HILLSBOROUGH, N.J. – Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman Jr., and Hillsborough Township Chief of Police Michael McMahon on Jan. 28 announced the arrest of Patrick J. Lin, 37, of Hillsborough in relation to the double homicide of his parents, which occurred on Cornell Trail, Hillsborough Township on Sept. 25, 2025.
Prosecutor McDonald stated that on that date at approximately 4:12 p.m. Hillsborough Township Police received a request to conduct a check on the occupants of a residence on Cornell Trail. Responding officers attempted to contact the residents with negative results. Subsequently at approximately 6:24 p.m., officers were successfully able to enter the residence.
While performing a check on the second floor of the residence, officers encountered an adult male, later identified as Patrick Lin, with a weapon, which resulted in two police officers discharging their duty weapons and striking the assailant.
Officers immediately began performing life-saving measures on Lin, who was transported to an area trauma center, where he was listed in critical condition.
Officers discovered two homicide victims, an adult male and adult female, both located within two separate bedrooms on the second floor of the residence. Both victims were pronounced deceased at the scene by medical personnel from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Somerset.
McDonald stated that detectives from the Hillsborough Township Police Department along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations Unit, medical investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability Fatal Police Encounters Unit responded to the scene to conduct the investigation.
A postmortem examination was performed by the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office. The victims were subsequently positively identified as David Lin and Jean Lin, both 69, husband and wife. The cause of death for both victims was blunt force injuries to the head, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Police said that the victims were so badly mutilated that they had to be identified through dental records.
According to court documents, Patrick Lin wrote in a notebook that he wanted “to kill someone and get away with it” and was planning on fleeing the scene.
The investigation, which remains ongoing, has yielded that the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Lin were an isolated incident and there are no threats to the public from this tragic incident.
McDonald stated that in accordance with state law, the officer-involved shooting investigation is being conducted by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
McDonald said on Jan. 16, as a result of this ongoing investigation, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit charged Patrick Lin 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.
Lin was served with his complaint in a local hospital where he is currently listed in stable condition and guarded by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office. Upon discharge from the hospital, he will be lodged in the Somerset County Jail and will be scheduled for a pending hearing as directed by the court.
David Lin served as vice president of public affairs and Advocacy at IW Group, Inc. Before that, he played a key role in developing and strengthening AT&T’s partnerships with Asian American community organizations. As executive director of external affairs at AT&T, he chaired the OCA Business Advisory Council.
He served as a member of the OCA New Jersey Chapter Board and OCA national vice president for economic development. For the Japanese American Citizens League, he served as national vice president for planning and development and national president, in addition to his roles as treasurer of Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), and board member of Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP).