In a tragic turn of events, the infamous preppy Princeton figure known as the ‘cannibal killer,’ who had been declared not guilty due to insanity, was discovered deceased in his New Jersey jail cell in what appears to be a suicide.
According to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Matthew Hertgen was found dead at the Mercer County Jail on May 8, as reported by NJ.com, which disclosed the incident on Friday. The precise cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
Hertgen had previously made an attempt to take his own life by hanging in his jail cell just a week following his February 2025 arrest.
At 31, Hertgen was acquitted of criminal responsibility for the murder of his brother on the grounds of insanity, as determined by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Lytle on March 19.
A former soccer player from Wesleyan, Hertgen committed a gruesome act by tearing out and consuming his younger brother’s eyeball after brutally attacking him with golf clubs in their upscale apartment in February 2025.
In addition to the violent act against his 26-year-old brother Joseph, Hertgen also committed the cruel act of setting the family cat on fire.
Joseph’s corpse was found by cops lying in a pool of blood beside a bloody knife, after the twisted rampage, police officials said.
Surveillance footage shown at Hertgen’s trial showed him tackling Matthew to the ground and assaulting him.
The deranged cannibal suffered from “prophetic and divine visions,” according to forensic psychologist Dr. Gianni Pirelli, and was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Pirelli testified that Hertgen had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and that he believed himself at various times to be Jesus Christ, anti-Christ, God or to have multiple souls.
“Anytime he closes his eyes, he’s seeing tremendous visions,” Pirelli said.
He also believed that the world was on the brink of the apocalypse, and only a “sacrificial murder could save it,” the doctor testified.
He was also influenced by a chapter in Swiss psychologist Carl Jung’s “Red Book” entitled “The Sacrificial Murder.”
“It kind of clicks for him and he puts two and two together,” Pirelli said.
Hertgen’s mental health problems began when he was living in New York City in 2021.
He had an idyllic childhood and grew up with his brothers in a tony $1.1 million home in Toms River before his family relocated to the luxe Michelle Mews apartments.
His family remembered the delusional maniac as a “caring and loving person” in his obituary.
“During his later years, Matthew struggled with severe and profound mental health issues; yet he expressed sorrow, remorse, and repentance in many ways,” the obituary stated.
