By: Richard L. Smith
A Hillsborough Township man has been charged in connection with the 2025 double homicide of his parents following a months-long investigation, Somerset County authorities announced.
According to information released by John P. McDonald, Patrick J. Lin, 37, of Hillsborough, was formally charged on January 16, 2026, in the deaths of his parents, David and Jean Lin, both 69, who were found deceased inside their Cornell Trail home last September.
The incident unfolded on Thursday, September 25, 2025, when Hillsborough Township police were asked to conduct a welfare check at the residence shortly after 4:12 p.m.
Officers initially attempted to make contact with the occupants but received no response. At approximately 6:24 p.m., police were able to enter the home.
While checking the second floor of the residence, officers encountered an adult male later identified as Patrick Lin, who was armed.
Authorities said the encounter resulted in two Hillsborough Township police officers discharging their service weapons, striking Lin.
Officers immediately rendered life-saving aid before Lin was transported to a nearby trauma center, where he was listed in critical condition at the time.
During a subsequent search of the home, officers discovered two deceased individuals, an adult male and an adult female, inside separate bedrooms on the second floor.
Medical personnel from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Somerset pronounced both victims dead at the scene.
Investigators later confirmed the victims were David Lin and Jean Lin, husband and wife.
A postmortem examination conducted by the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined that both victims died from blunt force trauma to the head, and their deaths were ruled homicides.
The investigation involved detectives from the Hillsborough Township Police Department, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations Unit, medical investigators, and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability Fatal Police Encounters Unit.
Authorities stated that the homicides were an isolated incident and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
In accordance with state law, the officer-involved shooting is being independently investigated by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
As a result of the continued investigation, Lin was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree attempted murder, and two counts of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. 
He was served with the charges at a local hospital, where he is currently listed in stable condition and remains under guard by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation remains ongoing.