- A woman ran into a New Jersey gas station store and locked the door behind her on February 7.
- According to the New Jersey Attorney General's office, she was escaping her kidnapper of a year.
A woman escaped a man who'd held her captive for a year by running into a New Jersey gas station and locking herself in, the New Jersey Attorney General's office said.
In a statement, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police announced that they arrested and charged James W. Parrillo Jr., 57, with kidnapping.
Security video obtained by NBC Philadelphia showed the woman running into the gas station and locking the door on February 7. Parrillo is seen following her but leaves when he realizes the door is locked.
"The lady came running, like barefoot, and she was like, 'he kidnapped me,'" gas station attendant Jamie Garthaus NBC Philadelphia "So, we ran inside and locked the door."
Bobby Madaan, the gas station owner told CNN that the woman was "shaken up" and crying. Madaan said the woman has marks on her neck and was wearing nothing but shorts and thin shirt in 40 degree weather.
The woman met Parrillo who told her his name was "Brett Parker," at a gas station on Interstate 10 in New Mexico in February 2022, authorities said.
She had agreed to drive Parrillo to Arizona. About a month into knowing Parrillo, he physically assaulted her in California, according to the state Attorney General's Office.
"During their time together, Parrillo allegedly took away the woman's phone, confiscated and utilized her debit cards, and isolated her from her family. The pair allegedly arrived in New Jersey sometime in December," Platkin's office said.
As of Saturday, Parrillo was still detained at the Burlington County Jail pending his trial, records rewieved by Insider show. It was uncleara whether Parillo retained a lawyer. Platkin's office said that Parrillo was deemed a public threat because of information from the woman and online that suggested Parrillo had done this to other people and should not be released.
"This is a deeply disturbing case in which the defendant allegedly held a woman against her will for nearly a year, while traveling with her throughout the country, before ending up here in New Jersey where she was able to escape," Platkin said. "We are reaching out to law enforcement across jurisdictions to identify other people who may have additional information on the defendant. Our investigation is ongoing and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure we bring justice to this survivor."