Man Arrested After Kidnapping, Holding Woman Hostage For Months: Police

A 57-year-old man who allegedly kidnapped a woman he met at a gas station in New Mexico and held her hostage for nearly a year has been arrested, according to authorities.

The suspect was identified as James Parrillo Jr. He was arrested on Feb. 7 in Burlington County, New Jersey, after the alleged victim escaped from a residence they both shared, ABC News reported, citing the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and New Jersey State Police.

The unidentified woman reportedly told authorities that she met first met Parrillo — whom she knew by the name Brett Parker — at a New Mexico gas station in February 2022 and agreed to give him a ride to Arizona, according to prosecutors.

She reportedly told police that she was in a voluntary relationship with Parrillo for around four weeks when he allegedly physically assaulted her while they were in California.

The woman said that she “felt unable to leave the relationship” at that point, according to an official statement from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

The attorney general’s office added that Parrillo allegedly took the woman’s phone and debit cards and isolated her from her family.

The suspect also allegedly verbally threatened the woman that he would kill her and her family if she tried to escape, according to the criminal complaint.

In December 2022, the two were staying in a rented room in Bass River, New Jersey, for about two weeks when Parrillo allegedly beat and choked the woman during an argument, authorities said.

Following the alleged incident, the woman found a way to escape. She went to a nearby gas station and bolted the door. She sought help from a gas station attendant, saying that she had been kidnapped for over a year, according to authorities.

“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,” the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said.

The gas station attendant called the state police for help. Police were able to arrest Parrillo not long after as the suspect was walking down County Road 542, according to authorities.

The 57-year-old man is now facing multiple charges, including first-degree kidnapping, second-degree strangulation and aggravated assault and third-degree criminal restraint.

Aside from these, Parrillo also faces charges of third-degree hindering apprehension, fourth-degree obstruction and refusing to provide a DNA sample.

He is now detained at the Burlington County Jail while awaiting trial.