Mother Charged With Murder Of  Two Sons, Ages 5 And 7

Photo: Somerset Country Prosecutor’s Office

India-West News Desk

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ – A family in this Somerset County township is reeling after two young brothers were found dead in their home, a case that has stunned neighbors and the local school community.

The boys, ages 5 and 7, were discovered unresponsive in a bedroom of the family’s Shell Court residence on the evening of January 13. Police were called to the home around 6:45 p.m. after the children’s father contacted 911. Both children were later pronounced dead.

Their mother, 35-year-old Priyatharsini Natarajan of Hillsborough, was taken into custody that night. Authorities said investigators learned that the father had been told by his wife that she had killed the children before he found them. Detectives also recovered a handwritten note addressed to the husband in which the mother expressed an intention to kill the children and herself, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The boys were believed to have been strangled. No motive has been disclosed.

Natarajan has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and a weapons offense. She is being held at the Somerset County Jail. The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said on January 14 that it was awaiting confirmation from the medical examiner to formally identify the victims.

The children were students at Sunnymead Elementary School. Superintendent Mike Volpe said in a message to families that the district was mourning the loss of two young students and extended condolences to the family and school community.