NJ teen who allegedly killed girls claimed he was carjacked but dashcam footage shows otherwise
The New Jersey man accused of killing two girls told police he was carjacked — but his own dashcam footage showed him driving to the scene, a criminal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital alleges.Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas, both 17, were riding an electric bike on Sept.29, 2025, in Cranford, New Jersey, where prosecutors say 18-year-old Vincent Battiloro intentionally mowed them down.
He was charged as an adult Friday.When detectives brought Battiloro to the Cranford Police Department, he told them he had been carjacked earlier that day — before the two teen girls were killed — by an unknown person wearing a red mask and armed with a knife, the criminal complaint alleges.However, dash camera footage obtained by police allegedly disputes his account.“The defendant stated he was driving the Jeep Compass that afternoon when he was carjacked by an unknown individual wearing a red mask and armed with a knife,” the complaint states.“Search warrants were executed on the Jeep Compass, and dash camera footage was obtained from the vehicle.
The footage from 9/29 showed the defendant getting into and driving the vehicle to the area of Burnside Avenue, where he parked.Shortly thereafter, both victims were seen on the e-bike heading in the opposite direction.”According to police, Battiloro’s dash camera video showed him getting inside the Jeep Compass on Sept.
29, 2025, and driving to the area of Burnside Avenue in Cranford, near the home of one of the victims.Shortly after he parked, police said both teen girls were seen on electric bicycles headed in the opposite direction.Detectives said Battiloro then made a U-turn in order to follow the victims while he accelerated.The dash camera video then allegedly shows both girls being struck at a “high rate of speed before the vehicle ultimately stopped,” according to the complaint.Afterward, according to the complaint, Battiloro fled the area by foot.Brent Bramnick, who is representing Niotis’ famil...