Woman flees to New Jersey gas station after being held captive for nearly a year, authorities say

A woman successfully plotted her escape from a man accused of kidnapping her, fleeing to a New Jersey gas station earlier this month after authorities say she was held hostage and subjected to various forms of abuse in multiple states over the course of nearly a year.

The woman, whose name has not been released by law enforcement, broke free on Feb. 7, the New Jersey attorney general's office said in a news release. Police arrested 57-year-old James W. Parrillo Jr. shortly after. He now faces several criminal charges, including kidnapping, strangulation, aggravated assault and criminal restraint, and is being detained while awaiting trial, according to the attorney general's office.

Parrillo is accused of abducting the woman at some point in February 2022, when the two met at a gas station along an interstate highway in New Mexico. Citing court documents, the attorney general's office said the woman told authorities that Parrillo had introduced himself using an alias, Brett Parker, and requested that she drive him to Arizona, which she did. They allegedly entered into a voluntary relationship that lasted for about one month before the woman says Parrillo physically assaulted her for the first time, while they were in California.