Insets, from left: Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas (GoFundMe). Background: The area where Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas were fatally struck and killed on Monday, Sept. 29, in New Jersey (WABC/YouTube).
Two teenage girls riding e-bikes in New Jersey were allegedly struck and killed by a 17-year-old who was stalking one of them, with family members and residents accusing him of “plotting this attack” and being “parked outside her house for three months now.”
Cops say the suspect, whose name is being withheld, mowed the pair down in a Jeep Compass on Monday night in Cranford before fleeing the scene. He is related to a police chief in the neighboring town of Westfield.
“This was not an e-bike accident, and it was not a hit-and-run. This was murder in the first degree,” said the families of Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas in a statement to local Fox affiliate WNYW on Wednesday.
The families described the suspect as a “a coward of a man, who had been plotting this attack against Maria for months, carried out this horrific act, taking not only her life but also Isabella”s.”
The family added, “He is not insane, he is competent and meditated.”
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Cranford Police officials say the teen suspect is from Garwood and is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the slayings after being arrested Wednesday. He is accused of hitting the two victims with so much force that they were thrown more than 100 feet. One of their e-bikes was allegedly dragged for about a half mile before it became dislodged.
The pair later died at the hospital from their injuries.
“It is now vital that the truth be shared,” the girls’ families told WNYW.
Neighbors and relatives allege that Maria was known to the suspect and had been dealing with problems with him, including allegations of stalking.
“He’s been parked outside her house for three months now,” a resident told WNYW. “He was never stopped.”
Police have not addressed the stalking allegations.
The Westfield police chief that is related to the suspect distanced himself from the boy in a Facebook statement on Wednesday night after social media users started falsely reporting that he was his father.
“Like many of you, I am shocked, stunned, and so overwhelmingly distressed beyond belief by the horrific loss of two young ladies,” Chief Christopher Battiloro said. “While social media has made it known that the accused is related to me, he is not my son and not a member of my immediate family. I want to be clear, as loud and as firm as possible, that in NO WAY do my wife, children or I condone, defend, or excuse the actions that caused this terrible and tragic loss of life. “
Battiloro added that while he cannot speak about what happened, due to the active investigation, he does “unequivocally condemn the actions of the accused, and like you, I demand that he face the consequences of his alleged actions in a court of law.”
