New Jersey man arrested after holding his girlfriend captive for almost a year

Authorities said a man who allegedly held his girlfriend captive for almost a year was arrested after she escaped and sought help at a gas station in New Jersey.

James W. Parrillo Jr., 57, was arrested Feb. 7 after a woman managed to escape to a gas station where she locked the door, according to video footage obtained by ABC. There, she begged the attendant for help, which soon led to Parrillo’s arrest.

The woman met Parrillo at a gas station in New Mexico about a year earlier, where he went by the name “Brett Parker,” according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

Parrillo offered to give her a ride to Arizona and the couple began dating, but about a month into the relationship, he allegedly assaulted her, she claimed.

By then, the couple had moved to California and the victim felt trapped in a relationship, authorities said. According to AG, during their life together, Parrillo allegedly took the woman’s phone and debit cards and “isolated her from her family.”

The couple arrived in New Jersey in December and lived in the town of Bass River, about 30 minutes north of Atlantic City, for about two weeks before the woman managed to escape after an argument in which Parrillo allegedly beat and strangled her. authorities said.

Parrillo was charged with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree strangulation, and aggravated assault, and third-degree felony.

Prosecutors said he may have committed “similar predatory acts” in other states based on social media and information provided by the woman.

“This is a very disturbing case in which the defendant allegedly held a woman against her will for almost a year, traveling with her around the country,” Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement. “We are reaching out to law enforcement agencies in multiple jurisdictions to identify other people who may have additional information about the accused.”