In the pre-dawn darkness of December 23, 2018, the murky waters of Manila’s Pasig River held a grim secret. Guided by a teenage boy familiar with the terrain, two police officers scanned the shoreline near the Baseco Compound, their flashlights cutting through the gloom. They were searching for a large cardboard box, a piece of evidence that a heroic driver insisted held something far more sinister than trash. When they finally hauled the heavy, sealed balikbayan box from the water and cut it open, they uncovered a human body, wrapped tightly in a black plastic bag and layers of duct tape like a modern-day mummy. The discovery would unravel the tragic final chapter in the life of Tomi Michelle Masters, a 23-year-old American tourist whose quest for adventure had ended in the most horrific way imaginable.

Tomi was a free spirit from the small town of Modoc, Indiana, with an outgoing personality and a burning desire to see the world. After high school, she bypassed college and worked tirelessly to fund her dream of moving to California. Her social media was a vibrant collage of her explorations—the Getty Museum, Channel Islands National Park, a celebratory trip to Las Vegas. To support her wanderlust, she entered the booming, and legal, medical marijuana business in Los Angeles County, a field she was passionate about after it helped her with chronic back pain.

Her life took a dramatic turn when she connected with Troy Woody Jr. on Instagram. Woody, a self-proclaimed Bitcoin trader and influencer with over 100,000 followers, cultivated an image of immense wealth and luxury. He allegedly catfished Tomi, initially pretending to be associated with the famous rapper Mac Miller. Intrigued rather than deterred, Tomi was drawn into his world of lavish dates, expensive wines, and Rolex gifts. But behind the flashy facade was a dark and dangerous reality. Woody was a known hacker with a criminal record, and the relationship was deeply toxic. Her family in Indiana noticed bruises on her neck, signs of abuse she tragically downplayed.

The relationship escalated when Tomi told a friend she needed an untraceable gun because a “hitman” was after them, a clear sign that Woody’s wealth was rooted in illegal activities. She abandoned her life in California to help him flee the United States, a fateful decision that led them, along with Woody’s close friend and fellow hacker, Mir Islam, to the Philippines in October 2018.

For Tomi, the trip was supposed to be her first great international adventure. Instead, it became a prison. Woody confined her to their rented Airbnb unit in the Avida Towers in Mandaluyong, forbidding her from going out alone or even visiting Islam’s nearby condo. Her excitement curdled into despair as she spent her days staring out the window, a captive in a foreign land. She soon discovered why: Woody and Islam were allegedly involved in drug dealing and money laundering. She had become a witness, a liability.

In mid-December, a desperate Tomi messaged her father for money after Woody smashed her laptop in a fit of rage. Her father pleaded with her to come home. Tomi listened, booking a flight back to the US for December 17. She never made it on the plane.

The key to unlocking the mystery of her disappearance was an observant Grab driver named John Kenneth Quimba. At 1:53 AM on December 23, he accepted a ride from Woody and Islam at the Avida Towers. They loaded a suspiciously heavy balikbayan box into his trunk. After changing their destination from a mall to the Pasig River for “sightseeing,” the driver watched them dump the box into the water. When he jokingly asked what was inside, they coolly replied, “just trash.” Trusting his instincts, John drove directly to the Manila Police District and reported everything. His courage and quick thinking blew the case wide open.

Following the driver’s tip, police found Tomi’s body and rushed to the condo. They discovered a scene of chaos—a broken bed and signs of a violent struggle. Woody and Islam were soon located and arrested at a nearby condominium. Woody’s body was covered in fresh scratches and cuts, the unmistakable marks of a desperate fight for life from Tomi.

In custody, the two friends immediately turned on each other. Islam claimed he was an unwitting assistant, duped into helping move a box he believed was filled with garbage after Woody told him Tomi had already left the country. The police, however, held a different theory: Woody was the killer, and Islam was an accessory who knowingly helped dispose of the body.

Yet, Tomi’s family believes in a third, even more chilling scenario. They are convinced the two men were co-conspirators who murdered Tomi to silence her. They theorize that on the night of her death, Islam ambushed Tomi from behind, suffocating her with a plastic bag while Woody held her down, a calculated execution to prevent her from exposing their criminal empire upon her return to the US.

Both Woody and Islam pleaded not guilty to murder charges. As their trial began, a saga of courtroom delays and claims of incompetent lawyers unfolded, prolonging the agony for a family half a world away. The story of Tomi Masters serves as a devastating cautionary tale—a warning about the hidden dangers behind a glamorous online profile and the tragic cost of a love that was, from the very beginning, a carefully constructed and deadly lie.