A guy in the United States is accused of detaining a lady against her will for over a year until she fled and sought assistance at a gas station.
According to the state attorney general’s office, the woman went to a business in New Jersey on February 7 and claimed she had been kidnapped.
A man could be seen pursuing the woman as she ran into the gas station and locked the door.
According to NBC News, James Parrillo Jr has subsequently been charged with kidnapping, strangulation, aggravated assault, and criminal restraint.
According to the broadcaster, the 57-year-old is being remanded in custody until trial.
“This is a truly distressing case in which the defendant allegedly imprisoned a woman against her will for nearly a year while travelling with her across the country until ending up here in New Jersey where she was able to escape,” Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.
The lady, whose identity has not been revealed, told authorities that she and Parrillo Jr met at a gas station in New Mexico last February when he sought for a trip to Arizona.
They were in a relationship at the time, but Parrillo reportedly assaulted her a month later in California, and she felt helpless to escape, according to the attorney general’s office.
According to the allegations, Parrillo stole the woman’s phone, credit and debit cards, separated her from her family, and held her against her will.
She allegedly escaped their Burlington County home on February 7 after being choked and abused.
According to a New Jersey State Police statement submitted in court, the woman had marks on her neck.
The woman said she had been imprisoned against her will for a year and that Parrillo had refused to allow her to contact her family.
“The lady came running, like barefoot, and she was like, ‘he kidnapped me,'” Jamie Garthaus, who works at the gas station where the woman entered, told NBC.
“So we dashed inside and shut the door.”
According to NBC News, a lawyer for Parrillo could not be reached for comment immediately.
