A grand jury in Union County, New Jersey, has indicted an 18-year-old on two counts of first-degree murder. Vincent Battiloro, of Garwood, is accused in the deaths of Cranford High School students Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas, both 17. Prosecutors announced the indictment Wednesday.
The girls were riding an electric bike on Burnside Avenue in Cranford on Sept. 29, 2025, when a vehicle hit them. Authorities say Battiloro did it on purpose, then ran. He was 17 at the time. His case was later moved from the juvenile system to adult court.
Cranford police got the call at about 5:26 p.m. Officers found both girls badly hurt. They were taken to area hospitals, and both died there.
An affidavit in the case lays out what investigators say they found. Using a search warrant, they got dashboard-camera footage from the Jeep involved. A detective wrote that the video shows Battiloro driving to Burnside Avenue, making a U-turn, speeding up behind the girls on the e-bike and hitting them at high speed.
The Jeep stopped on Lincoln Avenue West, according to the affidavit. Investigators say Battiloro got out and ran on foot toward Lincoln Park. Witnesses and home-security cameras added to the case, court papers say.
Police tracked him down through the Jeep’s registration and brought him to Cranford police headquarters. He told investigators that a stranger in a red mask, holding a knife, had carjacked him that afternoon while he was driving the Jeep. He was taken into custody after the crash, then released while the investigation went on. Detectives arrested him again two days later and charged him with two counts of murder. His name became public once the case moved to adult court.
The girls’ families say this was no accident. They claim Battiloro harassed Maria before the crash and that she had asked for a restraining order. Those claims are separate from what’s in the indictment.
Reports say Battiloro had about 40,000 followers on TikTok. The day after the crash, he hosted a YouTube livestream and talked about the girls’ deaths.
He is set to be arraigned Oct. 27, 2026. The indictment moves the case forward, but the charges are allegations. Battiloro is presumed innocent unless he is proven guilty in court.
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