A 32-year-old New Jersey man who gained national attention for killing his younger brother and allegedly eating his eyeball has been found dead in his jail cell, authorities said.
The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said that 32-year-old Matthew Charles Hertgen was discovered unresponsive on May 8 at the Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell Township and later pronounced dead.
Officials said his death is being treated as an apparent suicide, with the final cause and manner of death to be determined after an autopsy by the county medical examiner. No evidence of foul play has been reported by investigators so far, according to People.
Hertgen was facing first-degree murder and related weapons charges in connection with the Feb. 22, 2025, killing of his 26-year-old brother, Joseph, inside their upscale Princeton apartment.
Investigators alleged that he attacked Joseph with a golf club and a knife, inflicting severe blunt-force injuries and a deep chest wound that exposed his chest cavity. Police also reported that Joseph's right eye was missing and that bloodied utensils and a plate near the body led them to conclude Hertgen had consumed the eyeball.
The case drew further public attention because authorities said Hertgen also set the family's pet cat on fire during the incident. A former college soccer player and Wesleyan University graduate, he had a long history of serious mental health problems, according to court records and testimony, Yahoo News reported.
A forensic psychologist, Dr. Pirelli, told the court that Hertgen described intense religious and apocalyptic experiences, at times believing he was either God or the anti-Christ and that a "sacrificial" killing was required to save the world, according to reporting by the New York Post.
In March, a New Jersey judge found Hertgen not guilty by reason of insanity after experts for both the prosecution and defense agreed he was legally insane at the time of the killing. The ruling meant he was to remain in custody pending transfer to a secure psychiatric facility, as per CourtTV.
