By Barbara A. Preston | Jan.14, 2026
Hillsborough police arrested Priyatharsini Natarajan, 35, on Jan. 13 for allegedly murdering her two sons, ages 5 and 7, in her Hillsborough home, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.
Priyatharsini Natarajan
The Somerset County Communications center had dispatched Hillsborough Township Police in reference to a 9-1-1 call received from an adult male resident who resides on Shell Court. The caller advised that upon arriving home from work he subsequently found his two children unconscious and that his wife did something to them.
Responding Hillsborough police officers, upon making entry into the residence, encountered the male caller along with the wife whom authorities identified as Priyatharsini Natarajan. Officers located the two deceased children within a bedroom inside the residence.
Responding officers, along with medical personnel, initiated life saving measures that yielded negative results. The two boys 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.
Natarajan was detained by Hillsborough Police Officers and transported to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor John P. McDonald McDonald stated that 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.
The investigation thus far has revealed that Natarajan caused the deaths of her two children on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, according to the prosecutor'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.
Prosecutor McDonald said 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. Police transported her to the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing on this matter. The investigation remains on-going and no further information was available for release at this time.
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Prosecutor McDonald, Somerset County Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman, and Chief Michael McMahon request 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.
The charges are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
