Four months after Maria Niotis and her best friend, Isabella Salas, were tragically killed in Cranford, New Jersey, the Niotis family’s lawyer, Brent Bramnick, spoke to investigative journalist Kristin Thorne as part of Us Weekly’s new true crime video series, Uncovered.
In September 2025, Niotis and Salas were run down by a car as they rode on their e-bikes to get boba tea. Both of the victims were just 17 years old.
It was quickly revealed that the person allegedly behind the hit-and-run was a former classmate that Niotis previously reported to police with claims that he had been stalking her.
While speaking to Thorne, Bramnick revealed that his hope for the case is “that the Niotis family, as well as the Salas family, get justice.”
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“This is as horrible [an] experience any individual can suffer, to watch their child die, to have to go out and watch their child take their last breath as a result of what we see is allegedly this juvenile defendant running his car over her,” Bramnick said. “I hope that we have an opportunity to get down to the truth of everything that happened from the start all the way to the finish. That’s what we hope.”
Also during the conversation, Bramnick revealed that the Niotis family experienced two swatting incidents prior to the teen’s death. Swatting is a prank in which people call emergency services to get police officers to report to a location or property that is not in need of help or assistance.
Bramnick explained that police visited the Niotis family’s home without their knowledge during the first swatting incident. “They only find out the next day, through information received by Maria, that the police were at their house on a swatting incident. So now they find this out, and obviously they’re concerned,” he said. “They go to the police and report what’s going on. They’re giving them information about this swatting incident that they now possess.”
Just a few days later, the family experienced another swatting incident when “absolutely nothing” was going on in the house that required police presence.
As the family was getting ready for bed, Niotis’ mom, Foula Niotis, answered their front door and was met by police officers. “She looks across the street, the juvenile defendant is parked in his car across the street. Police go over and they talk to the juvenile defendant,” Bramnick said.
Foula hoped that the boy would be taken into custody. However, she watched him as he drove away from her home.
Thorne said she is going to monitor this case as Maria and her family had made several complaints to police about the alleged perpetrator.
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“This is a story I am going to stay on top of, because there is a lot of accountability that has to happen here. Maria and her family did the right thing. They went to police,” Thorne concluded in Uncovered. “They were worried that this boy was harassing and stalking her, and look what happens. This is the type of thing that needs to change.”
Us Weekly reached out to the Cranford Police Department for comment on their interactions with Maria and her family, but they referred us to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. A spokesperson for the office said they will not comment on the case.
