Mom Arrested on Double Homicide Charges After Her Children, 5 and 7, Were Found Dead Inside Their Home By Angel Saunders

A New Jersey mother of two has been charged in connection with the deaths of her children, authorities said. 

In a press release on Wednesday, Jan. 14, Somerset, N.J., authorities and Hillsborough Township Chief of Police Michael McMahon said Priyatharsini Natarajan, 35, was arrested for a double homicide.

At approximately 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13, a 9-1-1 dispatcher alerted the Hillsborough Township Police after a man called to say he arrived at his Shell Court home after work and discovered his two children unconscious.

He added that his wife did something to them, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.

Officers entered the home, where they found the two children, both males, ages 5 and 7, in a bedroom. After assisting EMS with life-saving measures to no avail, the siblings were pronounced dead. 

Their identities were withheld pending positive identification by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

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Natarajan was detained by Hillsborough Police Officers 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 taken to Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing, and it is not immediately known if Natarajan has retained an attorney.

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.”

PEOPLE reached out to Volpe for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

“Our priority remains the emotional health of our students and staff,” Volpe said, per ABC New York. “Crisis response teams and additional counseling services are on-site and will remain available for as long as they are needed. We are urging families to be simple and direct when speaking with their children, to limit social media exposure to avoid distressing rumors…”

A motive was not released and authorities said no further details would be provided during the on-going investigation.

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Anyone with information related to this homicide investigation is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office at (908) 231-7100 or the Hillsborough Township Police Department at (908) 369-4323 or anonymously via the STOPit app.

Tips can also be shared by calling the Somerset County Tips Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477).