Two people were arrested in New York City on Friday for the kidnapping and torture of a tourist from Italy, according to police.
John Woeltz, 37, was barefoot and dressed in a white bathrobe as he was escorted by NYPD officers down the steps of a home at 38 Prince St. in SoHo. He was questioned at the 5th Precinct and later charged with two counts of second-degree assault, and one count each of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a firearm.
Woeltz, who was arraigned on Saturday, is considered a flight risk and was ordered to stay behind bars and to surrender his passport.
Police on Saturday announced a second person was arrested in the case. Beatrice Folchi, 24, of Manhattan, was charged with kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. Police did not provide any information about her relationship to Woeltz or role in the alleged crimes.
After Woeltz’s arraignment, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office issued a statement saying it declined to prosecute Folchi at the time “pending further investigation.”
Court documents reveal graphic details of alleged torture
The NYPD says the 28-year-old victim arrived in New York from Italy on May 6 and then went to the suspect’s home in SoHo. According to court documents, he was tied up and then tortured for three weeks. The victim managed to escape on Friday and flagged down a nearby traffic agent, who called police.
Woeltz is accused of repeatedly shocking the victim with electric wires, cutting his leg with a saw, and forcing him to smoke crack cocaine.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, evidence recovered from the scene includes t-shirts of the victim with a crack cocaine pipe in his mouth, and Polaroid photos of a gun pointed at his head.
Prosecutors say at one point Woeltz and the other individual hung the victim over the ledge at the top of the stairs while threatening to kill him if he didn’t hand over his Bitcoin password.
The victim told police the suspect took his electronics and passport, hid them, and threatened to kill his family. The victim managed to escape after agreeing to give up his password out of fear that he was about to be killed.
Authorities say once the suspect left to get the laptop, the victim, barefoot, bloodied and traumatized, ran outside for help. Investigators say there were two butlers at the residence who would also be interviewed.
Suspect said to be crypto investor
Woeltz is a crypto investor originally from Kentucky who rents an apartment in the home for between $30,000 and $40,000 per month.
Local residents said they were perplexed by the alleged attack, with one witness saying it was a very chaotic crime scene.
“We saw police running this way and then there was just a lot of screaming,” Molli Sramowicz said. “Police with their guns out, then the SWAT team came in, then a fire truck.”
“He didn’t look distressed at all, but that could’ve been because he was on the street,” Cairan Tully said.
“I just can’t believe stuff like this would happen in 2025 in New York of all place. This is our borough, our neighborhood. We just have to … we have to be careful,” added Kareem Hakemy of Midtown.