Woman arrested for stalking ex-husband with disturbing messages and Craigslist requests before insane truth comes out
Warning: This article contains discussion which some readers may find distressing.
A woman who police described as an 'innocent victim of a diabolical scheme' spent months in prison for a string of deplorable crimes that she didn't commit.
Michelle Hadley was facing the prospect of spending life behind bars after she was framed for several felonies, such as stalking, criminal threats and attempted forcible rape.
A new Netflix documentary which makes its debut on the streaming platform on Thursday (23 July) delves back into the incredibly complex and chilling case, which in Michelle's words was 'the most traumatic experience' of her life.
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A Toxic Love Story examines the tangled web of deceit that was weaved by former US deputy marshal Ian Diaz and his then-wife Angela Diaz, in a bid to paint Michelle as an obsessive ex.
One of the investigators tasked with making sense of the bizarre events which transpired from summer 2015 put it best when he said: "To put it lightly, this is a monster of a case."
Take a look at the trailer for A Toxic Love Story here:
The documentary is 88-minutes of pure true crime chaos - and the amount of twists and turns it includes will likely give you whiplash.
It details how Michelle met the initially 'attentive, sweet and thoughtful' Ian via an online dating site back in 2013 and headed on a first date to Disneyland, which resulted in a two-year relationship.
"I grew up watching all of the Disney princess shows on TV and I really bought into it," she tells viewers in A Toxic Love Story. "That if you were a nice girl, you got your prince at the end."
She instead ended up trapped in a controlling relationship with Ian, who the US Justice Department said orchestrated a 'harrowing scheme' to strip Michelle of 'her freedom and liberty'.
The former couple purchased a condo together in Anaheim, which wiped Michelle's savings out as she stumped up the money for the downpayment for their 'dream' place.
Shortly after making the substantial purchase, they split - and the disgraced US deputy marshal remained living in the home, while Michelle moved back in with her parents in August 2015.
In wake of their breakup, the duo 'argued over email and text messages about the status of their relationship and financial issues surrounding their condo', former Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said previously.
"Some of Ms Hadley’s emails contained accusations toward Doe, descriptions of events in their relationship and included language with religious overtones," he added.
At the time of sending these, Michelle was completely unaware that this digital paper trail would provide Ian with the perfect opportunity to frame her as a disgruntled ex-lover alongside his new other half.
He met Angela, who claimed she was a lawyer, at a local Starbucks in January 2016 after they connected on a dating website, with him later telling police that they 'just hit it off'.
"She moved into my condo," Ian explains during a police interview which is featured in A Toxic Love Story. "The smile alone, I mean the smile was killer. She was just a sweetheart."
They got engaged within a matter of weeks and were married by the end of February 2016 - and as if things couldn't snowball any faster, Angela then claimed that she was pregnant with twins in May that year.
In the months that followed, the newlyweds then made multiple reports to the Anaheim Police Department. The couple claimed that they were receiving a slew of 'threatening messages', which included 'language very similar to Ms Hadley’s September 2015 emails'. These messages included warnings such as 'I hope you are scared of death tomorrow' and 'watch your back tonight and this week'.
Cops were constantly at the Anaheim condo which was a central feature of this scandal because of these incessant emails, which were sent from an account named 'Lilith Is Truth'.
This was a religious reference to the polarising mythical figure Lilith, who was supposedly the first wife of Adam before he became involved with Eve. Lilith is said to be the female equivalent to Satan.
The campaign of terror that was supposedly being waged against Ian and Angela grew increasingly sinister, as the pair began receiving emails including images of dead bodies and aborted foetuses, among other disturbing snaps.
But police only took action after Angela alleged that Michelle had been responding to ads on Craiglist from men who wanted to partake in a 'rape fantasy' while posing as her.
This is how this intricate saga became known as 'the Anaheim Craigslist case' and 'the Anaheim Craigslist rape fantasy case', as this aspect is one of the more sadistic elements of what unfolds in A Toxic Love Story.
Angela claimed men had started turning up at the condo, before she then told police that a masked man had turned up at the condo and threatened to violate her. Michelle was then arrested later that day.
She was held on a $1million bond 'due to the seriousness of the threats, the alleged attack on Diaz in her garage, the escalation in both the frequency and nature of the threats, and yet another man arriving at the Diaz residence to engage in a rape fantasy encounter,' Rackauckas explained. She was subsequently charged with stalking with a restraining order, stalking, criminal threats, attempted rape, assault with the intent to commit rape during a residential burglary, violating a protective order and a crime-bail-crime enhancement.
However, it later emerged that both Angela and Ian were behind this horrific scheme to 'ruin' Michelle's life - although the latter ended up trying to pin the blame on his deceptive wife.
The truth comes out
The further investigators dug into the couple, the more the plot thickened. Further fabrications that were made by Angela were uncovered by authorities.
It turned out that she had been masquerading as a lawyer, the twins that were supposed to be growing inside her stomach didn't actually exist and it also came to light that she had previously faked cervical cancer.
After spending 88 days in jail, Michelle was finally freed on 7 October, 2016 and was fully exonerated - before officials then began to focus on uncovering what was really going on with Ian and Angela.
"It’s often said that true life is stranger than fiction," former DA Rackauckas said previously. "The facts of this case make that statement spot on."
Angela pled guilty to forgery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and falsely reporting a crime in 2017 and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Ian annulled their marriage that same year, while pinning the blame for the sickening plot on his estranged spouse.
But his ruse was ultimately rumbled by Department of Justice Special Agent Jason Higley, who reviewed the case and realised that Ian was a lot more involved than he had made out.
Ultimately, the former marshal was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, cyberstalking, perjury and obstructing a federal proceeding.
Explaining why he believes that Angela was his 'perfect partner', Highley told A Toxic Love Story: "She craved empathy. Angela loved portraying herself as a victim. And Ian exploited that."
Michelle has since got her 'fairy tale' ending and is now a mother to a 'beautiful little girl' - who she gave birth to on the same day that Ian was convicted.
A Toxic Love Story is available to stream on Netflix from 23 July.
Topics: True Crime, Netflix, Documentaries, US News, TV
Olivia Burke