London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2026

NYC woman accused of holding online ‘date’ hostage for $100K in twisted kidnapping, torture scheme

NYC woman accused of holding online ‘date’ hostage for $100K in twisted kidnapping, torture scheme

Valerie Rosario, 22, is facing charges of kidnapping and attempted murder after allegedly luring the man she met on Instagram.

Late one night last month, a 24-year-old man headed to a Bronx apartment — believing he was about to hook up with a pretty brunette he’d met on Instagram.

It turned out to be a honeytrap that nearly cost him his life.

Valerie Rosario allegedly helped kidnap and tortured a man she met on Instagram.


The woman he’d been chatting to was actually part of a group of sadists — who spent hours torturing the kidnapped man, even stabbing him while demanding $100,000 in ransom on a FaceTime call to his horrified brother, Manhattan prosecutors allege.

When police found the victim some 24 hours later, he was tied up and gagged in the back of a van — barely clinging to life.

The beauty who allegedly lured him, Valerie Rosario, 22, is now facing charges of kidnapping and attempted murder over the sick scheme, it was revealed in court last week.

Prosecutors say the Lower East Side con woman allegedly coaxed the “complete stranger” to an address on Marble Hill Avenue in The Bronx on Feb. 7 after they connected on Instagram.

The Manhattan apartment where Rosario lives.

The door to Rosario’s apartment.

He arrived at around 1 a.m. — and that’s when the twisted torture session began, according to a criminal complaint.

Three men barged into the apartment, with one of them pistol-whipping the victim, the court document said.

Rosario and the accomplices then allegedly stripped the victim “placed him in a bathtub, poured flammable substances on him, and burned him with a flame” all over his body, the charging document states.

They also tormented him with a knife, striking him “about the legs, back and body,” according to the court doc.

Sources said the sickos allegedly lured the victim to the apartment because they were driven by the money he flashed on his Instagram account.

“After multiple hours of torture,” the kidnappers moved their victim to a different location, Assistant District Attorney Andrew Kluger said at Rosario’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday.

Rosario was charged with kidnapping and attempted murder over the scheme.


Later that afternoon, the man’s brother got a grisly FaceTime call — and watched as his sibling was cut with a knife by one of the masked kidnappers as they demanded ransom, the complaint alleges.

“Give us one hundred thousand dollars or we will kill him,” they told his brother, according to the court doc.

Police officers were able to track down one of the alleged accomplices, Javier Vargas, outside an address in Queens, where he was sitting in a van with a knife, the court papers said.

The victim was found laying in the back of the van, “unconscious, wrapped in a blanket with tape covering his mouth,” the complaint stated.

He was “barely breathing,” Kluger said.

The victim was treated at a hospital for multiple burns and stab wounds to his face, body, back and legs, according to the complaint.

At her court appearance last week, Rosario wore a ratty “Tom and Jerry” top — a far cry from the tight dress and plunging gown she can be seen posing in on her Facebook page.

Kluger requested she be held without bail, noting that she stands accused of abducting a “complete stranger” and had allegedly “tortured him for 24 hours.”

Rosario and the other suspects allegedly asked the victim’s brother for $100,000 or they would kill him.


Defense attorney Raymond Loving asked that his client be released on her own recognizance, pointing out that Rosario lives with her mom and brother and has a full time job at a dentist office.

Judge Soma Syed cited the seriousness of the charges as she remanded Rosario into custody. The case is expected to be presented before a grand jury on Tuesday.

“Ms. Rosario denies all the allegations that have been leveled against her,” Loving said in a statement on Monday.

Both Vargas and another of the alleged kidnappers were also remanded after being arrested and charged last week.

Comments

Oh ya 5 year ago
2 things. Flashing money or other expenses stuff is not a good idea and not good happens after midnight

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
HMRC Warns Nearly Seven Million Adults Are Unclear About State Pension Entitlements
UK Parliament Passes Sovereign Grant Reform Before Conference Recess
British Rail Passengers Gain Automatic Right to Switch Operators During Disruptions
Burnham Hosts Downing Street Business Summit as UK Fiscal Pressure Builds
Labour Government Moves to Challenge £72 Million in Reform UK Crypto Donations
UK Advertising Industry Warns Wider Junk Food Rules Could Put £1 Billion in Media Spending at Risk
Cornwall Opens Devolution Talks With UK Government Over Transport and Local Services
UK Parliament Considers Sovereign Grant Reform Setting Royal Funding at £99.9 Million
Trades Union Congress Calls for Income-Based Energy Tariff Funded by Higher Bank Levy
UK Prime Minister Rejects Second Scottish Independence Referendum
House of Lords Begins Scrutiny of Bill to Lower UK Voting Age to 16
Anthropic Says Claude Was Exploited in Weapons-Related and State-Linked Cyber Activity
Institute of Directors Urges UK Government to Avoid Business Tax Increases in Autumn Budget
Rising Gilt Yields Cut UK Fiscal Headroom to About £13 Billion Ahead of Budget
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Services and Technology Activity Strengthen
UK Government Promises Clearer Student Loan Guidance After Repayment Backlash
Charities Warn Unpaid Carers May Die Before Receiving Government Compensation
Dover Unrest Prompts Review of UK Counter-Extremism Strategy
Celtic Summit Leaders Reassert Right to Pursue Independence From UK
NHS Records Busiest Summer on Record Amid Severe Heatwaves
Harrods Faces Potential £150 Million Compensation Bill Over Al Fayed Abuse Claims
UK Parliament Opens Debate on Landmark Assisted Dying Legislation
Metropolitan Police Investigate Reform UK Over Alleged Foreign Electoral Donations
UK Economy Expands 0.4% in July as AI Investment Boosts Activity
Bank of England Signals Caution on Rates as Inflation Pressures Persist
Tesco Alerts Police After Scammers Use Its Branding in AI-Generated Fraud
Lindy Cameron Appointed First Female Permanent Under-Secretary at UK Foreign Office
UK Government to Rewrite Student Loan Guidance After Mis-Selling Criticism
Welsh First Minister Warns Andy Burnham Government to Respect Devolution
Trump’s Falkland Islands Remarks Trigger New Diplomatic Tension With Britain
Reform UK Receives Record £72 Million Donation From Cryptocurrency Billionaires
UK Bans Imports From Israeli West Bank Settlements and Sanctions Supporting Institutions
Bayeux Tapestry Draws Large Crowds at British Museum
Cuts to International Aid Raise Concerns Over Fragile Overseas Health Systems
UK Airlines and Logistics Operators Adjust Capacity as Fuel Costs Rise
UK Mortgage Arrears Edge Lower in Second Quarter
UK Government Advances New Devolution Offers for English Councils
UK Parliament Begins Debate on NHS Governance and Single Patient Record Reforms
Andy Burnham Launches Number 10 North Devolution Initiative
UK Parliament Rejects Assisted Dying Bill for Terminally Ill Adults
UK Bans Goods From Israeli Settlements in the Occupied West Bank
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Technology Services Strengthen
Metropolitan Police Continue Investigation Into Reform UK Political Financing
Chinese Crypto Entrepreneur Leon Li Identified as Seller of £190 Million London Mansion
Trades Union Congress Proposes Social Energy Tariff Funded by Higher Bank Surcharge
British Chambers of Commerce Calls for State Pension Triple Lock to Be Scrapped
Anthropic Says Claude Helped Disrupt Biological Weapons and Cyber Espionage Threats
UK Imposes Sanctions Over Israeli Settlements and West Bank Violence
UK Reimposes Sectoral Sanctions on Iran’s Aviation, Shipping and Energy Networks
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as AI and Programming Services Lift Activity
×