Priyatharsini Natarajan Pleads Not Guilty in Alleged Murder of Her 2 Kids in New Jersey

New Jersey: According to Hillsborough Township Police Chief Michael McMahon, a tragic incident unfolded on Tuesday, January 13, at approximately 6:45 p.m. A man residing in Shell Court in Hillsborough, New Jersey, called 911 after returning home from work and discovering his two children unconscious.

During the call, he told the dispatcher that his wife was responsible for harming them. Hillsborough Township police officers responded to the residence and encountered the 911 caller along with his wife, Priyatharsini Natarajan. Officers located the two children deceased in a bedroom of the home and immediately attempted life-saving measures, but were unsuccessful.

The two boys were students of Sunnymead Elementary School. The boy “had a ligature mark on his neck consistent with having been strangled,” according to the report. One of the boys had rigor mortis consistent with having been dead for several hours, according to the report.

On January 20, Priyatharsini Natarajan, 35, appeared at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville for her first court appearance before Judge Angela Borkowski. She pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Natarajan also consented to detention, meaning she will remain incarcerated throughout the court proceedings. Judge Borkowski stated that there was “ample evidence” to justify detaining the defendant, describing the case against her as “quite strong.”

The judge noted that the evidence includes a handwritten note allegedly written by Natarajan outlining a plan to kill her children and then take her own life. Additionally, the court heard that Natarajan made suicidal statements to both her husband and responding police officers at the scene.

A Pre-Indictment conference is scheduled for February 27, 2026 at 9 am in person before Judge Robert Wilson. Authorities are continuing their investigation of this heartbreaking case because it occurred within a close-knit residential neighborhood in New Jersey.