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John Filistovich was charged on Thursday, June 1 with murder in connection with the beating and suffocation of Betty Perry, 60, of Lakewood, they said.
On Tuesday, May 30, at approximately 12:15 p.m., Lakewood Township Police responded to a residence on Thornbury Court to conduct a welfare check on Perry, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Police found the dead body of a woman, later identified as Perry, on the floor of the bedroom, he said.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Filistovich and Perry lived together and were in a dating relationship, he said.
Further investigation revealed that a 2015 Hyundai Elantra belonging to Perry was not at the house, he said.
Later that day, detectives received information that Maryland State Troopers encountered Filistovich on the side of the road near Salisbury, Maryland, in the victim’s vehicle, he said.
Filistovich was transported to a local medical facility in Salisbury, and was charged with theft in connection with the unlawful taking of Perry’s vehicle, Billhimer said.
The Ocean County Medical Examiner performed a post-mortem examination of Perry and determined the cause of death to be blunt force injuries to the head, neck, and chest with asphyxiation and the manner of death to be homicide, the prosecutor said.
On June 1, Filistovich was released from the medical facility in Salisbury, Maryland and taken into custody, he said.
He was transferred to the Wicomico County Corrections Center in Salisbury, Maryland, Billhimer said.
Upon his extradition to New Jersey, Filistovich will be lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing, Billhimer said.
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