New Jersey mom charged after her two young sons found dead in Hillsborough home

(January 15, 2026) – A quiet Hillsborough, New Jersey, neighborhood was shattered this week after two young boys were found dead inside their family’s home – and their mother was arrested on first-degree murder charges.

Yesterday, authorities with the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said that the tragedy unfolded around 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday, January 13, when a man returned to his Shell Court home and had to call 911, telling dispatchers that his “wife killed the kids.”  Police rushed to the home and found the man and his wife inside the home, and the two dead children in one of the bedrooms.

The wife, identified as 35-year-old Priyatharsini Natarajan, of Hillsborough, was arrested in connection with the murders of her two young children.

The children, ages 5 and 7, had apparently been strangled. Their lifeless bodies were found about 6:45 p.m. in their home on Shell Court. The children’s father came home from work Tuesday evening and discovered his sons were not breathing.

The mother also left behind a note saying she planned to kill the children and herself, police said. No motive was given for the slayings. ~ NJ.com

Police and emergency medical crews attempted lifesaving measures, but both children were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names have not yet been released pending confirmation by the medical examiner.

Natarajan was taken into custody and transported to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Investigators later said evidence shows she caused the deaths of both children earlier that evening.

The New Jersey mother has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Natarajan is being held at the Somerset County Jail as she awaits a detention hearing.

Multiple agencies are working the case, including Hillsborough Township police, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, crime scene investigators, and the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office. Autopsies are scheduled to determine the exact cause and manner of the boys’ deaths.

The two boys were students at Sunnymead Elementary School, ABC New York reported, citing superintendent of Hillsborough Public Schools Mike Volpe, who called the situation “unfathomable.”

Officials are asking anyone with information about the case to come forward as the investigation continues.

If you have any information to share, you may contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office at (908) 231-7100 or the Hillsborough Township Police Department at (908) 369-4323. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Tips Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous tips will be kept confidential.

For more on the tragic deaths of the two young boys in Hillsborough, see the video below.

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(Source and Priyatharsini Natarajan image: Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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