In 2020, in a comfortable apartment overlooking the city of Canberra, Australia, 58-year-old British expatriate Henrick Collins lived a successful life defined by his work as a safety consultant.

Yet, since the passing of his wife in 2016, his home was increasingly filled with the burden of loneliness. Nights were spent in silence, looking at old photos and seeking connection online.

It was there he met Phelomina Garcia, a woman who claimed to be a widowed teacher from Leyte, seeking companionship and understanding.

The Digital Illusion

Their initial conversations were casual, growing into a deep, sustained connection over months. Phelomina’s messages filled Henrick’s evenings, providing the illusion that he was no longer alone.

They called each other “soulmates,” building a relationship founded on honesty and trust—or so Henrick believed. The only oddity was Phelomina’s insistence on chat-only communication, claiming weak internet prevented voice or video calls.

For Henrick, the illusion was the promise of a fresh start, but this hope, given by fate, would tragically become the mechanism of his de@th.

In mid-2022, as international borders reopened, Henrick planned a trip to the Philippines. He told his friends that he was traveling to finally meet the teacher from Leyte, a journey they supported, despite underlying doubts.

Henrick arrived at Mactan-Cebu International Airport in July 2022, carrying gifts—chocolates, imported wine, and branded bags—requested by Phelomina, along with a significant amount of cash for their planned two-week vacation.

He checked into a prominent hotel in Lahug, ready for the long-awaited meeting, utterly oblivious to the danger that lay ahead.

The Hospital Lie and the Brutal End

The day of the meeting, July 25, 2022, Henrick waited in the hotel lobby, meticulously dressed. But Phelomina did not arrive.

Instead, a man in his 30s approached him, claiming to be Phelomina’s relative. The man delivered the lie: Phelomina was in the hospital and needed an immediate cash transfer to cover additional bills before she could be released.

Henrick, distraught but trusting, handed over cash, which the man immediately transferred to Phelomina’s account.

The accomplice returned Henrick to the hotel coffee shop, where Henrick noticed the man’s nervous, shifty behavior and his constant use of a cellphone, clearly communicating with someone else.

As the hours passed and Phelomina failed to appear, the accomplice returned with more desperate requests for funds—for medication and additional hospital bills. Henrick released more money, clinging to the hope that his soulmate would soon appear.

That night, Henrick sat alone in his hotel room, the illusion starting to crack. He still held onto the hope that the woman he loved behind the screen would arrive.

The following morning, hotel staff discovered the horrifying truth. Henrick had missed breakfast. When they opened his door with a master key, they found Henrick’s lifeless body on the floor.

He had sustained multiple injuries. His wallet, cellphone, and ATM cards were missing. The assailants had tortured him to force him to reveal the PIN to his international bank accounts.

CCTV footage captured a man entering Henrick’s room near midnight but leaving shortly thereafter through the fire exit with a backpack, bypassing the main lobby.

Within two days, nearly $1 million USD had been wiped clean from Henrick’s international accounts. The crime was clear: this was not random robbery, but a highly organized, premeditated homicide driven by immense financial greed.

The Digital Trace

Henrick’s son traveled from Australia to Cebu, filled with grief and determination, to retrieve his father’s body and seek justice.

The NBI Cyber Crime Division launched a meticulous investigation, dissecting Henrick’s online accounts and the messages exchanged with the fictional Phelomina Garcia.

The investigation quickly confirmed that Phelomina was a fabricated identity. Her profile photos were stolen, and no teacher by that name existed in Leyte.

Investigators successfully traced the communication IP address used by the scammers to an apartment in Cebu.

In October 2022, police raided the apartment and arrested Dennis Herrera (33, unemployed), finding him alone with his computer.

His machine contained overwhelming evidence of his modus operandi: photographs used for various fake accounts, including the stolen identity of Phelomina Garcia.

Further investigation revealed that Dennis Herrera was not working alone but had two accomplices who assisted in gathering information and managing the online profiles.

The NBI determined that Henrick was not the first victim; many foreigners and senior citizens had been scammed by the same group. However, his case was the most brutal, culminating in homicide.

In March 2023, after six months of trial, Dennis Herrera and his two accomplices were convicted. They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment) for murder, along with additional penalties for cyber fraud and identity theft.

Henrick’s son returned to the Philippines to personally witness the conviction, grateful for the justice delivered, yet heartbroken by the truth that his father had fallen victim to the greed and cruelty of those hiding behind a screen.

The case served as a critical warning, prompting the PNP and NBI to launch broader campaigns against romance scams, urging the public to be vigilant against deception that starts online and ends in tragedy.