Suspects in New York crypto kidnapping case granted bail
New York Supreme Criminal Court Judge Gregory Carro set bail at $1 million each for John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33, who have been in custody since their arrest in May.
Woeltz and Duplessie pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including kidnapping, assault and coercion.
The 28-year-old victim, reportedly an Italian cryptocurrency trader, arrived in New York City from Italy in early May. He was abducted on May 6, police told CNN. It's not clear whether the victim knew the men who kidnapped him.
Prosecutors said the unnamed victim was tortured for days, threatened with death and at one point dangled over a railing unless he revealed his Bitcoin password. When he refused, he was beaten, shocked with electric wires, and struck in the head with a firearm, they said.
The accused also allegedly bound the man's wrists and threatened to kill his family, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.
In late May, the victim escaped the apartment where he was allegedly being held after agreeing to provide his password, which was stored on his laptop in another room, prosecutors said. When one of the suspects turned his back, the victim fled the apartment and sought help from a traffic officer, police said.
He was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that prosecutor Michael Mattson said were consistent with his descriptions of being bound and assaulted, the Associated Press reported.
Woeltz, a Kentucky native and cryptocurrency investor, was arrested after the victim's escape. Duplessie, a Miami resident, turned himself in the following week.
A search of the townhouse turned up a trove of evidence, Mattson said, including cocaine, a saw, chicken wire, body armor and night vision goggles, ammunition, and polaroid photos of the victim with a gun pointed to his head, the AP reported.
Inmate records show that, as of Wednesday evening, both men are still in custody. Their next court appearance will be scheduled for October 15.
CNN has reached out to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office for further comment.
CNN's John Miller, Gloria Pazmino and Mark Morales contributed to this report.
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Newsweek
2 hours ago
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Amanda Knox: I Want To Reconcile With Murdered Meredith Kercher's Family
Amanda Knox has rarely been far from the public eye, or, as she puts it, "global vilification." Convicted in 2007 of the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, Knox became the subject of a global media frenzy. What followed was a yearslong tabloid obsession with her—her sexual history, her high school nickname "Foxy Knoxy," and lurid prosecution theory that Kercher was killed during a Satanic sexual orgy. Knox, now 38, is reclaiming her narrative with a second autobiography released in May and a new eight-part Hulu drama series launching August 20. In a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred interview with Newsweek, Knox—who was twice convicted and twice acquitted of murder, and served nearly four years in prison—speaks candidly about her hope to reconcile with the Kercher family. She says she believes they could find her new book and TV series "healing." "I hope that they will recognize the value in my attempt at revealing the truth of what happened to Meredith in my revealing of the truth of what happened to me," she says. In this picture released on June 11, Amanda Knox is seen on the set of the television show "Cinque Minuti" at Rai Studios, on June 10, 2024 in Rome, Italy. In this picture released on June 11, Amanda Knox is seen on the set of the television show "Cinque Minuti" at Rai Studios, on June 10, 2024 in Rome, Italy. Antonio Masiello/Getty Adversary or Ally? Knox's Complicated Bond With Her Prosecutor Knox has struck up a complex friendship with Giuliano Mignini, the prosecutor in her case. He developed the unfounded theory that Kercher was killed by Knox, her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, in a drug-fueled sex orgy gone wrong. Knox and Mignini began regular correspondence in 2019 and met up in 2022. "Some people say to me, 'Is he your friend?' And I don't really know how to answer that question.... He's my perpetrator and he is someone who cares about me," she explains. Despite struggling with a lot of anger at the narrative Mignini concocted to try and secure her conviction, she says she wanted to understand why he hurt her. "An unexpected consequence of putting myself in that position is that the term adversary became complicated by other feelings and interactions with this fully fleshed-out human being," she says. Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, was not supportive of the meeting. But Knox said: "I very much have a relationship with my prosecutor where I do not let him off the hook. But I also... embrace his humanity and I am able to see him for whatever good intentions he might have had even in the midst of committing grievous harm." Knox adds that she thought the relationship was more meaningful to him than her, and that he feels guilt for what he put her through. When asked if, deep down, she thinks he knows he was wrong, even though he doesn't admit it, Knox smiled and nodded. "He believes in himself, that he is a good person, that he is a logical person and that he conducted an investigation according to his instincts and intuitions and his logical reasoning," Knox says. "Those things can all be true and at the same time he can be wrong. And he's admitted that much to me. He said, 'I did what I thought was right and I could have been wrong.'" Newsweek attempted to contact Mignini for comment. In an interview with British tabloid The Sun last year, Mignini maintained that his position had not changed. "Amanda is not telling the truth," he said. "Not because she is a liar, but she does not remember." Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty Reaching out to the Kerchers Kercher, from the U.K., and Knox, from the U.S., were fellow exchange students and had lived together in Perugia for just over a month before the murder. Knox is now married to author and poet Christopher Robinson, with whom she has two children. They live in her hometown of Seattle, Washington, where she works as a writer, podcast host and criminal justice activist. She says she has reached out to the Kercher family several times over the years—but has never heard back. "That's been a really difficult part of this—I've never had any direct contact with them," she says. "I've always attempted to communicate with them....I have no confirmation that they even know that I've ever attempted to contact them." Kercher's parents, John and Arline, both died in 2020. Knox says she would love the opportunity to reconcile with Kercher's siblings. "We experienced something very traumatic together, it would be very nice and I think very healing for us to communicate about that. But when it all comes down to it, their grief is real and all-encompassing and my feelings about my own grief don't demand anything of them. I just want them to know that...I do want to reconcile with them." Knox thinks the Kercher family still believes she is withholding something about the murder. "I feel like nothing I could ever say could satisfy them as long as they think that I had something to do with Meredith's death or know something about it that I'm not telling," she says. "And like I don't know what to do or what to say other than I've already said everything that I know." Relatives of murdered British exchange student Meredith Kercher, Stephanie Kercher (R), Arline Kercher (L) and father John Kercher (C) arrive for a press conference in Perugia November 6, 2007. 21-year-old Kercher, who was found dead... Relatives of murdered British exchange student Meredith Kercher, Stephanie Kercher (R), Arline Kercher (L) and father John Kercher (C) arrive for a press conference in Perugia November 6, 2007. 21-year-old Kercher, who was found dead with her throat slit in her room in an apartment she shared with other exchange students in Perugia. More STR/AFP/Getty Knox said she had recently found the first letter she drafted to the Kercher family from jail. In the letter, she says she writes: "How I'm so sorry about everything that they have gone through and that I recognize their pain. And that that pain is never going to go away and that I want to share with you everything that I know because you deserve that from me, including all these amazing, beautiful memories that I have of your sister. And I would love to have the opportunity to grieve with you, so I'm here, waiting if you want that." 'It's Not Just True Crime Horror Porn' Knox describes the upcoming TV drama series as very intense and also something she can be proud of. "It's very, very complicated, it's very human, it's very compassionate, and at the same time it is the worst experience of my life through my eyes and through the eyes of the people who experienced their own worst experiences of their lives all at the same time," she explains. "We're trying to shed light on some issues that you don't normally see in true crime. It's not just true crime horror porn, it's a very thoughtful and intentional piece that is doing service, and I feel very proud of it." In November last year, Kercher's sister, Stephanie, questioned why the drama about Meredith's murder was being made. "Our family has been through so much and it is difficult to understand how this serves any purpose," she said in a statement. Francesco Maresca, the family's lawyer, accused Knox of attempting to profit from Kercher's murder. In a statement to Newsweek, Maresca said: "In general, neither I nor the Kercher family have been pleased with the initiatives Amanda Knox has undertaken over the years, as they are unjustified and disrespectful of poor Meredith's memory. "Her behavior has always prevented any rapprochement between Meredith's family and Knox herself as it was always over the top and extremely excessive. I'm sure they won't watch the TV drama because once again it is violating the memory of the beautiful girl that Meredith was." He pointed to the fact that Knox was convicted of slandering Patrick Lumumba, a Congolese man who owned a bar in Perugia where she worked. Knox falsely accused Lumumba of murdering Kercher during her police interrogation—which she says was forced by intimidation and coercion. The conviction was upheld by Italy's highest court in January this year. 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Author and activist Amanda Knox attends the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on April 26, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Author and activist Amanda Knox attends the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on April 26, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Amanda Edwards/Getty Now a mother-of-two herself, Knox says her mother was one of the main reasons she survived the ordeal. They would constantly exchange letters, and Knox said her mother made her know that she mattered and was loved. Unfortunately, in the years after her release from jail, Knox's mum and stepfather, who had spent long periods of time in Italy so he could visit her for one hour a week, separated. What happened to Knox "was a huge factor" in the end of that relationship, she said. "This doesn't just impact the one person who goes to prison, it impacts everyone around them," she added. 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