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The 19-year-old commuter student said she'd returned to her car from class shortly before 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, when Pawel Sliwinski popped up from behind the front seat, Mahwah Police Capt. Guido Bussinelli said.
Sliwinski, 22, of Garfield assaulted the victim, then pointed a knife and ordered her to drive off the campus, the captain said.
He then had her drive north for nearly 20 miles before ordering her to pull into the parking lot at Woodbury Common, he said.
The victim, Alexis Ruhlen, also of Garfield, told News12 New Jersey that Sliwinski repeatedly punched her and whacked her with a pumpkin she had in her backseat while telling her he was going to kill her at Harriman State Park.
He apparently was angry over being ghosted.
Ruhlen told News12 that Sliwinski stopped at the mall to get himself a pair of ski pants. That's when she made her break.
Sliwinski took the victim's cellphone and laptop with him when he got out of her car, “at which point she seized the opportunity to flee the area,” Bussinelli said.
She made her way to Woodbury police headquarters and a massive manhunt followed, with K9s and a police helicopter converging on the area.
Police quickly spotted Sliwinski fleeing down railroad tracks behind the mall and took him into custody without incident, Bussinelli said.
Then they called their colleagues in Mahwah, he said.
The victim received medical attention before being brought to Mahwah police headquarters, Bussinelli said.
“It was subsequently learned that the victim and Mr. Sliwinski had been in a dating relationship and that Mr. Sliwinski, a Ramapo College commuter student, had gone to the college to locate the victim after an apparent disagreement,” the captain said.
Police kept college officials updated on the incident and subsequent developments throughout the ordeal, he said.
Sliwinski is known locally.
His LinkedIn profile says he recently worked part-time as a lifeguard supervisor at Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly -- and, before that, at Take Me To The Water in Englewood.
The Garfield High School graduate said he also worked as a lifeguard at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford.
Sliwinski remained held Friday in the Orange County Jail in Goshen, NY, pending extradition to New Jersey.
He's charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, armed burglary, stalking, making terroristic threats and weapons offenses.
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