Ex-College Soccer Player Accused of Killing Brother Posted Violent Poem Months Before Alleged Attack

A former college soccer player accused of killing his younger brother and a cat apparently posted a violent poem on social media months before the alleged attack.

The verses were posted on what a source confirms was the Facebook page of Matthew Hertgen, 31, and were dated last September — five months before police allege he killed his brother Joseph Hertgen, 26, inside an apartment in downtown Princeton on Saturday, Feb. 22.

“Someone sits alone in that room/ That room where the walls shake,” the poem states, in part, as first reported on by the New York Post. “He still has a pulse/ Blood still flows through his veins/ But something is wrapped around him/ Squeezing him/ Choking him/ Suffocating him/ Tightly wound around his head/ Fastened deep in his throat/ Blood oozes out of his eyes/ His ears are sparking/ His face vibrates/ He convulses, and he doesn’t stop/ He’s lost/ He’s asleep/ He’s dead.”

Hertgen, who played soccer at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, was charged with first-degree murder and weapons offenses, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday, Feb. 24.

He was also charged with animal cruelty for allegedly killing a cat who lived in the apartment.

“The complaint alleges that Matthew purposefully or knowingly engaged in conduct that led to the death of his younger brother and caused the death of a cat that was located within the residence,” states a prosecutor’s press release.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Princeton officers were dispatched to the Michelle Mews Apartments at around 11:16 p.m. after receiving a 911 call from Hertgen.

“When officers responded to the scene, they found Matthew Hertgen, who was determined to be the 911 caller, in the residence along with the body of the victim which exhibited various injuries including signs of blunt force trauma and lacerations,” prosecutors said in the press release.

A knife and a golf club were believed to be used in the murder, according to prosecutors.  

Joseph, a former University of Michigan soccer player, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His cause of death is pending an autopsy.

Both brothers played soccer at Toms River North High School in New Jersey.

Joseph was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten soccer player and played at the University of Michigan from 2016 to 2019, per MLive. He worked in asset management, according to his LinkedIn page, per the Detroit News.