Princeton preppy homicide sufferer acquired warning textual content from different brother hour earlier than slaying

The surviving brother of Princeton homicide suspect Matthew Hertgen despatched a warning textual content message to his youngest brother about an hour earlier than he was murdered.

Matthew Hertgen, 31, is accused of murdering his 26-year-old brother, Joseph Hertgen, within the household’s Princeton house, allegedly with a knife and golf membership. He’s additionally charged with animal cruelty associated to the loss of life of a cat.

Matthew’s surviving brother allegedly hung out with him hours earlier than the alleged crime on Feb. 22, a Saturday, in response to a possible trigger assertion obtained by Fox Information Digital. 

The brother apparently instructed police that Matthew had “suffered from extreme psychological sickness for the previous 5 years.”

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Matthew Hertgen is accused of murdering his youthful brother and a cat of their Princeton, N.J., house. (College of Michigan/ Mercer County prosecutor/ Google Maps)

“He additional defined that when he spoke to Matthew earlier that day, Matthew was extraordinarily distressed, despondent, and experiencing terrifying visions,” the doc states. “Wanting to assist him, [the surviving brother] picked Matthew up at [redacted] at roughly 4:30 p.m. [The surviving brother] and Matthew went to the grocery retailer after which to [the surviving brother’s] residence … the place they remained till roughly 10:00 p.m.”

The brother then drove Matthew again to his residence, the place he noticed Joseph Hertgen, the sufferer. After a short dialogue, the surviving brother left and returned to his house.

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Matthew Hertgen seems at his pretrial detention listening to at Mercer County Felony Court docket on March 6, 2025, in Trenton, N.J. (Stephanie Keith for Fox Information Digital)

Roughly an hour earlier than the homicide, the surviving brother instructed Joseph by way of textual content that Matthew was fighting “his visions” and to contact him if he wanted assist. Joseph responded, “Will do.”

Roughly 45 minutes earlier than Matthew known as 911 to report Joseph’s useless physique, his surviving brother texted him, inviting him to go on a hike the following day.

“Grasp in there,” Matthew’s older brother texted him.

Round 11:16 p.m. on Feb. 22, police responded to a 911 name from Matthew reporting a fireplace and his brother’s useless physique on the Michelle Mews Flats advanced.

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Matthew Hertgen seems at his pretrial detention listening to at Mercer County Felony Court docket on March 6, 2025, in Trenton, N.J. (Stephanie Keith for Fox Information Digital)

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When a dispatcher requested Matthew how his brother was injured, he stated, “I’m not gonna go into any extra particulars proper now,” the possible trigger assertion reads.

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Police arrived and located Matthew within the residence alongside together with his brother’s physique, which had important accidents to the top — together with a lacking eye — in addition to accidents to Joseph’s chest and higher physique. Additionally they discovered a cup of blood with “blood-smeared” utensils and a plate, the possible trigger doc states.

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Joseph and Matthew Hertgen’s highschool yearbook images

Investigators additional found a deceased cat on an ottoman that appeared partially burned.

Whereas interviewing Matthew, who apparently had cuts on his fingers, he reportedly instructed police he “went right into a match of insanity… possibly like forty minutes in the past.”

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Matthew Hertgen is accused of murdering his youthful brother and a cat of their Princeton, New Jersey, house. (Fb)

Hertgen appeared in court docket Thursday morning for a detention listening to, which is usually when proof is introduced by the protection and prosecutors to find out whether or not a defendant ought to be held behind bars or launched, in response to David Gelman, CEO of Gelman Legislation and a former prosecutor in New Jersey.

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Nevertheless, throughout Thursday’s listening to, no proof was introduced as a result of Hertgen consented to pretrial detention, that means it was not vital for the prosecution to point out proof proving why he ought to be held in jail earlier than his trial.

None of Hertgen’s relations had been in court docket on Thursday. He’s scheduled to return to court docket on March 24.

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Household and pals collect for the wake of Joseph Hertgen on the Silverton Memorial Funeral Residence on Feb. 28, 2025 in Toms River, N.J. (Stephanie Keith for Fox Information Digital)

The general public defender’s workplace, which is representing Hertgen, instructed Fox Information Digital that its attorneys don’t touch upon pending instances.

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Joseph Hertgen was pronounced useless on the scene, and his post-mortem outcomes are pending. Native and state officers are investigating the 26-year-old’s loss of life as a murder.

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Joseph and Matthew Hertgen had been star soccer gamers in highschool and faculty. They had been each athletes at Toms River Excessive College, and Matthew went on to check at Wesleyan College in Connecticut. Joseph Hertgen was recruited to play soccer on the College of Michigan.