HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Somerset County) — Authorities have identified the husband and wife found dead inside a Hillsborough Township home in September during an incident that also resulted in an officer-involved shooting, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald announced Friday.
The victims were identified as David Lin, 69, and Jean Lin, 69, both of Hillsborough. According to the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, the cause of death for both was blunt force injuries to the head, and the manner of death was ruled homicide.
The case remains under investigation by detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Hillsborough Township Police Department, and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
Authorities said the incident occurred on Sept. 25, 2025, after police were called to conduct a welfare check at a residence on Cornell Trail around 4:12 p.m. When officers were unable to reach the occupants, they later entered the home around 6:24 p.m. and encountered an armed man on the second floor.
Two Hillsborough police officers discharged their weapons, striking the man, who was transported to a nearby trauma center and remains in critical condition, officials said. Officers then discovered the two victims in separate bedrooms. They were pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital–Somerset.
Prosecutor McDonald said the investigation has determined the incident was isolated and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
In accordance with state law, the officer-involved shooting is being investigated by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability’s Fatal Police Encounters Unit.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office at (908) 231-7100, the Hillsborough Township Police Department at (908) 369-4323, or via the STOPit app using the code SOMERSETNJ. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Somerset County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477).
