Woman escaped year-long kidnapping with mad dash to New Jersey gas station, authorities say

After suffering abuse for a year at the hands of a man who held her captive, a woman made a “heroic” mad dash to safety at a New Jersey gas station, authorities said.

The accused kidnapper, James Parrillo Jr., was arrested Feb. 7 in Bass River Township and charged with first-degree kidnapping and a slew of other crimes, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office said.

“The strength and bravery of the female victim who successfully escaped her assailant is nothing short of heroic,” said Col. Patrick J. Callahan, head of the New Jersey State Police.

The woman, who authorities did not identify in a news release Friday, noticed a door inside the gas station in Bass River could be deadbolted shut from the inside. Parrillo, 57, was holding her captive at a nearby rented room, police said.

On Feb. 7, “Parrillo began beating and choking” the woman until he briefly stopped when he realized other people were in the building, the attorney general’s office said. The woman took the opportunity to flee to the gas station, wearing only a shirt and shorts in the 42-degree weather.

Parrillo followed her to the gas station but couldn’t break down the door, authorities said. The woman told an attendant her story, and they called the cops. Officers found Parrillo walking down a street and detained him.

The woman’s ordeal began in February 2022 in New Mexico, police said. She agreed to give the man, who she knew only as “Brett Parker,” a ride to Arizona. They began a consensual relationship together.

But after about one month, Parrillo physically assaulted the woman, and she was afraid to leave, authorities said. In the ensuing weeks, Parrillo took away her phone and credit cards while cutting her off from her family, according to investigators.

The two arrived in New Jersey in December, police said. The woman said they’d been staying in the rented Bass River room for about two weeks before she made her escape.

Parrillo was charged with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree strangulation and aggravated assault, third-degree criminal restraint, third-degree hindering apprehension and fourth-degree obstruction.

“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 Matthew Platkin said.

“Our investigation is ongoing and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure we bring justice to this survivor.”