EXCLUSIVE TO FOX: A devastating event that, according to one family, was foreseen.
Foulla Niotis recounts how her 17-year-old daughter, Maria, along with Maria’s close friend Isabella Salas, tragically lost their lives after being struck by Maria’s stalker. This occurred despite their repeated reports to law enforcement. Sources now indicate that speaking out has led to a death threat against her, as she advocates for the juvenile suspect to face charges in an adult criminal court.
“I believe he should be tried as an adult. He was fully aware of his actions. I genuinely believe he understood the consequences,” she conveyed to Fox News.
“I seek justice for these two wonderful girls. My girls.”
Foulla Niotis becomes tearful when discussing her daughter’s tragic death. (Fox News)
According to police reports, a Jeep, barreling at 70 mph, collided with the teens as they were riding an e-bike in Cranford, New Jersey, last month. Traffic records from the crash identify the driver as 17-year-old Vincent Battiloro, whom the Niotis family claims had been pursuing Maria for three months.
“Nobody said to me if there was anything I could do, restraining orders or anything against him,” she said. “They just kept saying, ‘Oh, he’s a juvenile.’”
Authorities are not releasing the name of the Jeep’s driver but say an underage teen has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Because of the suspect’s age, the case is being handled in the state’s juvenile justice system, which, by law, does not release information publicly about cases.
“I would like to see the truth come out,” says the Niotis family’s lawyer, Brent Bramnick. “We have a grieving family, a grieving mother, two innocent children lost. This is the type of unimaginable circumstances that we all fear, both people with children, people without children, everybody in the community, and the public has questions. And I think they deserve answers, and also the family deserves answers.”
Niotis says there were several swatting incidents to the Cranford, New Jersey, police as well as her home before the crash and that Battiloro had parked in front of their house for months. She says, during one incident, police arrived and permitted Battiloro to drive home.
Foulla Niotis speaks in an exclusive interview after her daughter Maria and friend Isabella Salas were killed by a stalker, and she urged prosecutors to try the teen suspect as an adult. (Fox News)
“She was so upset. She’s like, ‘How can they let him go? Mommy? How? They should have arrested him. Mom. Why? Why did they let him go? They know what’s going on.’ I said, ‘I don’t know, honey. They said that he’s a juvenile.’”
The law in New Jersey does not permit restraining orders to be placed on minors. A petition on Change.org by two Cranford teenagers has nearly 7,000 signatures asking the state legislature to change the age to obtain one to 15.
“As two teenage residents of Cranford, NJ, we were shocked and saddened by the loss of our peers —and stunned to discover that, in our state, the law does not adequately protect us or our friends from stalkers,” the petition says.
“No other brother, sister, parent, or friend should experience the profound loss our community has faced. Proactive changes like these can save lives.”
In some instances, prosecutors can have the jurisdiction to transfer juvenile cases to adult criminal court depending on the circumstances. Bramnick says if any case fits such a transfer, the deaths of Maria and Isabella warrant an upgrading of the charges.
“There are a number of incidents that occurred prior to the murder of both of the children, and the question we would ask is what was done?” says Bramnick.
The family is now asking New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin to investigate.
Niotis family lawyer Brent Bramnick speaks about seeking to move the teen suspect’s double murder case to adult court. (Fox News)
The Cranford, New Jersey, Police Department referred requests for comment to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, which is no longer issuing public statements as it investigates the case.
Efforts to obtain comment from the Battiloro family have been unsuccessful.
“She was such a kind-hearted person, and she loved everybody,” Niotis said of Maria. “She tried to help everybody she could, and she didn’t like people being bullied. She didn’t. She stood by people that were hurting. She was just a good-hearted person. She was my sunshine. She would walk into the room, and she would light it up with her smile. And I miss it so much.”
