It's not that simple. Unfortunately, it's even worse: the killer, a 17 year old classmate, had been stalking and harassing Maria Niotis for months.
"According to the New York Times, Vincent P. Battiloro, 17, had been fixated on Maria Niotis for months. Battiloro, who has tens of thousands of followers as a video game streamer, had taunted Niotis and her mother a week before the crash, ordering pizzas to their house as a prank.
Niotis’ mother also told a friend she had called the police multiple times because Battiloro had parked outside the family’s house and refused to leave.
Niotis’ friends stated Battiloro had harassed her.
Another friend and former boyfriend of Niotis, Elio Martinez, told the outlet that she and Battiloro had gone to school together and that she had complained to the principal and the police about him. In an exchange of Instagram messages in April between him and an account linked to Battiloro’s other social media accounts, Martinez told Battiloro to leave Niotis alone.
In response, Battiloro threatened to release nude photos of Niotis.
"I’m not leaving her alone until she apologizes to me,” Martinez said Battiloro wrote him. “I did it to one girl. I’ll do it to another. Keep running your mouth and I’ll create your girls’ nudes right now.”
Currently, the case is in the juvenile court, but minors 15 or older can be tried as adults in the state if a prosecutor files a waiver motion and the court finds probable cause. It’s not yet clear if Battiloro will be charged as an adult.
The victims’ families released a statement to FOX 5, saying, “It is now vital that the truth be shared: this was not an e-bike accident, and it was not a hit-and-run. This was murder in the first degree.”
This 17 year old male relentlessly stalked and harassed one of the girls and her family for MONTHS. She and her family tried to get help from the police, from her school, for MONTHS. He threatened to create AI nudes of her, and nothing was done. He targeted her at school, at home, and, finally, on the street where he murdered her and Isabella Salas.
I'm finding out if the families have a gofundme and donating right now.
EDIT: apparently, the city police chief is the perpetrator's uncle. At the moment, he does not seem to be impeding the investigation in any way, but he must have known about the reports filed against his nephew. The cherry on top? He's facing a lawsuit for discrimination, being "accused of retaliating against former police officer Matthew O'Holla, who said he reported alleged sexual harassment."
