Ex-New Fairfield Resident in Brother’s Killing Dies at 32

32 year old Matthew Hertgen, a former New Fairfield resident and Wesleyan University graduate charged in the 2025 killing of his brother in New Jersey, has died. Hertgen had been found not guilty by reason of insanity earlier this year after medical experts testified he suffered from schizophrenia and was actively psychotic during the attack. His obituary says he struggled with severe mental illness in recent years and died May eighth, though no cause of death was released.

Ed Histed

Ed launched his radio career in 1975 and has spent more than five decades in the broadcasting industry. During that time, he has served in a wide range of roles including Air Personality, News Director, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and General Manager at numerous radio stations in various markets across the country. Beyond on-air and management responsibilities, Ed has also worked extensively on the technical side of broadcasting. His background includes RF engineering and information technology, with particular experience configuring digital automation systems and remote voice-tracking platforms used by stations across the country. Ed was also among a select group of industry professionals invited by Google to its California headquarters following the company’s acquisition of Scott Studios. He was one of just 12 broadcasters nationwide chosen to participate in discussions and provide input during the design and rollout of Google’s digital broadcast automation platform. Although the majority of Ed’s career—spanning roughly four decades—was rooted in music radio, he transitioned into news and information programming in 2012. He says the move into spoken-word broadcasting was a natural evolution after decades of experience in multiple areas of the industry.