related to Hertgen's murder charges. Matthew Hertgen shared some disturbing, graphic poetry on his Facebook profile in September and May 2024 that described blood oozing out of eyes and "knives sharpening." One of Matthew Hertgen's friends from Toms River High School told Fox News Digital that he has "nothing bad to say" about the former soccer player, who went on to study at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Joseph Hertgen also played soccer at Toms River before he was recruited to the University of Michigan. Daniel Gotlin of Gotlin & Jaffe in New York told Fox News Digital that he knew the Hertgen brothers to be very smart, but he added that Matthew "obviously" had some "mental health issues." Gotlin, who is not involved in the Hertgen case, successfully tried a mental health defense in 2014 while representing a man accused of fatally stabbing his mother. He believes Matthew's public defenders will consider an insanity plea for the 31-year-old suspect, which would ensure that he is kept in the custody of a mental health facility rather than prison until and if he is determined not to be a threat to society. "There's absolutely no doubt he's got a phychiatric disorder," he said. "I don't know what kind of physical evidence they have on him, but if [prosecutors] have got a good case, you've got to look at a psychiatric defense. "Gotlin believes it is "very unlikely this guy would see the light of day" if he were to be committed to a mental health facility. The defense attorney noted the possibility of schizophrenia, which typically appears in men when they are in their late teens and early 20s through their late 20s. A new pre-trial hearing has been rescheduled for March 6 to allow both prosecutors and the defense more time to gather discovery, or information about Hertgen's case.
Fox News
27-02-2025
- Fox News
Princeton preppy accused in soccer star brother's gruesome murder heads to court: What to know
The Princeton, New Jersey, man accused of killing his brother and a family cat is set to appear in court for the first time Thursday. Matthew Hertgen, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his 26-year-old brother, Joseph Hertgen. He is also charged with third- and fourth-degree weapons charges related to possession of a golf club and knife, as well as animal cruelty related to the death of a cat. Hertgen is expected to appear virtually for a remote pretrial detention hearing in Mercer County on Thursday morning. Due to bail reform in New Jersey, criminal defendants are either charged under a summons and allowed to go home until their court date, or they are charged under a warrant and held in custody until a pretrial detention hearing. "The prosecutor's office, in this case the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, will decide whether they want to detain you or release you," David Gelman, CEO of Gelman Law and former prosecutor in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital. "If you're detained, then you have to have a detention hearing, which is happening tomorrow. And at the detention hearing, they are going to bring up evidence. It's almost like a mini trial." Prosecutors may bring up a "probable cause statement" during the hearing and may even call "a witness or two," Gelman explained. There is also a scoring system for criminal defendants in New Jersey, meaning those accused of crimes are assigned a "score" ranging from 1 to 5 depending on the nature of their alleged crimes, with 5 representing the worst offenses, Gelman said. SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER Gelman also anticipates Hertgen's defense, currently listed as public defender Jamie Hubert, will ask for a mental health examination. The public defender's office told Fox News Digital that its attorneys do not comment on pending cases. "I have a feeling there's some type of mental issue going on here, because you have an individual who's [in his 30s] and no criminal history whatsoever … a pillar of the community, from what I understand, in a very well-to-do area, Toms River, where he grew up, and he lives in Princeton now, which is very wealthy," Gelman said. "And for him to be charged with these allegations, which are very disturbing, I have to think that there's some kind of mental issue that is going on." Princeton police initially responded to a 911 call on Feb. 22 at around 11:16 p.m. reporting a fire and a dead body at the Michelle Mews Apartments complex. Upon arrival, police found Matthew Hertgen, who was determined to be the 911 caller, in the residence along with his brother's body, which "exhibited signs of blunt force trauma and lacerations," the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said in a press release. Authorities have yet to describe any kind of motive related to Hertgen's murder charges. The suspect had shared some disturbing, graphic poetry to his Facebook profile in September and May 2024. Joseph Hertgen was pronounced dead at the scene, and his autopsy results are pending. Local and state officials are investigating the 26-year-old's death as a homicide. Gelman said the community is shocked by the murder. "This is something that is uncommon, and that's probably an understatement." "Princeton is a very affluent area. … Homes there, minimum, you're looking at probably 750[,000] and that's probably like a little shack. So, you're talking about some big-money areas. And the cops are … very prevalent there because they want to make sure that there's no crime. It's a safe area. You have a lot of private schools … so you're talking about a very, very wealthy, affluent area in Princeton." Both brothers played college soccer: Matthew at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and Joseph at the University of Michigan. An investigation into Joseph's death is ongoing. Mercer County authorities are asking anyone with information about the alleged crime to contact the Homicide Task Force Sgt. Will Jett at 609-331-5010 or Det. Karl Johnson at 609-439-5258.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Princeton man shared eerie poems on social media before allegedly killing former star athlete brother, cat
The Princeton, New Jersey, man accused of killing his former college athlete brother and a cat, allegedly with a knife and golf club, posted eerie messages to social media months ago. Matthew Hertgen, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his 26-year-old brother, Joseph Hertgen. He is also charged with third- and fourth-degree weapons charges related to possession of a golf club and knife, as well as animal cruelty related to the death of a family cat. "Who are you trying to strangle? And what god are you serving?" Hertgen wrote in one poem published to Facebook in September 2024. "I can see the knives sharpening. I can hear the arrows whizzing. I can feel my heart beating. But can he?" The September poem becomes increasingly violent, describing a bloody strangulation. Princeton Man Accused Of Killing Former Star Athlete Brother, Cat With Golf Club, Knife Near Ivy League School Hertgen posted a different poem in May 2024, writing: "Do you like to watch me suffer? Do you like to crush me with pain? Do you like to hear me moan? Now what is it that you want me to do this time? Do you want me to burn everything down?" Read On The Fox News App GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub Hertgen's social media presence a decade ago appeared more normal, featuring photos of himself playing soccer or hanging out with friends. Wealthy New Jersey Town Pet Store Owner Shot With Crossbow After Exotic Bird Robbery Authorities have yet to describe any kind of motive related to Hertgen's murder charges. SIGN UP TO GET True Crime Newsletter Princeton police initially responded to a 911 call on Feb. 22 around 11:16 p.m. reporting a fire and a dead body at the Michelle Mews Apartments complex. "When officers responded to the scene, they found Matthew Hertgen, who was determined to be the 9-1-1 caller, in the residence along with the body of the victim, which exhibited signs of blunt force trauma and lacerations," the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said in a press release. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X Joseph Hertgen was pronounced dead at the scene, and his autopsy results are pending. Local and state officials are investigating the 26-year-old's death as a homicide. Both brothers played college soccer — Matthew at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and Joseph at the University of Michigan. An investigation into Joseph's death is ongoing. Mercer County authorities are asking anyone with information about the alleged crime to contact the Homicide Task Force Sgt. Will Jett at 609-331-5010 or Det. Karl Johnson at article source: Princeton man shared eerie poems on social media before allegedly killing former star athlete brother, cat
