Princeton Man Charged In Brother’s Death Makes Virtual Court Appearance

PRINCETON, NJ — Matthew Hertgen, accused in the murder of his brother, made a virtual court appearance on Thursday during his pretrial detention hearing.

Matthew, 31, is charged with first-degree murder, along with various third and fourth-degree weapons offenses related to possession of a knife and a golf club in connection with the death of his brother Joseph Hertgen, 26.

On Thursday, Matthew appeared before Judge Amber Gibbs, from a booth in Mercer County jail.

He was represented by Jason Matey, with Tim McCann representing the state.

McCann asked the judge for a three-day statutory adjournment as he was “still in the process of obtaining and providing discovery” to Matthew’s attorney. Matey then requested the judge to attribute additional statutory days to him.

Matey told Gibbs the state and defense agreed upon it and decided to bring the case back to court on March 6.

Throughout the hearing, Matthew sat still, staring at the camera. Judge Gibbs then adjourned the hearing, setting the date for an in-person hearing on March 6, at 11 a.m.

Matthew was charged in the killing of Joseph on Saturday night at an apartment at Michelle Mews, off Paul Robeson Place near Palmer Square, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said.

According to authorities, Matthew called 911 to report a fire and a dead body inside the apartment. When officers arrived, they found Joseph’s dead body with various injuries including signs of blunt force trauma and lacerations.

Investigators found a golf club and a knife near Joseph’s body and a dead cat.

The death of the cat prompted an animal cruelty charge, the prosecutor's office said.

Matthew had shared some emotional poems on his social media over the last year that talked of pain and loneliness.

A poem he posted in September 2024 reads in part, "Someone sits alone in that room. That room where the walls shake. He still has a pulse. Blood still flows through his veins. But something is wrapped around him. Squeezing him. Choking him. Suffocating him." and "His agony doesn’t end. His pains only get worse. The waves make him sicker. He can barely keep his eyes open. But knows what appears when he closes them."

Matthew and Joseph grew up in Toms River with an older brother.

Both played soccer at and graduated from Toms River North, Matthew in 2011 and Joseph in 2016, and both continued to play soccer in college, with Matthew at Wesleyan and Joseph at the University of Michigan.

A friend who knew both Matthew and Joseph remembered playing soccer with Matthew and playing in a band with him when they were in eighth grade.

"His parents were always so nice. So sorry that they just lost two sons," the man wrote.

Read More: 'His Agony Doesn't End': Man Accused In Brother's Killing Wrote Poems Of Pain, Loss

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