A former college soccer star from Princeton, New Jersey, has been charged with murdering his own little brother — and a pet cat — over the weekend in an apartment near the campus of Princeton University.

Matthew Hertgen, of Princeton, was charged with the first-degree murder of 26-year-old Joseph Hertgen, as well as animal cruelty and weapons offenses related to possession of a knife and a golf club, police said.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found Matthew, identified as the 911 caller, inside the residence along with his brother's lifeless body and a dead cat.

A former college soccer player is accused of killing his younger brother and a cat, New Jersey prosecutors announced Monday, Feb. 24. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said charges have been filed against Matthew Hertgen, 31, for first-degree murder and weapons offenses in connection with the death of his 26-year-old brother, Joseph Hertgen.

A Princeton man has been charged with killing his brother and a pet cat in an apartment Saturday night, authorities announced Monday. Matthew Hertgen, 31, is charged with first-degree murder and related weapon possession charges in the death of Joseph Hertgen, 26, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.