N.J. gas station owner tells CBS2 how he helped woman escape her alleged kidnapper
BASS RIVER TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- A woman escaped from her accused abductor after being held hostage for nearly a year.
On Sunday, CBS2 spoke to a New Jersey gas station owner who helped her get away.
"The lady was really scared, like she was really scared," Bobby Madaan said.
It was a dramatic end to what police described as a cross-country kidnapping. The woman was seen running into a service station in Bass River Township in Burlington County, escaping her suspected captor, who was close behind.
"All you could hear is screaming like, 'I've been kidnapped!'" Madaan said.
Cameras inside the store earlier this month captured the moment the barefooted woman deadbolts the door, preventing her alleged kidnapper from entering.
"She's looking at the back wall in the in the office thinking that he's gonna come through the back door or breaking the wall to come in. So I told her, I just reassured her that you're fine, you're safe, the store's locked. Nobody's coming in and the police is on their way," Madaan said.
Police say the woman met 57-year-old James Parillo Jr. in New Mexico, where she agreed to give him a ride to Arizona. They made their way to California, where she says their relationship took a violent turn. Police said Parillo physically assaulted her and took away her phone and debit cards. Eventually, they ended up at the New Jersey gas station in what police said was a "year-long nightmare."
"She just kept repeating that, you know, he's kept me against my will., and eventually the state troopers did get there," Madaan said.
Parillo Jr. has been charged with kidnapping and aggravated assault.
New Jersey State Police are looking into the possibility that he may have held other women against their will in the past.
