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Kidnapped woman held against her will for a YEAR broke free in New Jersey and ran to a gas station for help leading to the arrest of her accused captor

  A woman who was held for a year against her will broke free of her alleged kidnapper earlier this month in   New Jersey . The woman, who h...

 A woman who was held for a year against her will broke free of her alleged kidnapper earlier this month in New Jersey.

The woman, who has not been identified, desperately fled to a gas station and begged for help, leading to the arrest of her accused captor, who was held on multiple charges, police say.

James W. Parrillo, 57, allegedly held the woman captive in Burlington County, New Jersey and choked her multiple times and threatened to murder her family if she left him.

Parrillo may have engaged in similarly abhorrent 'predatory conduct; in other states and has been known to go by multiple aliases, according to the state Attorney General's office.

The suspect is currently being held in jail as charges pend.


James W. Parrillo, 57, who went by a number of aliases including 'Brett Parker,' was arrested on a number of charges including kidnapping. He hindered his own apprehension by refusing to tell police his real name or give them a DNA sample, but eventually admitted to choking the woman in early February

James W. Parrillo, 57, who went by a number of aliases including 'Brett Parker,' was arrested on a number of charges including kidnapping. He hindered his own apprehension by refusing to tell police his real name or give them a DNA sample, but eventually admitted to choking the woman in early February


In video footage, the woman can be seen biking up to the gas station, followed by a large brooding man.

She is then brought into the shop's back office, where she, appearing quite upset, is seated and kept separate from her alleged kidnapper.

Attorney General Matt 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,' he added.

The woman was befriended by Parrillo - who introduced himself to the woman as 'Brett Parker' - at a gas station in New Mexico.

He asked her for a ride to Arizona, according to authorities. 

The pair engaged in a month-long consensual relationship that ended about a month later in California. But Parrillo choked the woman and made her feel 'that she was unable to leave the relationship.'

The 57-year-old took the woman's phone, spent money on her debit cards and did not allow her to contact members of her family during their time together.

In late 2022, the pair turned up in Burlington County, New Jersey, where Parrillo - continuing to use his alias - rented a room on the second floor of a home in the Bass River Township.

On February 7, the woman fled the rented home after Parrillo choked her during an argument.

In an affidavit of probable cause filed by police in support of the kidnapping charge against Parrillo, one officer wrote that the woman had run 'away once she had an opportunity.'

When she arrived at the gas station, she told two attendants that 'Parker' had held her against her will for about a year. Her claims of choking aligned with the marks that were apparent on her neck.

Service station manager Jaitin 'Bobby' Madaan told a local New Jersey outlet that the woman was 'terrified' when she reached the business.

'She was shaking, she could barely get her words together but she kept saying, ‘He has kept me against my will for over a year. He kidnapped me,'' he said.

'Parker' arrived at the gas station not long after the woman and attempted to enter the office, but was denied.

Surveillance video shows the man attempting to bypass the door that the woman had dead-bolted.

'You don't want to do this,' he said to her, according to Madaan.

When authorities arrived, Parrillo refused to give them his real name, which led to his arrest for hindering his own apprehension.

Later, the man gave law enforcement his real name and admitted to choking the woman on February 7.

The Conoco gas station, where the climax of the great escape went down, is pictured here at the intersection of Route 9 and County Road 542 in New Jersey

The Conoco gas station, where the climax of the great escape went down, is pictured here at the intersection of Route 9 and County Road 542 in New Jersey


Jersey police charged Parrillo with first-degree kidnapping, alleging that he had confined the woman for about a year for the purpose of terrorizing her and 'inflicting bodily harm.'

He is accused of threatening the woman, saying that if she left, 'he would kill her and her family.'

In addition to kidnapping and stalling his own processing, the accused was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, criminal restraint, and obstruction, according to court documents.

He also refused to give authorities a DNA sample, for which he was charged.

Pearl Minato, the director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said, 'The allegations, if proven, demonstrate a level of predatory conduct that poses an extreme danger to anyone who crosses paths with this defendant.'