LAKEWOOD, NJ – Betty Perry was found dead in her Lakewood home, nude, covered in a blue ink or paint and on the floor of her bedroom when police arrived on the scene on May 30.
Her killer was her boyfriend, a man who was facing charges for illegal weapons and threatening police officers with violence.
John C. Filistovich was set free by an Ocean County judge in accordance with the New Jersey Bail Reform Act. When he got out of jail and released by the court, he stayed briefly at a drug treatment center.
He left the center and went to live with his girlfriend, Betty Perry at her Thornberry Court home in Lakewood.
On May 30, he killed her at her Leisure Village home. She was 60.
According to the Ocean County Medical Examiner, the cause of her death was determined to be a result of blunt force injuries to the head, neck, and chest, accompanied by asphyxiation.
He fled to Maryland in his victim’s vehicle but was captured and extradited to New Jersey to face his new charge, murder.
This time, Judge Lisa A. Puglisi denied his lawyer’s request to be set free again.
Under the administration of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, significant bail reform measures were implemented. Recognizing the flaws in the existing system, the state embarked on a comprehensive overhaul aimed at addressing issues of fairness, public safety, and reducing the burden on taxpayers.
Filistovich was in a pretrial monitoring program ordered by the court.
The reform, commonly known as the Bail Reform and Speedy Trial Act, was signed into law in 2014. It aimed to prioritize public safety and ensure that individuals were not detained solely due to their inability to pay bail. Instead, the focus shifted to assessing the flight risk and danger posed by defendants.
The new system established a risk assessment tool that evaluated defendants based on various factors such as criminal history, the seriousness of the offense, and ties to the community. This evidence-based approach aimed to distinguish between low-risk individuals who could be safely released and those who posed a higher risk to public safety.
Additionally, the reform implemented a pretrial services program that aimed to provide support and supervision for individuals released before trial. This program offered services such as reminders for court appearances, referrals to substance abuse treatment, and mental health services.
By implementing bail reform, Governor Chris Christie sought to address the issues of overcrowded jails and the disproportionate impact of bail on disadvantaged communities. The reforms aimed to ensure that decisions regarding pretrial release were based on an individual’s risk level rather than their financial resources.