The mother of a teen girl fatally struck by her alleged stalker in Cranford, N.J., in late September says she received a death threat in the weeks since she publicly blamed police for inaction, according to her attorney.
The alleged threat was made last week in a phone call to Foulla Niotis’ employer, her lawyer, Brent Bramnick, told NJ Advance Media.
The call came roughly two weeks after an emotional Fox News interview in which Niotis claimed police “should have done a lot” to protect her daughter, “but they didn’t do anything.”
Niotis’ daughter, Maria Niotis, was riding an e-bike with her best friend, Isabella Sallas, in a residential area of Cranford when they were mowed down just before 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 29.
The two 17-year-old Cranford High School students were airlifted to nearby hospitals, where they were later pronounced dead.
Two days after the deadly incident, a 17-year-old suspect was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, in addition to being issued 15 traffic tickets in connection with the crash.
Vincent Battiloro, of nearby Garwood, is accused of driving a Jeep Compass SUV at a speed of around 70 mph when he struck the two victims on the 40th block of Burnside Avenue — a residential street where the speed limit is 25 mph.
Families and friends of the two teenagers say Battiloro had been stalking Maria Niotis for months, parking outside her home and even “swatting” the residence by calling police to falsely report an incident.
Family members also claim he planned his attack, saying it was “not a hit-and-run” as initially reported.
“He is not insane, he is competent and meditated,” the families said in a joint statement, calling Battiloro “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.”
Both Foulla Niotis and her daughter had lodged numerous complaints with authorities regarding Battiloro, but no action was taken, according to their lawyer.
“The family reported information to the police about the behavior and in different formats,” Bramnick previously said. “Obviously, our biggest concern is what was done with that information. How do we get to the point where two innocent children are run down and killed?”
Bramnick says he’s investigating whether Battiloro’s family ties to law enforcement played a role in how decisions were made in the case. The teen’s father is recently retired Chatham Police Department officer Jeff Battiloro, while his uncle Christopher Battiloro is the Westfield police chief.
When asked if she blamed law enforcement for her daughter’s death, Foulla Niotis was emphatic, saying Battiloro should have been arrested the very first time he was caught sitting outside her house.
“Yes, I do. They had a part of it, yes,” she said, sobbing while speaking with Fox News’ Eric Shawn in the Oct. 11 interview, two weeks before she received the alleged death threat.
Niotis also claimed the suspect “knew what he was going to do” and “had the freedom to do it,” thinking he was “untouchable” because of the law enforcement in his family.
On Oct. 1, two days after the fatal crash, Chief Battiloro released a statement confirming he’s related to the suspect, but said he categorically condemns his alleged actions and demanded that he “face the consequences” in a court of law.
