A 35-year-old Hillsborough Township woman is charged with allegedly killing her two young sons, according to Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman Jr., and Hillsborough Township Chief of Police Michael McMahon.
The woman’s husband called 911 advising police dispatch that upon arriving home from work he subsequently found his two children unconscious and that his wife did something to them. Somerset County Communications center dispatched township police at approximately 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, according to a press release through Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office on Jan. 14.
The investigation revealed that Priyatharsini Natarajan caused the deaths of her two children on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Natarajan was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
She was transported to the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing on this matter.
Officers located the two deceased children within a bedroom inside the residence. Responding officers along with medical personnel initiated life saving measures which yielded negative results. The two children both males, ages 5 and 7, were pronounced deceased at the scene. Authorities have not released the identities of the two children pending positive identification by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The matter is being investigated by detectives from the Hillsborough Township Police Department along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and Medical Investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office. A postmortem examination is scheduled to be performed by the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office to positively identify the victims and determine the cause and manner of death.
The investigation remains on-going and no further information will be available for release at this time.
Anyone with information relating to this homicide investigation to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office at (908) 231-7100 or the Hillsborough Township Police Department at (908) 369-4323 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Tips Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports, and tips will be kept confidential.