A New Jersey father arrived home after work on January 13, 2026, expecting to see his family as he did every evening. But this time, something was very wrong. The unidentified man found his 5-year-old son and 7-year-old son unresponsive. He called 911 for help, and officers from the Hillsborough Township Police Department rushed to the family’s home. Emergency responders did their best to revive the boys, but sadly, they died at the scene. A short time later, police arrested their mother, 35-year-old Priyatharsini Natarajan, on murder charges. Investigators want to know why she did it.
“The caller advised that upon arriving home from work he subsequently found his two children unconscious and that his wife did something to them,” Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald shared in a statement, according to NJ.com.
According to a release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, Natarajan’s husband told dispatchers he found the children unconscious and his “wife did something to them.” When police and emergency medical services arrived, they tried lifesaving measures but ultimately declared both boys dead at the home. Officials did not give a cause of death pending a “postmortem examination.”
Police arrested Natarajan, who faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. She’s being held at Somerset County Jail, awaiting a detention hearing.
According to the Woodridge, NJ Patch, Hillsborough School Superintendent Michael Volpe shared a message of love with the school community.
“Our community – of which I am a resident – is navigating an unfathomable loss today. Last night, we lost two of our young students from Sunnymead Elementary School. There are no words to adequately capture the weight of this tragedy, and our hearts are with the families and the entire Sunnymead community as they grieve,” he said.
Volpe asked parents to do their best to protect their young children from the news and misinformation.
“We are urging families to be simple and direct when speaking with their children, to limit social media exposure to avoid distressing rumors, and to reach out to our school counselors for any immediate support,” he asked.
This seems like a strong community, and all we can hope is that they surround this father with love and encouragement as he navigates what has to be the darkest days of his life.
