US authorities arrested Natarajan after she allegedly killed her two children. She has been transported to the Somerset County Jail, where she is being held pending a detention hearing.
Investigators have confirmed that Priyatharsini Natarajan of Hillsborough, New Jersey, caused the deaths of her two children. (Photo: Facebook.com/Somerset County prosecutor office)
An Indian-origin mother in New Jersey has been arrested by US authorities for allegedly killing her two sons, aged 5 and 7. Investigators have confirmed that Priyatharsini Natarajan of Hillsborough, New Jersey, caused the deaths of her two children on Tuesday, January 13.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald said that on the day of the incident, an individual believed to be Natarajan’s husband made a 911 call to law enforcement. The father of the children reported that after arriving home from work, he found his two sons unconscious and suspected that his wife had harmed them.
Upon reaching the crime scene, police found the male caller along with his wife, who was identified as Natarajan.
Officers located the bodies of the two children inside a bedroom of the residence. Medical personnel immediately initiated life-saving measures, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
While authorities have not released the identities of the children pending identification by the Medical Examiner’s Office, both were pronounced dead at the scene.
US authorities arrested the children’s mother, Natarajan, and charged her with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Hillsborough police have detained Natarajan and transported her to the Somerset County Jail, where she is being held pending a detention hearing.
Prosecutor John McDonald stated that the case is being investigated by detectives from the Hillsborough Township Police Department.
Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and medical investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office have been assigned to the case.
Authorities said no further details would be released during the ongoing investigation. A post-mortem examination will be conducted by the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office to confirm the identities of the children and determine the cause of death.
