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Murder of Woman Found Dead Inside Home in Leisure Village
According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer declared that on October 18, 2023, a Grand Jury convened in Ocean County indicted John Filistovich, 59, of Lakewood on counts of Murder and Theft in relation to the passing of Betty Perry, 60, of Lakewood, on May 30, 2023.
Officers from the Lakewood Township Police Department visited Betty Perry's home on Thornbury Court on May 30, 2023, at around 12:15 p.m. to check on her welfare. When responding officers entered the house, they discovered a woman's dead body on the bedroom floor who was later identified as Ms. Perry.
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 had been living together and were in a dating relationship. Further investigation revealed that a 2015 Hyundai Elantra belonging to Ms. Perry had been taken from the residence.
Later in the day on May 30, 2023, investigating Detectives received information that Maryland State Troopers had 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. On that date, Filistovich was charged in connection with the theft of Ms. Perry’s vehicle.
On May 31, 2023, the Ocean County Medical Examiner performed a post-mortem examination of Ms. Perry, and determined the cause of her death to be blunt force injuries to the head, neck, and chest with asphyxiation, and the manner of death to be homicide.
The investigation in this matter resulted in Filistovich being identified as the individual responsible for Ms. Perry’s death, and he was formally charged with her murder on June 1, 2023.
Upon being released from the medical facility in Salisbury, Maryland, on June 1, 2023, Filistovich was taken into custody without incident. He was subsequently transferred to the Wicomico County Corrections Center, also located in Salisbury, and thereafter extradited to Ocean County. Filistovich has been lodged in the
Ocean County Jail since his extradition to New Jersey.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges the diligent efforts of Assistant Prosecutor Kaitlyn Burke who presented the case to the Grand Jury on behalf of the State, and commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office, Maryland State Police, and Salisbury (Maryland) Police Department, for their collective and cooperative assistance in connection with this investigation.
