NJ teen accused in Cranford murders calmly plays live video game after crash

▶ Teen accused of killing two Cranford girls went on YouTube livestream the next day claiming he was bullied.

▶ Families of victims say he stalked one of the girls; prosecutors charged him with murder.

️▶ Suspect, a gamer and Andrew Tate follower, has 39K TikTok followers and posted Jeep photos.

A teenager charged with intentionally killing two 17-year-old girls by running over them with a Jeep went on a YouTube livestream the next day and tried to portray himself as a victim of bullying and the government’s failure to address a mental health crisis.

As the families and friends of Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas were wracked with grief after the fatal Monday afternoon crash in Cranford, the 17-year-old online gamer and follower of the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate went live with his gaming buddy as if it were another normal day.

He even crowed about how much "engagement" and revenue he was generating from the angry comments to his sick livestream.

ALSO: Westfield police chief, who also lives in this Cranford neighborhood, distances himself from teen suspect

🔗 Cranford murder case: What we know — latest updates

The video was posted a day before the Union County Prosecutor’s Office announced two counts of first-degree murder against the juvenile, who has not been publicly identified because of his age. Relatives and neighbors of Maria Niotis said the suspect had stalked her. New Jersey 101.5 has been unable to confirm these details with official sources.

SEE ALSO: Teen charged with two counts of first-degree murder

Livestream after deadly crash shocks community

In an emotionless rant, the gamer told a mostly hostile YouTube audience of more than 200 people that there is “more to the story that you are not getting.”

The teen briefly expresses condolences to the two victims just twice in the 22-minute session, most of which is his lamenting the bullying and unspecified threats that he and his family have received.

“Making threats against my family will not be tolerated,” the teen says in the video, which was supposed to be a live stream of a co-op MLB video game with a friend.

"Bro you killed my best friend you animal," one YouTube user responded.

“Stream after incident ✔ Mourn the death of 2 innocent people ❌," another noted before the frustrated teen turned off live commenting.

Mental health and politics enter his defense

He also makes cryptic references to mental health.

“The state is not doing right of addressing this mental health crisis and I hope that Ciatterelli can fix this s---,” he says, making a reference to a candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial election.

"If you get bullied and ridiculed in school about stuff that people hate you, I would tell your counselor immediately before this s--- gets out of hand. You’ve got to address all these things because I’ll tell you what, the amount of bullying that I’ve been put through in the past has been absolutely absurd."

Social media presence raises questions

His TikTok account, which has 39,500 followers and nearly 329,000 likes, features a profile picture that resembles the black Jeep involved in the crash. His X account includes retweets of Tate from 2023 as well as news about Tate's human trafficking charges in Romania that year.

The fatal crash has stirred passions in the community, with online posts tying the driver to a prominent law enforcement family. The Union County Prosecutor’s Office has not identified the driver of the Jeep but on Wednesday announced the serious charges. New Jersey 101.5 will not name the suspect unless a judge agrees to charge him as an adult.

As a result of misinformation, the police chief in neighboring Westfield — who also lives in the Cranford neighborhood where the homicide unfolded — issued a lengthy statement on Wednesday clarifying that the suspect is not his son.

❗ “There’s more to the story,” teen claims online

In his YouTube video, the teen laments the “misinformation” that has spread about the case but added that he’s “not going to talk about it anymore on the advice of loved ones and others.”

The teen does not name the girls or give any indication that he knew them personally. He does not explain how he was involved or even if he was behind the wheel.

"I want to make this very clear: I do wish my sincerest condolences to those two girls that were the victims of an absolutely senseless tragedy and my heart goes out to their families at this time," the teen says. Then the game begins.

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