Idella Kathleen Hagen was born on November 15, 1945, and raised in Chatham Township, New Jersey. She graduated from Chatham High School in 1963, showing early promise and a determination to pursue a career in medicine. Hagen’s academic journey was exceptional: she earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1973 and soon after made history by becoming the first woman appointed a urology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Her career advanced rapidly, culminating in her role as chief of urology at Rutgers Medical School by 1982.

Despite her professional achievements, Hagen’s personal life grew increasingly complicated. She experienced the collapse of two marriages, and by 1987, she decided to leave her prestigious medical position. Seeking a different path, she moved to the Virgin Islands to run an inn with her second husband, trading the demanding world of urology for a quieter life. However, her emotional health deteriorated over the years. Reports indicate that Hagen struggled with chronic depression, which intensified after her retirement from medicine and amid her sense of isolation in the Virgin Islands.

In July 2000, she returned to her elderly parents’ home on Fairmount Avenue in Chatham Township. Her parents, both in their eighties and in declining health, needed care and supervision. Though financially comfortable, Hagen was battling deepening depression and feelings of failure stemming from her lost career and strained relationships. Those close to her later recalled how she became withdrawn, despondent, and increasingly disconnected from reality during this period.

In August 2000, the lives of Idella Hagen’s parents, 92-year-old Idella Hagen and 86-year-old James Hagen, came to a tragic end inside their Chatham Township home. According to court records, Hagen suffocated them as they slept by placing a plastic bag over their heads and pressing a pillow down to ensure asphyxiation. The killings shocked the affluent New Jersey community, especially given Hagen’s respected background as a Harvard-trained surgeon.

After her arrest, Hagen’s defense centered on her severe mental illness. Dr. Robert L. Sadoff, a psychiatrist called by the defense, testified that Hagen’s depression had escalated to psychosis. She reportedly believed she was receiving hidden commands through television commercials, traffic signals, and playing cards. Both Sadoff and Dr. Steven Simring, a psychiatrist for the prosecution, agreed she was delusional and convinced her father’s voice was telling her to carry out the murders so that she and her parents could transcend into a “magical sphere” of happiness.

During the trial, prosecutors questioned whether the killings were acts of spite or misguided mercy, but both mental health experts said neither motive fit. On November 7, 2002, Judge B. Theodore Bozonelis acquitted Hagen of murder charges on the grounds of insanity. She was committed indefinitely to a state mental health facility because she posed an ongoing danger to herself and the community.

Hagen’s case had lasting legal impact in New Jersey. After her eventual release from psychiatric care, public concern over her freedom contributed to the passage of “Kean’s Law,” which requires authorities to inform residents when psychotic patients are discharged back into the community.

In her final years, Hagen lived quietly. She died on April 18, 2015, aged 69. Her body was cremated. The legacy of her case remains a complex intersection of mental illness, criminal responsibility, and public safety.