Man Charged In Girlfriend's Killing In Leisure Village Returned To NJ: Prosecutor

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man charged in the killing of his girlfriend has been extradited from Maryland, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday.

John C. Filistovich, 59, is being held at the Ocean County Jail in Toms River awaiting a detention hearing in the death of Betty Perry, 60, who was found dead in her Lakewood home on May 30, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

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.

Filistovich had been charged in August 2022 with making terroristic threats during a prior incident at the home, according to a Lakewood police report.

That report shows Filistovich was arrested on Aug. 31, 2022, after he showed up at the home in violation of a temporary restraining order. He was inside the home when police responded, and when police tried to get him to leave, he refused to honor the restraining order, the police report said. An officer was able to see inside the home and saw Filistovich was carrying a weapon, police said. The report did not describe the weapon.

The Lakewood Police Department's hostage negotiator, Lt. Robert Shimonovich, and Shimonovich and the other officers were able to arrest Filistovich, police said.

He was charged with domestic violence criminal mischief, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and terroristic threats in that 2022 incident, the police report said.

It was unclear Friday when that restraining order ended.

A date for Filistovich's detention hearing was not announced.