Troy Woody Jr. is a U.S. bitcoin trader who is accused with his controversial friend, Mir Islam, of murdering his U.S.-born girlfriend in the Philippines.
The victim was named as Tomi Michelle Masters, 23, of Indiana, according to Tempo. The two men have maintained their innocence, Tempo reports. Also accused: Mir Islam, who is known as “Josh the God” and who previously was accused of doxxing celebrities and other crimes, including swatting.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Masters Was Stuffed Into a Box & Tossed Into a Manila River
The gruesome murder unfolded in the Philippines where the two men were living, according to media there.
According to Tempo, the two Americans “have been charged with murder in connection with the death of an American woman whose naked body was fished out of the Pasig River in Manila Sunday.”
The news outlet says the men were Troy Woody Jr. and Mir Islam, who identified themselves as “chief executive officers of Luxr Limited Liability Co., a lending firm based in the United States.”
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The victim was stuffed into a box that was placed into the “the trunk of a Grab car” and then the box was thrown into the river, Tempo reported, adding that the cause of death was not yet clear but the victim had scratch marks on her body, was naked, and was bound with duct tape. However, Daily Mail says the cause of death was suffocation.
PhilStar reports the body was wrapped in a garbage bag with packing tape.
2. Woody Has a Social Media Following & Wrote About Relationships on Twitter
Troy Woody Jr. has thousands of social media followers – more than 17,000 on Twitter and almost 200,000 on Instagram.
On Twitter, though, his top post is from 2017. It reads, “A true heartbreak is one of the worst things someone can go through in life.” He wrote other comments about relationships, including, “If you’re in a toxic relationship the best thing to do is cut them off and move on.” That comment was also a year old.
The victim’s Instagram account was set to private but read, “??QUEEN of Switzerland??…??Troy Woody??.”
3. Woody Calls Himself an ‘Early Crypto Investor’
On Twitter, Troy Woody dubs himself an “Early Crypto Investor” who is from Beverly Hills, CA. He filled his Twitter page with photos of luxury items, such as expensive watches and exotic destinations.
He wrote, “Anyone can be successful, set goals, dedicate your time working towards accomplishing your goals. If you truly dedicate everything towards it you’ll be successful.”
Paradise
In 2017, he wrote, “Bought 800 LTC on August 26th @ $50 Sold 800 LTC On September 6th @ $80. $24,000 profit in 11 days ??”
4. The Grab Driver Went to Police
The men were arrested after their Grab driver became suspicious and went to authorities. According to Inquirer.net, they placed the box in the Grab driver’s trunk and then “asked to be transported to a mall in Ermita.”
On the way, though, they threw the box in the river, the news site reports.
Troy Woody was living in a condominium unit in Barangay Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City, according to Inquirer.net. The news site reports that the victim lived in the condo with Woody.
5. The Motive Remains Unclear & Mir Islam Has Been in Trouble With the Law Before
The motive is still being investigated, according to Gulf News. According to Daily Mail, though, the victim had tired of the scene and wanted to return home.
Luxr LLC is a bitcoin company, according to information online. According to Rappler, Mir Islam “was previously arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for helping to start up a credit card fraud forum.”
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The FBI press release says that Mir Islam was known as Josh the God. The release names many suspects and alleges, “As described in the charging documents, individuals sold credit cards by the thousands and took the private information of untold numbers of people. As alleged, the defendants casually offered every stripe of malware and virus to fellow fraudsters, even including software-enabling cyber voyeurs to hijack an unsuspecting consumer’s personal computer camera.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpQKAl6Be6P/
In 2016, Mir Islam received 24 months in prison on accusations of swatting and cyber stalking. The DOJ press release in that case says he was from New York. Among other accusations, the DOJ alleged that the private information about various celebrities was posted on the Internet.
According to NBC Washington, “the celebrities included Kim Kardashian, Justin Timberlake and P. Diddy.” According to NBC, “Islam told a judge he suffered from physical and mental health ailments and spent 18 hours behind his computer each day.”
The Washington Times reported that “Islam, while cooperating with the FBI, worked with other hackers to acquire and then publicly disclose the personal information of dozens of well-known individuals, in some instances using that information to file phony 9-1-1 reports with the intent of having SWAT teams deployed to his victims’ homes.”
Josh the God or Mir Islam also goes by the name Josh Leroux. On his Instagram page, he writes, “I am 24 Years old, Platform Operations Analyst for Luxr LLC. I am an activist and socialist. Cyber Security Expert. #WhiteHat.” Josh Leroux shared news articles of the Mir Islam earlier doxxing arrest on Instagram, writing with one, “Lol hmm I guess I was really bored.”
Krebs on Security website also claims that the Mir Islam under arrest is the man known as Josh the God.