According to New Jersey, a New Jersey man was accused of savagely killing his brother, tearing his eyes open to try to commit suicide in a prison cell. New York Post.
Matthew Hertgen, 31, tried to hang himself at the Mercer County Correction Center, in his murder case alone, and based on reports that he faced murder charges in the killing of his 26-year-old brother, citing law enforcement sources.
Hertgen killed his brother Joseph in the family’s luxurious Princeton apartment last Saturday, allegedly killed with a knife and a Knife and Golf Club. Police believe Matthew may have ripped his brother’s eyes open and tried to eat it. New York Post.
Matthew Hertgen on the right is accused of murdering his younger brother Joseph, and left is a cat from Princeton, New Jersey. (University of Michigan/Mercer County Attorney/Google Maps)
He was also charged with animal cruelty after the family’s cat caught fire.
Fox News Digital obtained more information from the Mercer County Correction Center for more information about attempted suicide, but did not receive an immediate response.
According to his prosecutor, Joseph Hertgen’s awakening took place Friday and his funeral was scheduled to be held today at the St. Luke Roman Chate Chartic on the Toms River.
Family and friends gathered at the memorial funeral home in Joseph Hertgen on Friday, February 28, 2025 at Toms River, New Jersey. At the center of the frame is his brother David Hertgen Jr. and to the right is his mother Debra Hertgen. Joseph was allegedly killed by his brother Matthew in his apartment in Princeton on Saturday night. (Fox News figures by Stephanie Keith)
“He plays on many sports teams, loves to travel with friends, and always enjoys a good game of table tennis or chess,” the itu prosecuted. “He is such a kind man, full of love for life, and his smile makes every room brighter.”
Princeton police initially responded to the 911 call around 11:16 pm on February 22. Report fire and corpses In the Michelle Mews Apartment Building.
After arriving, police found Matthew Hertgen, along with his brother’s body, identified as a 911 caller in the residence, the Mercer County Attorney’s office said in a press release that his brother’s body “expressed signs of blunt force trauma and cuts.”
Authorities have not described any motivations with Hult murder.
Debra Hertgen and her son David Hertgen Jr. (Fox News figures by Stephanie Keith)
Matthew Hertgen shared some disturbing graphic poems on his Facebook profile in September and May 2024 that describe the blood oozing out of the eyes and “sharp blades.”
A friend of Matthew Hertgen of Toms River High School told Fox News Digital that he had “no good things” about the former footballer, who continued to study at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Joseph Hertgen also played football at the Toms River before being recruited to the University of Michigan.
Daniel Gotlin of Gotlin & Jaffe, NY, told Fox News Digital that he knew the Hertgen brothers were very smart, but added that Matthew clearly “has some “mental health issues.”
Gotlin, who was not involved in the Hertgen case, successfully tried a mental health defense in 2014 while representing an alleged man fatally stabbed his mother. He believes Matthew’s public defender will consider insanity requests to the 31-year-old suspect, which will ensure he is detained in custody of a mental health agency rather than incarceration until he is determined not to pose a threat to society.
Family and friends gathered behind Joseph Hertgen at the Silverton Memorial Funeral Home in Toms River, New Jersey on February 28. (Fox News figures by Stephanie Keith)
“No doubt he has plant disease,” he said. “I don’t know what physical evidence they have for him, but if [prosecutors] There is a good reason you have to study the defense of mental illness. “Gotrin thinks that if he is going to work on a mental health facility, it’s unlikely that he will see his days.”
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Defense attorneys point out the possibility of schizophrenia, which is usually found in men, when they appear before their teens and 20s.
On March 6, a new pretrial hearing has been rescheduled to allow prosecutors and defenses to spend more time collecting discoveries, or information about the Hertgen case.
