Cops arrest third suspect accused of brutally torturing man for bitcoin riches

Police have arrested a third suspect linked to one of the most extreme bitcoin-related kidnapping and torture cases in the United States, The New York Times reported.

The arrest came after an Italian man, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, escaped a luxury Manhattan townhouse after three weeks of alleged imprisonment.

Running to a traffic agent for help, he later told police that he was tortured by colleagues for his bitcoin password, “bound with electrical cords and whipped with a gun,” his feet submerged in water while a Taser gun sent jolts through his body, the NYT reported. At times he feared for his life—allegedly once held suspended from the ledge of the fifth-story building—but he seemingly never gave up his password, a resistance that only prompted more extreme violence.

Police raided the townhouse and found photos depicting the torture, as well as “several guns, a ballistic vest, and broken furniture,” the NYT reported. Two butlers onsite agreed to be interviewed. Cops soon after arrested two suspects—John Woeltz, 37, and Beatrice Folchi, 24—but were still seeking an “unapprehended male,” the NYT previously reported. Folchi was released after her prosecution was deferred, but Woeltz was held without bail after being charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a gun, the NYT reported.

On Tuesday morning, 33-year-old William Duplessie surrendered to police after days of negotiations, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the NYT. Like Woeltz, he faces charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment, Tisch confirmed.

According to Carturan, he met Woeltz through a crypto hedge fund in New York, but they quickly had a falling out over money, prompting Carturan to return home to Italy.