You really have to screen your online dates these days. One New York man found out the hard way and it could have cost him his life. Imagine being kidnapped, tortured, and then held for ransom after simply meeting someone for the first time? And it all allegedly started over Instagram.
The New York Post says that the 22-year-old woman is now facing charges, though they have not been made public. Yikes, and you thought you had met some real losers?
The Post says the two met on Instagram, and it is believed she went after him because she thought he was wealthy. Sources say he was lured to an apartment in the Bronx for a romantic encounter, but what was waiting for him was something he wasn't expecting or hoping for.
Court records say when the unknowing 24-year-old went to the apartment last month, three other men suddenly crashed into the apartment and pistol-whipped the victim. It gets crazier. The Post says that the suspect and the three men then placed him in a bathtub, poured flammable substances on him, and burned him with a flame.” The Post says the twisted torture would go on for hours.
The torture would go on at a second location, according to police. The assailants allegedly stabbed the victim multiple times while they were on a FaceTime call with his brother. Their demands? The Post says they wanted $100,000.
Police were able to track one of the attackers to an address in Queens, where he was found in a van. The victim was said to have been barely breathing while in the back of the van, with numerous injuries over his body. He was also wrapped in a blanket, with duct tape covering his mouth.
Police say the perpetrators were arrested and are awaiting their day in court.