Accused Kidnappers Indicted on Carjacking, Weapons Charges

A Rutherford pair have been indicted on charges claiming they kidnapped and robbed a woman at gunpoint in Parsippany before forcing her in the trunk of her car.

Joseph Defreitas, 41, and Marilyn Nadeau, 52, were indicted Thursday on multiple charges in connection with the Dec. 29, 2012, incident after being arrested Jan. 17.

Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said in a release that a 71-year-old New Hampshire woman seeking directions encountered Defreitas after pulling into a parking lot on Route 10. Defreitas forced her into his car at gunpoint while Nadeau took the woman's car and followed Defreitas to an ATM in Parsippany, Knapp said.

Upon arrival, Defreitas forced the New Hampshire woman to reveal her personal identification number to complete a bank withdrawal, the acting prosecutor said. Defreitas then drove her, with Nadeau following behind, to an industrial building parking lot on Woodhollow Road, where the Rutherford pair forced the woman into the trunk of her own car, Knapp said. 

The couple then took the victim's pocketbook and used her credit cards at numerous stores throughout New Jersey and New York, he said.

Defreitas and Nadeau were arrested after a joint investigation by the Parsippany Police Department and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

Both were indicted on charges of: first-degree carjacking; first-degree kidnapping; first-degree robbery; second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery; third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon; and third-degree credit card fraud.

Defreitas and Nadeau remain lodged in Morris County Correctional Facility on $500,000 and $300,000 bail, respectively, without a 10 percent option.