What we know about the NYC crypto kidnapping and torture case

Yahoo

a day ago

A cryptocurrency dispute led to the alleged kidnapping and torture of an Italian man in a luxury New York City townhouse for over two weeks, according to police.
Two men -- John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33 -- now face kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment charges in the case.
MORE: Crypto entrepreneur arrested for allegedly torturing a man for weeks: Police
"From what we know now, this was a dispute over crypto money," NYPD Chief John Chell told reporters. "They all know each other, but this was a kidnapping for roughly 17 days, where they tortured this person. When I say torture, forced them to take narcotics, put his feet in water and shocked his feet and other types of torture for 17 days."
Here's what we know about the case.
The alleged 28-year-old victim, whose name has not been publicly released by authorities, told police he arrived in New York from Italy on May 6 and went to Woeltz's eight-bedroom SoHo townhouse.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Mattson said Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly lured the man to New York from Italy by threatening to have his family killed.
Once the alleged victim arrived, he was stripped of his electronics and passport, bound by the wrists and subjected to beatings, electric shock and a hit to the head from a gun, according to the criminal complaint.
Woeltz allegedly carried the alleged victim to the top flight of stairs and hung him over the ledge and threatened to kill him if he did not provide his Bitcoin password, according to the complaint.
The alleged victim told authorities Woeltz and Duplessie used a saw to cut his leg, urinated on him and forced him to smoke crack cocaine by holding him down or forcing a pipe into his mouth, prosecutors said.
On Friday morning, the man escaped from the home, running to a traffic enforcement officer for help, police said. The alleged victim was taken to a local hospital in stable condition, police said.
The alleged victim was finally able to escape after believing he was going to be shot by telling his captors he would provide the defendants with his Bitcoin password contained on his laptop, according to prosecutors.
When Woeltz left the alleged victim to retrieve the laptop, the man was able to escape down the stairs, according to prosecutors.
Inside the townhouse, prosecutors said detectives recovered a saw, crack cocaine, chicken wire, T-shirts with pictures of the alleged victim with the crack cocaine pipe in his mouth, body armor, night vision goggles, ballistic helmets, Polaroid pictures of the alleged victim with a firearm pointed to his head and firearm ammunition.
A gun was also recovered in the home, police said.
Law enforcement said they observed blood in various areas in the apartment where the man indicated he was allegedly tortured.
Woeltz, reportedly dubbed the "crypto king of Kentucky," was taken into custody on Friday. The crypto entrepreneur did not make any comments to reporters as he was escorted out of his apartment by police in handcuffs.
Duplessie turned himself in at the NYPD's 13th Precinct on Tuesday. He did not respond to reporters' shouted questions while being escorted out of the precinct.
Both men have been charged with kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm. They have pleaded not guilty, court records show.
MORE: 2nd suspect arrested in SoHo torture case, officials say beatings, drugs and gun used
They were denied bail at their initial court appearances.
Prosecutors convinced the judge to hold Woeltz without bail by pointing out that he is from Kentucky and has the means to flee, including a private jet and helicopter.
A judge denied Duplessie's attorney's request for him to be held under home detention with his father in Florida on $1 million bail, ABC New York station WABC reported. His attorney called the facts of the case and Duplessie's involvement "hotly disputed," according to WABC.
Attorneys for both suspects had no comment when contacted by ABC News.
They face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top charge of kidnapping.
A 24-year-old woman was also arrested on Friday for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment in connection with the case, police said. Though the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is not prosecuting her at this time and she is not in police custody.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a local station Tuesday that the two men are currently the only suspects in the case.
"So far, it's those two we're looking at," she said. "There may be others."
What we know about the NYC crypto kidnapping and torture case originally appeared on abcnews.go.com