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A woman who authorities say was kidnapped after meeting a man in New Mexico last year and eventually brought to New Jersey reportedly managed to escape her alleged captor by making a mad dash for a nearby gas station.
James W. Parrillo Jr., 57, was arrested on Feb. 7, after the woman, whose name has not been released by authorities, allegedly escaped from the Bass River Township residence they shared and fled to a nearby gas station, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on Friday.
Parrillo is charged with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree strangulation and aggravated assault, and third-degree criminal restraint. The woman met Parillo, whom she knew as "Brett Parker," at a gas station on Interstate 10 in New Mexico sometime in February 2022," according to court documents.
At his request, she agreed to give him a ride to Arizona. The woman said she was in a voluntary relationship with the defendant for about a month when he physically assaulted her while the two were in California, at which point she felt unable to leave the relationship, prosecutors said.
James W. Parrillo Jr., 57, is believed to have preyed on other women after one alleged victim escaped to a New Jersey gas station, leading to his arrest. (New Jersey Office of The Attorney General)
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.
They had been staying in the rented room in Bass for about two weeks when the woman managed to escape. Noticing an interior deadbolt on the door of a nearby gas station during a prior visit, the alleged victim planned to flee to safety there when an opportunity presented itself.
On Feb. 7, Parrillo began beating and choking the woman during an argument inside the residence, which they shared with several other individuals. The man stopped when he realized the two were not alone in the house, and she ran out with nothing on but shorts and a shirt in 42-degree weather.
Once inside the gas station, the woman bolted the door and told an attendant she had been kidnapped for approximately a year. Footage from the station’s security camera shows Parrillo following the woman to the gas station and attempting to open the door, then leaving when he found it locked.
New Jersey State Police responded to a gas station in Bass River Township where an alleged kidnapping victim escaped to and her alleged captor was arrested. (New Jersey State Police)
A gas station attendant summoned New Jersey State Police, who apprehended Parrillo a short time later as he walked down County Road 542. Parrillo is also charged with third-degree hindering apprehension, and fourth-degree obstruction and refusing to provide a DNA sample.
Parrillo was detained at the Burlington County Jail pending trial following a hearing before Superior Court Judge Christopher J. Garringer in Burlington County on Wednesday.
In arguing for pre-trial detention, Assistant Attorney General Theresa Hilton said information provided by the alleged victim and found on social media and other online sites indicate Parrillo may have engaged in similar predatory conduct with individuals in other states.
Bass River is a large, 72 square mile Township on the eastern edge of Burlington County in the New Jersey Pinelands. A woman who police say was held captive for nearly a year escaped to a Bass River gas station earlier this month. (Bass River Township)
"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," Attorney General Platkin said in a statement. "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."
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"The allegations of kidnapping and abuse at the hands of the defendant represent a year-long nightmare endured by the victim that spanned several states across the country ultimately coming to an end here in New Jersey," Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said. "The dedication and diligence of the troopers, detectives, and members of the Division of Criminal Justice is to be commended, but the strength and bravery of the female victim who successfully escaped her assailant is nothing short of heroic."
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