NJ cops son reveals new strategy to get him off the hook for murder of 2 girls in wealthy town
The teenage son of an ex New Jersey cop who is accused of murdering two high school girls in a hit-and-run with his Jeep last year plans to use the insanity defense, his lawyers revealed in court Monday.Vincent Battiloro’s attorneys told a judge that they would bring up the teen’s mental health to try to get him off the hook for killing 17-year-old Cranford High School seniors Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas on Sept.29, 2025.“The court has received … the notice of defenses that you have put forward of diminished capacity and insanity,” Union County Judge Lisa Walsh said.“Thank you, your honor,” responded Batttiloro’s lawyer, Rubin Sinins.Sinins entered a plea of not guilty on Battiloro’s behalf during the minutes-long hearing in an Elizabeth courtroom, where his client appeared stone-faced, wearing khaki jail clothes and handcuffed at the front of his body.Meanwhile, the moms of Niotis and Salas sobbed and stared Battiloro down in the courtroom as they wore t-shirts with photos of their daughters that said, “Justice for Bella and Maria.”Battiloro, the son of a retired cop and nephew of a local police chief, is accused of stalking Niotis for months before the alleged murders, lawyers for the victims claimed.The then-17-year-old Garwood teen was allegedly out for revenge after Niotis reported him to the police and got him suspended from school for harassing and stalking her, and her family, according to prosecutors.The parents for Battiloro, now 18, had also called the cops on him four times in the weeks before the killings, asking for advice from the police on how to handle their troubled son.
His own dad claimed Battiloro sprayed him in the face with mace and took his car, according to prosecutors.Outside of court Monday, Salas family lawyer, Cory Rothbort told reporters he wasn’t surprised Battiloro planned to use the diminished capacity and insanity defenses.“I don’t think that surprises anyone,” Rothbort said.
“That’s their str...