A second suspect, William Duplessie, has been arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping and torture of an Italian tourist in an upscale Manhattan residence, aimed at stealing cryptocurrency.
Second Arrest Made in Shocking Crypto Kidnapping Case
Second Arrest Made in Shocking Crypto Kidnapping Case
A tourist kidnapped and tortured in Manhattan for Bitcoin seeks justice.
In a disturbing development in a high-profile kidnapping case, authorities arrested 32-year-old William Duplessie, who surrendered himself to the police on Tuesday. He stands accused of kidnapping and torturing a tourist from Italy, allegedly seeking to extort his Bitcoin password. Duplessie’s arrest follows that of his alleged cohort, John Woeltz, 37, a crypto investor from Kentucky, who was taken into custody last week.
According to reports, the victim detailed a harrowing experience during his captivity at a posh SoHo home, where he was bound and tortured for nearly three weeks. Allegedly, he endured numerous brutal acts including hanging off a ledge, electrical shocks, and threats with lethal weapons as his captors sought access to his cryptocurrency investments.
Police records indicate the victim, whose identity remains confidential, had traveled to New York on May 6, only to be seized upon arrival by Woeltz, who reportedly confiscated his passport and held him in captivity under duress. The victim has claimed that at one point, his life was threatened with a gun as he was coerced into revealing his crypto wallet information.
He managed to escape last Friday, emerging bloody and barefoot after convincing his captors to retrieve his laptop, momentarily left alone in the eight-bedroom residence. After evading his captors, he reported the incident to authorities and received medical assistance. A police search of the property subsequently unearthed incriminating evidence, including photographs of the victim being restrained and firearms linked to the criminal activities.
This chilling incident is part of a larger trend, as highlighted by criminal defense attorney David Seltzer, who noted that kidnappers view cryptocurrency theft as an easier target compared to traditional bank heists. In a related instance abroad, French police recently apprehended over twenty individuals linked to multiple kidnapping attempts focusing on cryptocurrency entrepreneurs.
The local community, alert to such violent crimes, is left grappling with the shocking implications of how cryptocurrency can incite extreme criminal behavior.
