In 2016, Belyn Santiago Ong (Bessel) left the Philippines for Los Angeles, California, filled with the excitement of a new life alongside her husband.

She believed she was embarking on the American dream, securing a prosperous future for herself and her family back in Zamboanga del Norte.

Her departure was marked by a flurry of hopeful Facebook posts showcasing California’s beautiful scenery, her new car, her green card, and her life with her husband, Albert Ong—whom she affectionately called her “soulmate.”

Just two years later, Belyn was repatriated home, not as a successful immigrant, but as a cold, lifeless body.

The vibrant social media facade she maintained had concealed a brutal reality of escalating domestic violence and manipulation that culminated in a tragic end.

This is the harrowing story of Belyn Santiago Ong, whose dream of a happy life in America was fatally shattered by the man she loved.

The Façade of a Perfect Life

Belyn was a high-spirited, ambitious young woman from Zamboanga del Norte, dreaming of a rewarding job, a good husband, a house, a car, and extensive travel.

Her prayers seemed answered in 2015 when she met Albert Ong, a 22-year-old foreigner, while working at a hotel in the Philippines.

Six months later, they were married. In January 2016, the couple flew to Los Angeles, California, to begin their new life.

Belyn diligently documented her journey, sharing pictures of her California driver’s license, her Green Card, and her new job.

To her friends and family back home, Belyn was living a life free of problems, unaware that the reality was the stark opposite of her online persona.

According to friends and acquaintances in Los Angeles, Albert Ong’s behavior deteriorated rapidly after their arrival.

He became intensely jealous, manipulative, and emotionally unstable, often exhibiting behavior described as bipolar—alternating between excessive sweetness and sudden, explosive rage.

Albert grew controlling, forbidding Belyn from leaving the house alone, visiting her aunt, or socializing with her Filipina friends.

The emotional abuse soon escalated to physical violence: Albert would often injure Belyn and routinely smashed household items during his fits of anger.

A History of Violence

The abuse finally reached a breaking point on December 31, 2016, when Belyn called the police.

Albert was arrested at their home on charges of battery against his spouse. He claimed Belyn was trying to leave and that the physical altercation was a result of her own actions.

Belyn’s testimony detailed a different scenario: Albert had physically assaulted her, pulling her hair and pushing her to the ground. She admitted to biting him out of desperation, unable to breathe from his tight grip.

The court quickly issued a protective stay-away order against Albert, mandating that he maintain distance from Belyn and attend domestic violence counseling.

However, court records revealed this was not Albert Ong’s first encounter with violence against women.

In 2002, Albert was involved in an incident in Chino Hills where he assaulted the sister of his first wife with a large vase after she confronted him about marrying another woman while still legally married to her sister.

Albert was convicted and sentenced to one year in jail, three years probation, and mandatory anger management classes, clearly establishing a long history of violence toward women in his life.

In Belyn’s case, on January 30, 2017, Albert was convicted of battery, receiving a sentence of one month in jail, three years probation, 8 hours of community service, and 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling.

Despite the conviction and the protective order, Albert quickly filed a request to modify the order, promising reform and seeking supervised contact with Belyn.

The Betrayal of the System

In October 2017, a domestic violence facilitator assigned by the court reported “good progress” in Albert’s counseling, stating he was actively participating and following instructions.

Based on this positive feedback, the judge made a critical and devastating decision: the protective order was modified, allowing Albert to communicate with Belyn through a mediator.

However, Albert immediately violated the modified order, approaching Belyn directly.

Tragedy struck one day after Christmas. On December 26, 2017, members of the Baldwin Park Police visited Belyn’s home to conduct a routine welfare check.

Inside the residence on Central Street, Baldwin Park, Los Angeles, officers discovered the bodies of both Belyn and Albert Ong.

Investigators determined that Albert Ong had caused the de@th of his wife, fatally wounding her multiple times with a kitchen knife, before taking his own life at the scene.

The news delivered a devastating blow to Belyn’s family in the Philippines, who had been completely unaware of the suffering she endured.

Belyn, wanting to spare her family the worry, had concealed the domestic violence, the abuse, and even Albert’s prior arrest and conviction.

Her father recalled that Belyn’s last message, sent on Christmas Eve, simply stated how much she missed them all.

He believed Albert’s intense jealousy—which was apparent even when the couple visited the Philippines—was the ultimate factor that triggered the violence.

Belyn Santiago Ong became another tragic statistic of a Filipina who sought a better life abroad, only to be deceived by promises of love and subjected to continuous violence.

Her final journey home was as a de@d body, a heartbreaking end to a life full of potential that was brutally extinguished by the very man who had promised her a beautiful American dream.