A former footballer who k!lled his own brother before eating his eye has been found de@d in an apparent suicide in prison
Matthew Hertgen, 31, was found de@d in his cell at the Mercer County Jail in New Jersey on May 8, 2026, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed. An official cause of d£ath has not been released, and an autopsy report is pending. Matthew Hertgen, who played for Toms River North in New Jersey, k!lled his 26-year-old brother Joseph Hertgen with a gold club in February 2025 at Investigators said Hertgen st@bbed and b£at his younger brother to de@th with knives and golf clubs before mutil@ting the body, ripping out one of Joseph’s eyeballs and eating it. He also set fire to the family cat after carrying out the murd£r. Hertgen then called 911 to report a body inside the home, opened the door for responding officers, who discovered Joseph lying in a pool of blood beside a knife, and arrested Hertgen, police said. Joseph Hertgen's body was discovered in what police called a “gruesome” and “way overboard” scene. Hertgen's trial ended on May 8, 2026. He w...