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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCranford accused murderer sought revenge over anti-Charlie Kirk comments by victim.
https://nj1015.com/cranford-murder-case-update-2/Days before mowing down two 17-year-olds on the street, the accused teen killer revealed on a YouTube livestream that he had been tormenting one of his teen victims in part, he says, because she laughed at the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The 17-year-old suspect from Garwood a son of a retired police officer and the nephew of the Westfield police chief was charged Wednesday with the first-degree murders of Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas.
The teen suspect rammed the girls' e-bike with his Jeep, which police believe was traveling 70 mph on a 25 mph residential street on Monday.
In a clip from the same video, which has been posted on X, he accuses Maria of making fun of conservative speaker Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated by a gunman on Sept. 10.
"Hey, whenever Maria sees the pizza guy come, better think of Charlie Kirk for making fun of his f**king death. Stupid ass clown. Just remember that," the teen says. "She made fun of Charlie Kirk's death on TikTok on a repost. Maybe her mother should monitor her social media activity."
His name has been revealed.
Court records allege that 17-year-old Vincent Battiloro was driving 70 miles an hour when he struck the two girls Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas on their e-bikes at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
https://www.njspotlightnews.org/video/new-details-on-suspect-in-hit-and-run-of-cranford-girls/

malaise
(290,133 posts)Effing MAGAt monster.
1WorldHope
(1,712 posts)who are angry white men strung out on testosterone and steroids wondering why their dicks are so small.
Swede
(37,607 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(59,575 posts)Starbeach
(244 posts)Life is so unfair to them!
peggysue2
(12,216 posts)To extend his sympathy to the family online as if he were an innocent bystander. He had harassed and stalked the one girl, Maria Niotis, for months. Niotis had reported the harassment and attempted to obtain a restraining order but nothing was done.
This was a preventable tragedy had the cops taken the complaints seriously or investigated Battiloro's online presence where he displayed his rage and psychopathy.
Poor misunderstood white boy? I don't think so. Just another incel filled with raw hate.
JT45242
(3,669 posts)Going to have a heart attack of not surprised.
I'll bet the cops push for charging as a juvenile if possible
llmart
(16,957 posts)I wonder if the father passed along his toxic masculinity to his offspring?
no_hypocrisy
(53,415 posts)of the murdered girls and he stalked her. The girl's family pleaded with local police for help, but they repeatedly deferred.
Gimpyknee
(903 posts)Emile
(38,283 posts)summer_in_TX
(3,872 posts)TP USA under Charlie Kirk is very right wing,, used incendiary remarks about people of color, DEI, women, gay and trans people, and all kinds of social issues to attract young voters for the Trumpist/MAGA side. He was effective with young people to a large degree in the 2024 election. An important ally of Donald Trumps.
The shooter grew up in a right wing Trump-supporting Mormon family that was also involved in the gun culture, at least in hunting. It is contested that he himself is still right wing, although he was for many years. He seems to have had an important life in the LGBTQ community, possibly as a romantic partner. Kirks remarks may have been why the shooter killed him, according to remarks he made to the partner.
SoFlaBro
(3,691 posts)obamanut2012
(28,915 posts)Celerity
(52,538 posts)dalton99a
(90,746 posts)Grins
(8,961 posts)White and the son and nephew of cops. Place your bets....
Hope22
(4,209 posts)I hope they throw the book at him. T will probably pardon the sick sick person. He seems beyond hopeless. My heart goes out to the families of the girls.
Beacool
(30,459 posts)The whole thing could have been prevented if the cops had taken seriously the complaints from Maria's parents. Battiloro had been harassing Maria for a while, but he's the son of a retired cop and his uncle is a police chief. Cops protect their own. Poor Isabella was just collateral damage. He's another kid indoctrinated by Kirk to become an incel. How dare Maria reject him??? She had to pay!! May these girls rest in peace, and may Kirk be rotting in hell.
NJCher
(41,729 posts)Hi, Beacool,
You've probably seen these, but I'll post them anyway:
https://www.nj.com/union/2025/10/police-chief-whose-nephew-is-accused-of-cranford-murders-hit-with-harassment-suit.html?outputType=amp
and
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/westfield/sections/law-and-justice/articles/2-westfield-cops-who-alleged-racial-profiling-settle-suit
Sounds like the guy's uncle was a harrasser himself.
Beacool
(30,459 posts)No, I hadn't seen either one. It looks like the uncle is a DB too. How does he still have a job? No wonder the kid acted the way he did, terrible family.
NJCher
(41,729 posts)In fact, when I visit, I park right on the street where it happened. My friend lives in that neighborhood, and I visit her regularly. I know a lot of the neighbors there as they are avid dog walkers and always stop to chat with my friend and I as we work in her garden.
This guy had to travel a bit of a distance to stalk this girl. According to the parents he was there for hours on a regular basis and while they reported it, no one did anything.
In the report I heard, she did not laugh about Kirk, but made light of it.
NY Times has a better story on it. I'll see if it's archived because I don't have a subscription anymore.
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on edit: it's not archived yet, but maybe someone has a subscription and can gift it?
2 Teen Girls Died In a Hit-And-Run. Another Teen Faces Murder Charges.