NJ - 17-year-old best friends killed in hit and run, family of one victim says she was "stalked" for months by suspect, Cranford, 29 Sept 2025

[theonewithallthequestions]

Though I share your frustrations, the key might be in the "hasassing" nature of his actions. There seems to be two organizations capable of helping the targeted victim: School and police.

Evidently, he was expelled from the school that he attended with the targeted victim. Expulsion from school, however, is an administrative process and is relatively easy.

That leaves the police. Police need actual criminal behavior to take action. At some point, harassment (non criminal) turns into stalking which is criminal. That point, however, may, or may not of been reached yet.

It also looks like the police were responsive to the harassment as the murderer complains to a friend that the police stopped him after pulling a stunt. But.... there might be limitations on how much attention the police can give one individual verse others being harassed or stalked.

I may lean too much towards being protective of the police. They might have been able to do more. Then again, they may not of. But, at the end of the day, US police operate in a democracy and need clear violations of written laws to take action. Likewise, they do not have the proverbial "Crystal balls" to determine which harassing ex stays administratively creepy and which will eventually commit murder.

Could be wrong, but from what I understand he was expelled from a previous school for issues he was having and then attended another high school (this is the school with the victim). I believe complaints were brought to the attention of the new school by the victim’s mother, but I’m unclear what or if anything came from it

As for the police, given his ties to two police officers, I still believe they dropped the ball and didn’t do all they could to protect the victim

 

[caradana]

So happy to see that the mother has Brent Bramnick as an atty. Brent Bramnick | Bramnick, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan, LLC

Consulted with him years ago on an unrelated matter and came away thoroughly impressed. Confident he will pursue information and answers all the way to the end.

 

[CityKid]

Though I share your frustrations, the key might be in the "hasassing" nature of his actions. There seems to be two organizations capable of helping the targeted victim: School and police.

Evidently, he was expelled from the school that he attended with the targeted victim. Expulsion from school, however, is an administrative process and is relatively easy.

That leaves the police. Police need actual criminal behavior to take action. At some point, harassment (non criminal) turns into stalking which is criminal. That point, however, may, or may not of been reached yet.

It also looks like the police were responsive to the harassment as the murderer complains to a friend that the police stopped him after pulling a stunt. But.... there might be limitations on how much attention the police can give one individual verse others being harassed or stalked.

I may lean too much towards being protective of the police. They might have been able to do more. Then again, they may not of. But, at the end of the day, US police operate in a democracy and need clear violations of written laws to take action. Likewise, they do not have the proverbial "Crystal balls" to determine which harassing ex stays administratively creepy and which will eventually commit murder.

BBM. Surely the parent(s) are notified if their child is expelled from school, and the reason explained to them? MOO that should be the case.

 

[Spectrix]

BBM. Surely the parent(s) are notified if their child is expelled from school, and the reason explained to them? MOO that should be the case.

I saw a small portion of a video that this kid streamed where he mentioned being expelled from school and that his parents had been supportive of him, though I imagine at that point they had been sympathetic to whatever side of the story he presented to them.

Now that it's clear he's murdered these two innocent girls, perhaps the parents have been forced to accept what kind of person he really is.
I do feel bad for them, their son's terrible decisions and need to act on perceived injustices has now ruined a whole lot of lives, including theirs.

 

[Cryptic]

BBM. Surely the parent(s) are notified if their child is expelled from school, and the reason explained to them? MOO that should be the case.

I am very certain that you are right.

Expulsion involves an administrative process that has appeal rights- though I imagine that the administrative process can be accelerated depending on the severity of the case with successful appeals being very unlikely.

But... even with an accelerated implementation and a "Not coming back" conclusion, the parents would have still received notice as to why. In a gradual implementation, I imagine there would have confrences with staff, maybe a series of suspensions etc.

 

[CityKid]

I saw a small portion of a video that this kid streamed where he mentioned being expelled from school and that his parents had been supportive of him, though I imagine at that point they had been sympathetic to whatever side of the story he presented to them.

Now that it's clear he's murdered these two innocent girls, perhaps the parents have been forced to accept what kind of person he really is.
I do feel bad for them, their son's terrible decisions and need to act on perceived injustices has now ruined a whole lot of lives, including theirs.

I feel bad for the parents IF they've been doing something to keep on top of this alleged miscreant's behaviors. Did they allow him access to the car? Did they check up on his SM activity and his comings and goings? He's a minor.

 

[Spectrix]

I feel bad for the parents IF they've been doing something to keep on top of this alleged miscreant's behaviors. Did they allow him access to the car?

That's a good point, I mean he was reported to have been parked outside Maria's house frequently over the three months leading up to the murders, despite not having a driver's licence.

 

[Eli9]

That's a good point, I mean he was reported to have been parked outside Maria's house frequently over the three months leading up to the murders, despite not having a driver's licence.

I didn't know that he didn't have a driver license. Not a good look. MOO

 

[airportwoman]

Never heard of that term (looks like an acronym or a qwerty misspelling of "scam", which would refer to the AI aspect). Correct, though, it's distinct from pedo (but no less heinous), with one of the differences being that the age of the perpetrator doesn't matter in how the act/crime is classified.

Latest developments... I'm not saying that LM definitely intended to protect this guy, but if they did, they probably would've taken the exact same steps... Was there ill intent on their part or was it incompetence (and is one any more excusable than the other)? Or were their hands truly tied, with nothing in their authority that they could've done in those situations?

Teen harassed slain Cranford girl with bogus police calls and cops let him off, lawyer says

Vincent P. Battiloro allegedly stalked and harassed one of the girls for months leading up the fatal hit-and-run incident.

www.nj.com

"CSAM" is a fairly new (to me, anyway) abbreviation for "child s exu al abuse material." This is done to separate it from any kind of content made with, by, and for consenting adults.

 

[airportwoman]

I feel bad for the parents IF they've been doing something to keep on top of this alleged miscreant's behaviors. Did they allow him access to the car? Did they check up on his SM activity and his comings and goings? He's a minor.

If they did, they should be prosecuted as well.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

Cops: "You get one phone call."
This Guy:

Mom of Cranford girl killed in alleged targeted hit-and-run receives death threat, attorney says

The threat came two weeks after she appeared on Fox News, referring to the killing as something that was "planned."

www.nj.com

(Disclaimer: The call was anonymous. But it's right in line with everything else he's been doing.)

 

[stonedgnome]

This is devastating. I understand that he was stalking Maria, which is horrifying in itself, but for Isabella to be a "wrong place, wrong time" victim is really sad. So far we're only hearing about Maria's family's response. Have Isabella's parents been making statements yet?

 

[tlcya]

The parents of the New Jersey teen charged with murdering two classmates called cops four times about their violent son in the weeks before the horrific crime, according to a new report.

Jeffrey Battiloro reported to cops that he was having “juvenile issues” with his troubled son, Vincent, who was 17 at the time.

“He sprayed me in the face with Mace. He took my car,” the dad said on Aug. 24, NJ.com reported based on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Less than a week later, the father told police, “he’s getting physical.”
Cops were called 4 times about NJ teen before he allegedly murdered 2 teen girls: ‘He’s getting physical’

(NewsNation) — The attorney for Maria Niotis’ family says the suspect in connection with a crash that killed her and Isabella Salas showed alarming behavior with his parents before the incident.

“Multiple calls regarding what you could describe as domestic violence incidents, right? This is a home,” Brent Bramnick told “Banfield” on Wednesday. “What happened? Did anybody respond? Did anybody take any statements to find out what’s going on? Does anybody want to know why this is happening repeatedly at this house? That would be really important to know because we know what happened the next month.”
Maria Niotis’ family lawyer: Suspect’s behavior with parents ‘concerning’

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

The parents of the New Jersey teen charged with murdering two classmates called cops four times about their violent son in the weeks before the horrific crime, according to a new report.

Jeffrey Battiloro reported to cops that he was having “juvenile issues” with his troubled son, Vincent, who was 17 at the time.

“He sprayed me in the face with Mace. He took my car,” the dad said on Aug. 24, NJ.com reported based on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Less than a week later, the father told police, “he’s getting physical.”
Cops were called 4 times about NJ teen before he allegedly murdered 2 teen girls: ‘He’s getting physical’

(NewsNation) — The attorney for Maria Niotis’ family says the suspect in connection with a crash that killed her and Isabella Salas showed alarming behavior with his parents before the incident.

“Multiple calls regarding what you could describe as domestic violence incidents, right? This is a home,” Brent Bramnick told “Banfield” on Wednesday. “What happened? Did anybody respond? Did anybody take any statements to find out what’s going on? Does anybody want to know why this is happening repeatedly at this house? That would be really important to know because we know what happened the next month.”
Maria Niotis’ family lawyer: Suspect’s behavior with parents ‘concerning’

Yeah, I thought people might be jumping to conclusions by blaming the parents right off the bat.

 

[Spectrix]

TIMELINE

Aug. 9.
Jeffrey Battiloro (the father) called on a non-emergency line and asked for a supervisor to come to the house. “I wanna just speak to him and go over a couple juvenile issues that are going on with my son right now and just get some … advice,”

Aug. 24, Jeffrey Battiloro dialed 911 and reported a “juvenile issue” and mentioned that police had previously been to the home. A dispatcher asked what was going on.
“He sprayed me in the face with mace. He took my car,” Jeffrey Battiloro said. The recording ends abruptly.

Aug. 26, Judith Battiloro (the mother) called Garwood police to ask for assistance in getting in touch with her son, who she was unable to reach via his cell phone. She said his father had disconnected the device.
“I need to know what’s going on in the life of my son for his safety,” Judith Battiloro said. The Battiloros are divorced.
Judith Battiloro talked to a dispatcher for over five minutes and made several complaints. She said her ex apparently kicked her son out of his home at night and that no child should be “wandering the street.”
Judith Battiloro said her son showed up at her home, was “angry because of what was happening to him,” and told the dispatcher she’d last seen her son the previous night. He’d been driven home, “by the police,” she said.

Aug. 30, Jeffrey Battiloro dialed 911 and again reported a “juvenile issue” and again said police had been to their home “for the same thing.”
“I would highly recommend,” Jeffrey Battiloro says before the Garwood dispatcher cuts him off and asks, “What happened tonight, sir, that you’re calling 911?”
“He’s getting physical,” Jeffrey Battiloro responds. The recording ends abruptly when the dispatcher asks for more information.

Sept. 4, Vincent Battiloro (the accused) calls 911 resulting in the first SWATing incident.
Sept. 10, Vincent Battiloro (the accused) calls 911 resulting in the second SWATing incident.

Cranford police arrived at the Niotis home even though, “nothing happening in the house that requires any sort of police response,” family attorney Brent Bramnick told NJ Advance Media.

During the second incident, Maria Niotis’ mother, Foulla Niotis, spotted Vincent Battiloro’s car parked on her street and pointed him out to police.

Officers then spoke with Vincent Battiloro, before another vehicle arrived at the scene, believed to be Jeffrey Battiloro. “The police told (Foulla) that the juvenile defendant was allowed to depart in the custody of his father,” Bramnick said.

Sept. 29, authorities allege Vincent Battiloro drives an SUV that intentionally struck friends Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas on Burnside Avenue and sped away.

I compiled this timeline from NJ.com articles here and here