NEW JERSEY (PIX11) — A woman says she escaped from a man who was holding her hostage for a year, officials in New Jersey said on Friday.
James W. Parrillo Jr., 57, met the woman at a New Mexico gas station in February of 2022, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. He was in a relationship with the woman for about a month before he allegedly assaulted her while they were in California.
After that, the woman “felt unable to leave the relationship,” officials said. Parrillo allegedly took her phone and debit cards. He also isolated the woman from her family, officials said. The pair arrived in New Jersey at some point in December of 2022.
Parrillo and the woman stayed in a rented room in Bass River Township for about two weeks, authorities said. While there, Parrillo allegedly beat and choked the woman during an argument on Feb. 7. He stopped when he realized others were in the house, officials said.
The woman ran from the house in shorts and a shirt in 42-degree weather, officials said. She got to a gas station and bolted a door shut. The woman told an attendant she’d been kidnapped.
Video shows Parrillo following the woman and trying to open the door, authorities said. He left once he realized the door was locked. The gas station attendant called police, who took Parrillo into custody as he walked down County Road 542.
Police charged him with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree strangulation and aggravated assault, third-degree criminal restraint, third-degree hindering apprehension, and fourth-degree obstruction and refusing to provide a DNA sample.
“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.”
Officials have asked anyone with information on Parrillo to come forward. They noted he’s known to go by different names, including Brett Parker. Anyone with information has been asked to contact New Jersey State Police at 855-363-6548.
