A Pennsylvania teen has admitted to helping torture and kill a man who was beaten, mutilated, burned, and shot before he was killed, WETM-TV reports.
On Friday, 19-year-old Malik Weems (pictured right) pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in connection with the 2021 death of 38-year-old Juan Jose Gotay.
Authorities alleged that Weems and three other people were involved in the torture and ultimate death of Gotay. The three others – Thomas Boviard (pictured left), Eddie Marte, and a juvenile who was 16 years old at the time of the arrest – have pleaded not guilty.
Investigators say Gotay suffered horrific torture before he was murdered. The New York man was allegedly burned on his ears and buttocks, shot in a leg and shoulder and his tongue was mutilated. A pointed instrument was also stuck in his eyes, and he had broken fingers and ribs from being kicked and beaten.
Gotay was reportedly still alive when the kidnappers brought him to Potter County, Pennsylvania. In April 2021, his body was found bound with an electrical cord on Route 6, about four months after he was kidnapped.
Weems also faces a charge of first-degree kidnapping in an unrelated case from April 2021. In that incident, authorities allege that he and Marte kidnapped Joseph Waters and held him for 12 hours as a scheme to collect ransom money, according to WETM-TV. The victim was beaten with belts and cords and burned with a knife.
Marte pleaded guilty in December to charges of robbery, kidnapping, burglary, criminal possession of a controlled substance and various weapons charges for the Waters case. A judge sentenced Marte to 15 years in prison, the Finger Lakes Times reports.
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Weems faces up to life in prison. He is expected back in court on July 14, according to WENY-TV.
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[Feature Photo: Chemung County Jail]
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