Second suspect in New York crypto kidnapping and torture case surrenders to police

Yahoo

2 days ago

A second suspect surrendered to police Tuesday morning in the harrowing case of a cryptocurrency trader who was allegedly kidnapped, tortured and held hostage in a Manhattan apartment for several weeks.
The man turned himself in following the Friday arrest of 37-year-old John Woeltz, who was arrested after the victim escaped the apartment where he was allegedly held hostage.
Miami resident William Duplessie, 33, is being charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm, according to a law enforcement official.
Police had already arrested Kentucky native Woeltz for allegedly holding the wealthy Italian cryptocurrency trader hostage as part of a violent scheme to obtain his Bitcoin password. Police said the 28-year-old victim arrived from Italy on May 6 and was held hostage inside the SoHo apartment for several weeks.
CNN has reached out to Woeltz's attorney for comment and is working to identify an attorney for Duplessie.
Prosecutors in Manhattan say the victim, who has not been identified, was tortured for days, threatened to be killed, and at one point dangled over a railing if he did not give up his Bitcoin password.
When the victim refused to provide the two men with his Bitcoin password, they subjected him to torture, the Manhattan District Attorney said. The beatings included but were 'not limited to' using electric wires to shock him, pointing a firearm at his head and using that firearm to strike him in the head. The two men also bound the victim's wrists and said they would have his family killed, according to the district attorney.
Woeltz was arraigned Saturday on charges of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
Woeltz did not enter a plea at his initial court appearance and was ordered held without bail. He is expected to be back in court on Wednesday, according to a court docket.
A third person, a woman identified as Beatrice Folchi, was also detained in connection with the case, but Manhattan prosecutors declined to charge her pending an investigation, according to a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
The victim was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that prosecutor Michael Mattson said were consistent with his descriptions of being bound and assaulted, the Associated Press reported.
A search of the townhouse turned up a trove of evidence, Mattson said, including cocaine, a saw, chicken wire, body armor and night vision goggles, ammunition and polaroid photos of the victim with a gun pointed to his head, the AP also reported.
CNN's Michelle Watson contributed to this report.