Princeton, New Jersey, known as the star student of high school, is now charged Kill his brother A family cat was scheduled to appear in court on Monday afternoon.
Matthew Hertgen, 31, is Accused of murder His 26-year-old brother, Joseph Hertgen, is allegedly in the family’s Princeton apartment, allegedly a knife and golf club. He is also charged with the cruelty of animals associated with cat death.
The court said Monday’s hearing at Mercer County Superior Court was a trailer meeting – a procedural hearing may not last long, according to the court.
Earlier this month, Hutgen agreed to pre-trial detention, meaning prosecutors do not need to prove evidence why they should be sentenced to jail before trial.
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Matthew Hertgen was at a pretrial detention hearing in Mercer County Criminal Court Thursday, March 6, 2025. Hertgen is accused of killing his younger brother, Joseph Hertgen in February. (Fox News figures by Stephanie Keith)
Princeton Police Initially responded to Matthew’s 911 call around 11:16 pm on February 22, reporting the fire and his brother’s body at the Michelle Mews apartment building.
When a dispatcher asked Matthew how he was injured, he said: “I won’t introduce any more details now,” a statement of possible causes for the Fox News numbers.
When the police arrived That night, together with his brother’s body, they found Matthew in the residence with severe head injuries, including missing eyes A-s and a wound to Joseph’s chest and upper body. Police also found a glass of blood with “blood-soaked” utensils and plates, documents that may be the cause.
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Photos of high school yearbooks by Joseph and Matthew Hertgen
Investigators further discovered a cat of the dead, which appeared to be partially burned.
In an interview with Matthew, who was apparently cut, he told police that he was “going crazy… maybe forty minutes ago.”
February 26, 2025 at the Michelle Mews Housing Complex in Princeton. (Kevin Downs from Fox News Digital)
Homicide detectives also interviewed another surviving brother of Matthew, who told police that the 31-year-old suspect had struggled with mental health issues for about five years.
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The brother told police that the brother saw Matthew earlier in the day, when he was experiencing frustrated events and a “terrifying vision.”
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Hertgen appeared in court for a detention hearing on March 6, which is usually the defense and prosecutors present evidence to determine whether the defendant should be detained or released in prison.
David Hertgen, Weles, Debra Hertgen and Javid Hertgen Jr. attended the funeral of Joseph Hertgen of St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church on March 1, 2025 at Toms River, New Jersey. (Fox News figures by Stephanie Keith)
However, at the hearing, no evidence was provided because Hertgen agreed to be in pre-trial detention, which meant that there was no need to prove why he should be sentenced to jail before trial.
Hertgen’s family members did not appear in court. He plans to return to court on March 24.
Photos from the 2011 Toms Hebei High School Yearbook show Matthew Hertgen playing football for the school team. (Acquired by Fox News Digital)
Gellman told Fox News numbers, “It’s very disturbing. You can’t see a lot of murders like this.” “You can see that it’s very personal. … I’m a prosecutor, I handle a lot of murders… As a defense attorney, I deal with murders too. When you see these types of very scary, graphics, Heinous crime…I think this person must have some type of mental illness. ”
Gelman, who is not involved in the case, also said he will request a mental health assessment of the suspect.
Senior Photos by Joseph Hertgen in the 2016 Toms Hebei High School Yearbook (Acquired by Fox News Digital)
Joseph Hertgen was pronounced dead at the scene and his autopsy was awaiting. Local and state officials are investigating the 26-year-old death as a homicide.
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Matthew Hertgen and his brother left. The 31-year-old has been accused of killing his younger brother Joseph.
Joseph and Matthew Hertgen are star football players in high school and college. They were both athletes at Toms River High School, and Matthew continued to study at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Joseph Hertgen was recruited to play football at the University of Michigan.
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“If I were [the] Defense attorney, I can’t fight. I would say, you know? We think it’s a mental issue,” Galeman said.
The public defender’s office representing Hertgen told Fox News Digital that its attorneys will not comment on pending cases.
