[Trending News] Princeton man charged with killing brother, family cat appeared in court Thursday

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton man accused in the murder of his younger brother, as well as a family cat, made his first court appearance just days after being arrested.

What we know:

Matthew Hertgen, 31, appeared virtually for a remote pretrial detention hearing in Mercer County on Thursday morning.

The hearing lasted less than 10 minutes, and was ultimately rescheduled for March 6 to allow both prosecutors and the defense more time to gather information, according to FOX News Digital.

Hertgen is facing several charges, including first-degree murder in connection with the death of his 26-year-old brother, Joseph Hertgen. He is also charged with weapon offenses related to possession of a golf club and knife, as well as animal cruelty.

The backstory:

Joseph was found dead with signs of blunt force trauma and lacerations inside an apartment at the Michelle Mews Apartments complex on February 22.

Investigators say Matthew was the one who made a 911 call to report a fire and a dead body, and he was still at the apartment when police arrived.

A possible motive has yet to be released by officials, and Joseph’s autopsy results are still pending.

Both brothers were reportedly former college soccer stars. Matthew played at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and Joseph played at the University of Michigan.

What they’re saying:

David Gelman, CEO of Gelman Law and former prosecutor in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital that he anticipates Hertgen’s defense will ask for a mental health examination.

“I have a feeling there’s some type of mental issue going on here, because you have an individual who’s [in his 30s] and no criminal history whatsoever … a pillar of the community, from what I understand, in a very well-to-do area, Toms River, where he grew up, and he lives in Princeton now, which is very wealthy,” Gelman said. “And for him to be charged with these allegations, which are very disturbing, I have to think that there’s some kind of mental issue that is going on.”

New JerseyCrime & Public SafetyNews