McIntyre’s Pub in Toms River
June 13, 2023Miracle Pub in Toms River
June 14, 2023
John C. Filistovich, 59 of Ocean County
According to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, John Filistovich, 59, of Lakewood, has been extradited from Salisbury, Maryland to Ocean County, New Jersey in connection with the murder of Betty Perry, 60, of Lakewood. Filistovich is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
On May 30, 2023, at approximately 12:15 p.m., Lakewood Township Police responded to a residence on Thornbury Court to conduct a welfare check on Betty Perry. Responding Officers made entry into the residence and found the deceased body of a female, later identified as Betty Perry, on the floor of the bedroom.
A subsequent investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that Filistovich and Ms. Perry lived together and were in a dating relationship. Further investigation revealed that a 2015 Hyundai Elantra belonging to Ms. Perry was not at the residence.
On May 30, 2023, investigating Detectives received information that Maryland State Troopers encountered Filistovich on the side of the road near Salisbury, Maryland, in the victim’s vehicle. Filistovich was transported to a local medical facility in Salisbury.
Perry's body was found during a wellness check at her home on Thornbury Court in Leisure Village about 12:15 p.m. on May 30, Billhimer said. The Ocean County Medical Examiner determined her cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head, neck, and chest with asphyxiation, he said.
Filistovich, who was living with and dating Perry, was not at the home and Perry's 2015 Hyundai Elantra was missing, Billhimer said. The car was later found on the side of the road near Salisbury, Maryland, with Filistovich inside by Maryland state troopers. He was taken to a medical facility and on June 1 released and arrested and taken to Wicomico County Corrections Center in Salisbury,
Filistovich has been charged with murder in Perry's death and theft in the taking of her vehicle, Billhimer said.
