A Stafford man was arrested Friday for kidnapping a woman and fatally beating her two children in Ocean County.

Police say Richard Toledo, 24, abducted 38-year-old Wanda Gonzalez from her home at knifepoint. Authorities say Toledo had been living with Gonzalez and her family since October, but they were not romantically involved. Gonzalez was able to call her husband from a cell phone to say she had been kidnapped. Her husband called police and later found the bodies of their two children slain in Gonzalez?s basement.

The abduction victim was able to break free from Toledo at the Monmouth Rest Stop and ran for help while he fled into the woods. News 12 New Jersey?s Tony Caputo spotted the suspect coming out of the woods and walking back to the rest area. Caputo alerted police and the suspect was arrested.

Authorities say the two boys, 14-year-old Karlo and 7-year-old Zabdiel Gonzalez, had been beaten to death with a hammer. Toledo was charged with two counts of murder, kidnapping and robbery. Gonzalez did not learn of her sons? deaths until she was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.