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Italian Tourist Escapes Two Weeks of Torture in New York, Suspect Arrested

Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan was held and tortured in a SoHo apartment by cryptocurrency trader John Woeltz, who remains in custody as the investigation continues.

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Overview

  • Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, a 28-year-old Italian tourist, was kidnapped and tortured for two weeks in a luxury Manhattan apartment rented by John Woeltz.
  • Woeltz, a 37-year-old cryptocurrency trader from Kentucky, was arrested and is being held without bail on charges including kidnapping and assault.
  • The kidnapping was allegedly motivated by an attempt to extort cryptocurrency account passwords from Carturan, with evidence of severe physical and psychological torture found at the scene.
  • Beatrice Folchi, a 24-year-old Italian woman, was also arrested in connection with the case but has since been released without formal charges pending further investigation.
  • Authorities are actively pursuing leads on a third suspect believed to have been involved in the kidnapping.