11:16 p.m. Saturday. Princeton police respond to a 911 call about a dead body and a fire in an apartment building. The caller remains cryptic, refusing to answer the dispatcher’s questions about who is dead, why they are dead, or who owns the apartment.

Police and first responders surround the building, but nothing prepares them for what they find inside.

Matthew Hertgen, 31, answers the door. Inside, officers see a bloody, unresponsive young man with blunt force and laceration injuries covering his body. He is pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators note that one of his eyes has been removed. Nearby, they find a bloody plate, fork, and knife. Officers also discover a bloody golf club and what appears to be the charred remains of a cat. The victim is identified as 26-year-old Joseph Hertgen.

Matthew Hertgen is immediately arrested for the murder of his younger brother. The discovery of the bloody plate leads police to believe that, in addition to beating Joseph to death, Hertgen ate his eye. Princeton police have not disclosed a possible motive for the attack. Hertgen is also charged with animal cruelty and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

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]