At 11:16 p.m. on Saturday night, the Princeton police receive a 911 call regarding a deceased individual and a fire at an apartment complex. The caller provides limited information, refusing to disclose details about the identity of the deceased person, the circumstances surrounding their death, or the resident of the apartment.
Police and first responders surround the building, but nothing prepares them for what they find inside.
Upon arrival, Matthew Hertgen, aged 31, greets the officers at the door. Inside the apartment, law enforcement officers discover a young man covered in injuries from blunt force trauma and lacerations, lying unresponsive in a pool of blood. Tragically, the victim, identified as 26-year-old Joseph Hertgen, is pronounced dead at the scene. Moreover, investigators observe that one of the victim’s eyes has been removed. Among the disturbing findings are a bloody plate, fork, and knife nearby, as well as a bloody golf club and charred remains believed to be those of a cat.
Subsequently, Matthew Hertgen is promptly taken into custody on suspicion of murdering his younger sibling. The presence of the blood-stained plate raises suspicions that, in addition to fatally assaulting Joseph, Hertgen may have consumed his brother’s eye. Law enforcement authorities in Princeton have chosen not to disclose a potential motive behind the violent incident. Hertgen faces charges not only for the homicide but also for animal cruelty and possessing a weapon during the commission of a violent offense.
The Princeton community is stunned. Residents describe Joseph’s death as devastating and tragic. A police source says no one could have foreseen such violence. Matthew Hertgen, they say, came from what appeared to be a stable, all-American family, with no signs he was capable of such brutality—especially against his own brother.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Additional Guests
Sam Bassett – Criminal Defense Attorney at Minton, Bassett, Flores & Carsey, Former President of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Educational Institute, Long-Time Faculty member of the Texas Criminal Trial College (Huntsville, TX), MBFC.com, Facebook: MintonBassett, Instagram: @MBFC_Law
Dr. Jan Gordian – Former Medical Examiner, Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner (Las Vegas, NV), Board Certified Forensic Pathologist
Karen Wall – Senior Local Editor at Patch Media [covering the Jersey Shore region], Website: patch.com; X: @karenwall1966, Facebook: karen.e.wall,
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.
[Feature Photos: Matthew and Joseph Hergen/ University of Michigan; Wesleyan University]
