Woman escapes from year-long captivity by sprinting to refuge at gas station

A terrified woman who police say had been held against her will in a year-long cross-country kidnapping broke free and escaped to safety with the help of workers at a New Jersey gas station, NJ.com reports.

New Jersey state police arrested James W. Parrillo, 57, on charges of first-degree kidnapping, aggravated assault, and refusing to provide a DNA sample for database collection. Authorities suspect Parrillo may have engaged in predatory conduct with other victims in other states over several decades, the report said.

Parrillo choked her on multiple occasions and threatened to kill her and her family if she fled, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by police in support of the kidnapping charge.

A gas station attendant on a smoking break told NJ.com she was the first to see the woman.

“She was screaming, ‘Call 911! He kidnapped me!’” said Jammie Garthaus. The attendant made the emergency call and followed the woman, who was barefoot and wearing just a T-shirt and shorts, into the station.

When Conoco store manager Jaitin “Bobby” Madaan heard the woman cry for help, he ran out of his office and locked eyes with Parrillo.

“He saw me through the door, and he turns around and starts running back whichever way he came from,” Madaan said.

Parrillo returned moments later, riding a bicycle, staring at the gas station, before riding away on Route 9, headed toward the Garden State Parkway, according to Madaan and the business’s security cameras.

Garthaus told a reporter that she had seen Parrillo in the Conoco station for coffee twice before.

“I thought he was a little suspicious because he had her photo ID and all her debit cards in his wallet and he kept saying, ‘We never leave each other’s side. We never leave each other’s side,’” Garthaus said.

Attorney General Matt Platkin said Friday investigators are reaching out to law enforcement in other jurisdictions to find people who have information about the suspect. “Our investigation is ongoing,” Platkin said.

You can watch the video below via YoutTube or at this link.

Woman flees man she says held her captive for over a yearyoutu.be