Second man accused of kidnapping, torturing Italian tourist in NYC apartment
Editor's note: The above video aired on May 24, 2025.
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — A second suspect is accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist for several weeks in a swanky Manhattan townhouse, police said.
More Local News
Florida resident William Duplessie, 33, turned himself in Tuesday morning and was charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a firearm, according to the NYPD.
On Friday, his accomplice, John Woeltz, 37, was arrested at the scene after the 28-year-old cryptocurrency millionaire escaped the apartment near Prince and Mulberry streets in SoHo.
The suspects wanted the password to the tourist's Bitcoin account, according to the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors said the defendants allegedly bound and beat the victim several times, including hitting him in the head with a gun and using electric wires to shock him for three weeks in the eight-bedroom apartment.
The suspects allegedly used a saw to cut the man's leg, urinated on him, and forced him to smoke crack cocaine by holding him down or forcing a pipe into his mouth, according to court documents. The victim also had an Air Tag tied around his neck.
On the morning he escaped, the tourist was carried to the top of the stairs and hung over the ledge and told he would die if he didn't give up the Bitcoin password, prosecutors said.
The tourist told the defendants he would give them access to the account and ran out of the apartment when Woeltz went to get the victim's laptop, according to the complaint.
The man was shoeless and bloody when he flagged a traffic agent, who then called 911. The tourist was taken to the hospital with a laceration to his face, wrist injuries from being bound, and other injuries to his head and body, authorities said.
Woeltz was charged with assault, kidnapping, and unlawful imprisonment after officers raided the townhouse Friday. The suspect was held without bail after his arraignment.
Duplessie's arraignment was pending on Tuesday.
Their attorneys could not immediately be reached.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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