ELIZABETH, N.J. (Court TV) — A New Jersey grand jury indicted a teenager on two charges of first-degree murder after prosecutors say he mowed down two teenage girls out riding bikes.
Vincent Battiloro, now 18, was 17 when he allegedly hit Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas in Cranford, New Jersey, on Sept. 29, 2025. Investigators said the two victims, both age 17, had been riding an e-bike when they were hit by the defendant’s Jeep. Battiloro was initially treated as a juvenile, but his case was moved to adult court this summer.
Maria Niotis (L) and Isabella Salas (R) (Dooley Funeral Home)
After the crash, friends and family of the victims told multiple outlets that the girls knew Battiloro, and that one of them had filed a restraining order against the defendant because she believed he was stalking her.
“It was not an e-bike accident, and it was not a hit and run; this was murder in the first degree,” Salas’ family previously said. “[Battiloro] is not insane, he is competent and meditated.”
The indictment, issued Thursday, accuses Battiloro of “knowingly and/or purposely” causing the death of both victims, but provides no other details.
Witnesses said that Battiloro, who is the son of a former police officer, accelerated his Jeep up to 70 mph — in a 25 mph zone — when he hit the girls from behind, the New York Post reported. In a statement after the crash, Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro said that while the defendant is related to him, he is not the teen’s father.
Court records indicate the defendant is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 27 for his arraignment.
“The families are hopeful that justice will be achieved and that a trial in open court will bring what happened to light,” the victims’ families said in a joint statement from their lawyers given to NJ 101.5.
