We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!
Export Podcast Subscriptions
cover of episode The Case of Angela Diaz and Michelle Hadley: Framed for a Rape Fantasy Plot

The Case of Angela Diaz and Michelle Hadley: Framed for a Rape Fantasy Plot

2022/9/14
logo of podcast Crimehub: A True Crime Podcast

Crimehub: A True Crime Podcast

AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
A
Angela Diaz
N
Narrator
一位专注于电动车和能源领域的播客主持人和内容创作者。
Topics
Angela Diaz: 声称受到Michelle Hadley持续不断的死亡威胁和强奸威胁,导致流产和精神崩溃,并因此报警寻求保护。她坚称自己是被陷害的受害者。 Michelle Hadley: 坚称自己是无辜的,并认为自己是被Ian Diaz和Angela Diaz陷害的。她详细描述了Ian Diaz的虐待行为,以及她如何被操纵参与了强奸幻想情节。她强调自己是一个守法公民,没有犯罪记录。 Ian Diaz: 最初向警方举报Michelle Hadley,声称受到威胁。后来承认自己策划了整个阴谋,陷害Michelle Hadley,目的是为了得到他们共同拥有的公寓。他承认与Angela Diaz合谋,并承认自己对Michelle Hadley实施了网络欺凌。 Narrator: 本案讲述了Angela Diaz和Michelle Hadley的故事,以及她们如何卷入一个复杂的强奸幻想阴谋案中。叙述者详细描述了案件的来龙去脉,包括Ian Diaz的虐待行为、Angela Diaz的谎言以及警方的失职。 Angela Diaz: Initially, Angela Diaz claimed to have been the victim of relentless death and rape threats from Michelle Hadley. She stated that these threats caused her to suffer a miscarriage and a severe emotional breakdown, leading her to seek police protection. She maintained her innocence throughout the ordeal, portraying herself as the victim of a malicious plot. However, it was later revealed that she fabricated the threats and the assault, orchestrating the entire scheme to frame Michelle Hadley. Her actions included creating fake email accounts, posting false Craigslist ads, and even self-inflicting injuries to support her false claims. Her motivations stemmed from a combination of jealousy towards Michelle and a desire to maintain control over the condo she shared with Ian. Michelle Hadley: Michelle Hadley consistently maintained her innocence, asserting that she was the victim of a malicious plot orchestrated by her abusive ex-fiancé, Ian Diaz, and his new wife, Angela Diaz. She detailed Ian Diaz's controlling and abusive behavior, explaining how he manipulated and coerced her into participating in the rape fantasy scenario. She emphasized her law-abiding nature and lack of any prior criminal record. Her initial emails to Ian were indeed hostile, but they were a result of his abuse and her fear for her safety. She actively sought help from her university and employer, demonstrating her attempts to protect herself from his threats. Ian Diaz: Ian Diaz initially reported Michelle Hadley to the police, claiming to be threatened by her. However, he later confessed to masterminding the entire plot to frame Michelle Hadley, motivated by a desire to keep the condo they jointly owned. He admitted to conspiring with Angela Diaz and to perpetrating cyberstalking against Michelle Hadley. His actions demonstrate a pattern of abuse and manipulation, using his position as a Deputy US Marshal to intimidate and control those around him. He manipulated the legal system to his advantage, initially reporting Michelle to the police and then later revealing her innocence only after his own actions were exposed. Narrator: The narrative recounts the story of Angela Diaz and Michelle Hadley and their entanglement in an elaborate rape fantasy plot. The narrator details the events leading up to the case, highlighting Ian Diaz's abusive behavior, Angela Diaz's lies, and the police department's negligence. The case underscores the dangers of domestic abuse, the importance of thorough police investigations, and the devastating consequences of false accusations.

Deep Dive

Chapters
Angela Diaz faces a barrage of threatening emails from Michelle Hadley, leading to a complex web of lies and deceit that eventually reveals an elaborate rape fantasy plot.

Shownotes Transcript

Translations:
中文

Angela Diaz felt like the luckiest woman in the world. She had found the man of her dreams, and they were starting a family of their own. The couple met on a dating site in early 2016 and lost themselves in a whirlwind romance. They married soon after and moved in together in downtown Anaheim, California, a safe suburbia that boasted good schools and a Disneyland resort just five minutes away.

The 31-year-old mother-to-be soaked up the sun's warmth as she lay propped against her husband, Ian Diaz, on their couch. Her motherly instincts were already kicking in and she began browsing through nursery styling guides on her phone. Suddenly, her Googling was interrupted by a Gmail notification, then another, and another. Soon, her inbox was flooded with a barrage of emails, all signed off with different variations of the same name.

Michelle Hadley, her husband's ex-fiance. Angela was intrigued at first, but her curiosity quickly turned into concern. The messages were filled with biblical ramblings and threats of death and damnation. Angela hoped it was a moment of weakness, a temporary lapse of the grad student's judgment. She was wrong. Michelle wasn't just seeking vengeance. She was out for blood. Or was she?

The Diaz's thought Michelle had become unstable since her nasty breakup with Ian, resulting in a misguided vendetta against Angela. The world thought it was a classic case of a crazy ex scorned by a love triangle gone wrong. The truth, however, was concealed amidst a complicated labyrinth of lies.

Those who ventured into this maze struggled to untangle fact from fiction, but would ultimately uncover an elaborate rape fantasy plot that sent an innocent woman to prison and a police cover-up that let it happen. Part One: The Beginning of the End Before her story triggered a global media frenzy, Michelle "Suzanne" Hadley was your average, everyday, all-American woman.

She was born on December 20th, 1986 in Upland, California to Michael and Suzanne Hadley. Her younger sister was born three years later. They moved to Ontario, California while the girls were still young, where they lived a modest conservative life as devoted Christians. Michelle grew up to be a quiet private person who was often found with her nose buried in a good book.

guided by the values she was raised on. She didn't party, get into trouble, take risks, or vie to be the center of attention. Michelle's criminal record was non-existent and her future was bright. Her friends described her as a nice nerdy goody two shoes who believed that rules were meant to be followed rather than broken. The only things Michelle broke were records

She was a teenage track star at Claremont High School, which earned her a scholarship at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Staying true to her bookworm beginnings, Michelle enrolled as a medieval and early modern studies student in 2005 and minored in art history and women's studies. She graduated from the private liberal arts college in 2009 with a bachelor's degree and a ring on her finger.

Michelle went on to marry her high school sweetheart at 22 years old. It was the only relationship she had ever been in, and she couldn't imagine being with anyone else. Two years later, she landed her first proper job as a proposal and marketing support manager at an insurance company called York Risk Services Group. Life was good. It was simple. Michelle worked hard, paid her bills on time, had an office with a window, and came home to the love of her life.

It didn't last. The couple had married too young and separated in 2013, just four years after their marriage. Although Michelle took their divorce in stride, she wasn't ready to jump into the dating world she had never really been a part of. Instead, she kept herself busy with work, sometimes clocking up to 70 hours a week. During one of her coffee breaks at a Starbucks later that year, the 26-year-old divorcee met the man who would ruin her.

Ian Diaz. The silver-tongued 35-year-old deputy US Marshal broke down her defenses with ease. Vulnerable and lonely, Michelle caved and handed over her number. The couple fell hard and fast for each other. After just two dates, Ian confessed his love for her. It didn't feel rushed. It felt normal and natural. It felt right. He was older and more experienced than she was and knew what he wanted.

By the spring of 2014, Ian and Michelle had moved in together. What was meant to be the start of something special turned out to be the beginning of the end. Ian's controlling nature began to emerge, but Michelle ignored the red flags, her judgment clouded by his sweet, attentive touch. Ian constantly hassled Michelle about being sexier. He wanted her to wear crop tops, acrylic nails, more makeup, and pierce her belly button.

He wanted control. Ian even convinced her to leave the job she loved and take a $20,000 pay cut for a marketing position at the nearby Disneyland resort where he used to work. Without realizing it, Michelle had given up her financial independence and surrounded herself with Ian's watchful ex-colleagues. Worse, Ian now knew she could be easily manipulated. Part two, happy Valentine's Day.

Ian surprised Michelle with a trip to New York for her 28th birthday in December 2014. The city twinkled with thousands of Christmas lights and the atmosphere was truly magical. One night, Ian took her to the Rockefeller Center for one last surprise. He got down on one knee under the iconic giant Christmas tree and asked Michelle to marry him. Swept off of her feet by the romantic gesture, she said yes. Once Ian had her locked down,

He began pressuring his innocent, God-fearing fiancée to have sex with other men so that he could watch. Cuckolding, where a person is turned on by watching their partner get intimate with others, is only harmless if both parties consent without coercion. Apparently, Ian didn't get the memo. He hounded Michelle so relentlessly that she threatened to break up with him if he didn't stop, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. Unfortunately, his persistence paid off.

On Valentine's Day in 2015, Michelle gave in to his sexual demands. Bullied, browbeaten, and under the influence of cold medicine and several fireball shots, she had sex with a stranger Ian found on Craigslist while he filmed. Michelle woke up the next morning sick with regret. She begged her fiancé to delete the video, but he refused. Ian was unmoved by his future wife's anguish, despite being the reason for it.

He blamed her instead and said she was overreacting. No one put a gun to her head after all. Confused and ashamed, Michelle believed him. The couple bought a condo in downtown Anaheim, California four months later. The brand new two-story apartment cost just under $470,000. They took a mortgage out together, but Michelle had to come up with the entire $14,400 down payment herself.

She hoped the condo would bring them together. Instead, it tore them apart. Ian's emotional abuse escalated and the newlyweds began having nasty fights. He would lose himself in angry tirades and rant at Michelle for hours. She tried to leave him at one point, but Ian threw her on the bed and held her down as she screamed and clawed at him. Struggling beneath his weight, worn down by Ian's gaslighting, Michelle was riddled with self-doubt.

She thought it was her fault and even emailed her younger sister to ask if she was being crazy or overreacting. Eventually, common sense prevailed and Michelle realized she wasn't the problem. Ian Diaz was. By August 2015, summer was nearing its end and Michelle had worked up the courage to leave him. She packed as many of her possessions as possible into the boot of her Volkswagen Jetta and escaped to her parents' house.

Ian didn't take it well. Ian accused her of cheating on him and took back her engagement ring. Although he continued to live in their condo, he didn't take over the repayments and Michelle was forced to pay half the mortgage. This time though, she wasn't going quietly. Part three, petty until the bitter end. An explosive year-long battle over the condo ensued. Sick of Ian's selfishness, Michelle finally lost it.

She sent him scathing emails filled with fire and brimstone threats. One email sent on September 10th, 2015 read: "Your sins are many, including defiling me and my family with your wicked and evil sexual acts, your financial coercion and irresponsibility, your glutton, your greed, your lust, your sloth, your wrath, your envy, and most of all, your pride. I will bring the full force of the law and the word of God against you to judge you.

Michelle's emails may have been hostile, but they were just a front. She was scared of Ian. The Deputy US Marshal had a concealed carry permit and several firearms he wasn't afraid to use. She noticed an SUV with no number plates, just like Ian's, tailing her around town. Michelle was convinced that he was using his law enforcement connections to have her followed and intimidate her into giving him their condo.

fearing for her safety. She reported her abusive ex-fiance to her job and Chapman University, where she had been pursuing a master's degree in business administration since 2014. She told them she was afraid of Ian, but only her school took her concerns seriously. The university security team banned him from campus grounds and notified him via email, comforted by their swift action. Michelle felt like she could breathe again,

Ian, on the other hand, was enraged. Unbeknownst to her, he made a petty attempt at retaliation by going to the Anaheim Police Department. He reported Michelle for her annoying emails and accused the MBA student of blackmail. Ian also applied for a restraining order against her, saying that her emotional instability, history of fits of rage, and self-medication with alcohol made him feel unsafe.

Unsurprisingly, the judge dismissed his allegations and rejected his application. But Michelle Hadley was now on their radar. The dispute over their condo was still in full swing at this point. By the end of 2015, one year after their failed engagement, Ian and Michelle hired property lawyers to help them reach a financial agreement. Eventually, the pair agreed that, by early June 2016, Ian would take over the mortgage repayments.

If he couldn't afford to pay by then, they would sell the condo and split the money. It was finally over, officially at least. Part 4. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Michelle was able to move on at last. She began renting a small apartment near Chapman University and used the little money she had left to make it feel like a home. Meanwhile, Ian was moving on in his own way.

He wasted no time and jumped onto dating sites to search for his next conquest. It didn't take long before he found one. In January 2016, Ian met 31-year-old Angela Connell. Angela had dark hair, a sharp jawline, and a big, bright smile. She was beautiful, and Ian was smitten. They hit it off immediately and had no intentions of taking it slow, irrespective of the bad breakup he had gone through months earlier.

The pair got married one month later and Angela moved into Ian's condo, the same one Michelle still partly owned. By May of that year, four months after the couple had met, Ian and Angela Diaz were expecting twins. It wasn't long before Michelle found out. While the lovebirds celebrated their news, jealousy and resentment festered within her. Ian had moved on, married, and gotten his new wife pregnant in a matter of months.

The fact that Angela was now living in the condo Michelle was working overtime to pay for was salt in her still raw wounds. She couldn't let it go and waged a personal vendetta against her ex-fiance and his pregnant bride via email. Angela didn't feel so lucky anymore. Make no mistake, she was delighted to have met and married Ian. However, the torrent of emails flooding her inbox made her fear for her future.

Michelle's messages were laced with the same biblical threats as those she sent to Ian after their breakup. On May 29th, Angela received an email from Michelle that read: "I hope you are scared to death tomorrow. Be prepared. Don't sleep. Be watchful of the daughters of God. We will steal your child, and we will watch as it dies." The mother-to-be tried to ignore Michelle's relentless emails, but they were getting darker by the day.

She threatened to have Angela raped and murdered, and her unborn baby slaughtered in her womb. She attached morbid images of naked women being strangled, women being beaten, and others being groped by masked men. Soon, Michelle began including photos of aborted fetuses and decapitated bodies. Angela couldn't take it anymore and went to the police.

On June 1st, Angela Diaz filed a restraining order against Michelle Hadley with the Anaheim police. She accused Michelle of repeatedly threatening her life, her unborn children, and her marriage. The 29-year-old had apparently created over six different email addresses just to harass Angela and slander her husband, Ian. The mother-to-be was forced to completely uproot her life,

She deleted her online profiles, stopped leaving her home and missed work at her new job. She also claimed that the constant fear of being attacked, raped and murdered led to an emotional breakdown with severe consequences. Angela wept as she explained to the police that she had been pregnant in the spring before the twins, but miscarried due to the stress.

It didn't matter how much she begged Ian's ex to leave their family alone. The tone and tenor of Michelle's emails continued to escalate, and she showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The police immediately became concerned. They recalled that Deputy US Marshal, Ian Diaz, had lodged a similar complaint against the MBA student months earlier. A judge granted Angela's restraining order without hesitation or further inquiry.

and Michelle was served with it five days later. She was speechless, other than in order to appear in court. She received no other documentation of whatever complaints her ex-fiance's new wife had made. The self-proclaimed bookworm swore she was being framed. However, her protests fell on deaf ears. Part Five: When Crazy Meets Craigslist Angela Diaz felt as though she could finally stop looking over her shoulder. However,

it quickly became apparent that the restraining order had done nothing but push Michelle to new levels of depravity. On June 21st, Angela began receiving emails responding to a Craigslist ad that she had never created, the senders of which were all eagerly agreeing to rape the soon-to-be mother of twins. Someone, who the Diaz's believed to be Michelle, had made a Craigslist account under Angela's name and posted an ad pretending to be her that sought partners for a rape fantasy.

The ad stated that Angela wanted someone to attack her while she was walking her dog, force her into her condo, and rape her while she struggled. It was incredibly thorough and included several personal details, such as the breed of Angela's dog, her phone number, and the condo address. Paralyzed by fear, Angela stopped walking her dog and stayed inside. Three days later, the police responded to a 911 call at the Diaz's condo in downtown Anaheim.

Officers arrived at the scene to find Angela in hysterics. Someone had broken into their garage and tried to rape her, but she managed to fend the sicko off. The poor woman's neck was reddened, her shirt was torn, and her head had been slammed against a wall. The police took one look at Angela and decided her injuries were all the evidence they needed to arrest Michelle. That same night, Michelle was driving home from a date. It had gone surprisingly well, and she was feeling hopeful.

As she neared her quiet cul-de-sac in Ontario, California, she noticed police in her driveway. Her heart dropped. The officers were cold and unfriendly as they notified her of a warrant to search her phone, tablet, and laptop. Michelle handed over her devices. She had complete faith in the justice system and knew the police would quickly realize their mistake, but they didn't. Instead,

They accused her of a litany of sordid sex crimes against Ian Diaz's pregnant wife. The MBA student insisted that she was being impersonated online, most likely by Ian, but the officers weren't convinced. The deputy US Marshal had sworn to protect and serve just like them. Before she could rationalize what was happening, Michelle was handcuffed in the back of an unmarked police car driving to Anaheim detention facility.

She spent the night of June 24th in jail, freezing in her short, sleeveless black dress. Outside Michelle's dingy cell, Angela enjoyed her first night of peace. The hostile emails had finally stopped and she could relax. However, her respite was short-lived. Michelle was released the following day after her parents paid her $10,000 bail and Angela's inbox was overrun once again.

to her horror. Several of them were responses to newly created Craigslist ads, where Michelle, posing as Angela, was begging to be raped. Just over two weeks later, one responder made his move. Angela called the police on July 13th to report a prowler lurking outside their condo. Officers arrived and caught the creep, who turned out to be a 17-year-old boy. The kid explained that he was just responding to Angela's ad. He thought it was consensual.

Angela was shaken, but Ian was livid. He demanded that his deranged ex be cuffed and locked away. The Anaheim police were quick to oblige. Michelle was arrested the next day while doing homework at her parents' offices. Her crimes were so heinous that she was slapped with a bail amount of $1 million and faced life in prison. The Orange County District Attorney's Office justified the extreme measures.

Michelle Hadley was a public safety risk, and if she wasn't arrested, they feared Angela Diaz would eventually be raped and killed. Michelle's parents were mortified by the accusations against their daughter, but their belief that she was innocent never faltered. The couple couldn't afford to pay Michelle's exorbitant bail. They could, however, scrape their savings together to get her a good lawyer. Although this meant that Michelle would have to stay in custody until her trial.

The terrified goody two shoes put on a brave face and prepared for prison life. Part six, a snake in shining armor. Michelle Hadley was not built for prison. The slight bookish brunette was gentle, polite, and far too soft to survive the cutthroat environment. And yet against all odds, she did. News of her crime spread through the penitentiary like a venereal disease. Accused of sex crimes against a pregnant woman,

Michelle was dubbed the worst of the worst and was persecuted by both her fellow inmates and the guards. She received death threats, was strip searched regularly, and was confined to her cell 23 hours a day. At times, she was even denied access to toilet paper, sanitary products, and contact lenses. Michelle eventually found solace in an unlikely source,

her new cellmate. A kindly, talkative 85-year-old grandmother held on kidnapping charges was assigned to bunk with her. The women came from opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, but they bonded over being at the bottom of the food chain. The elderly woman was slow, frail, and hard of hearing, which made her an easy target for the corrections officers. Michelle helped her cellmate avoid the guards' taunting and harassment, and it gave her some purpose.

She also found strength in her parents' letters. Michael and Suzanne Hadley fully supported their daughter and were doing everything they could to clear her name. Surprisingly, it wasn't very difficult. It just took some basic investigative work. They pulled Michelle's school records to show she was in class when some of the vicious emails were sent and medical records that confirmed she was briefly hospitalized when suspected of sending others.

Michael even downloaded simple software that traced IP addresses to identify the locations and devices from which each email was sent. He quickly found evidence, proving that the malicious emails were not sent by his daughter nor from her devices. Suzanne diligently organized and filed his findings, removing any barriers to Michelle's exoneration. However, they never got the chance to hand their evidence in. On September 30th, 2016,

Ian Diaz walked into the Anaheim Police Department and told the officers that Michelle Hadley was innocent and his wife, Angela Diaz, had framed her. Angela had been impersonating herself. She sent the vindictive emails, created the rape fantasy ads, and sent an innocent woman to prison for three long months. Ian claimed that he had the realization after uncovering several of his now estranged wife's other lies.

one being the miscarriage she blamed on Michelle. Angela had been pregnant in spring, however, she didn't have a miscarriage, she had an abortion. She was pregnant with a child when she met Ian and terminated the pregnancy because she didn't know who the father was. Ian was understanding at the time, but he couldn't forgive her next deception. Angela had lied to him about their unborn twins,

fooling him using a faked pregnancy test and sonogram photos she bought on Etsy for $7.50. Ian never explained how he discovered Angela's deception, but the police didn't care. They had a serious problem on their hands. Part seven, the victim becomes the villain. One week later, Orange County Deputy District Attorney Richard Zimmer visited Michelle Hadley in prison and broke the news of her wrongful conviction.

He reached through the bars of her cell and shook her hand to apologize on behalf of the city of Anaheim. Michelle was released while investigators honed in on Angela. To her dismay, she was told to stay silent about the truth, even though the case and her mugshot had already made international headlines. On January 6th, 2017, Angela Diaz was finally arrested.

Infuriatingly, the city's prosecutors portrayed her arrest as the hard-earned victory of devoted detectives who employed painstaking cybercriminal investigative work. It couldn't have been further from the truth, and they knew it. Three days later, a staggering three months after Zimmer's pitiful handshake, Michelle Hadley was publicly exonerated. She wasn't overcome with gratitude though.

If she hadn't threatened to go public with their failures, her innocence might have been silenced too. Angela's arrest incited widespread public outrage over Michelle's wrongful conviction and new details began to emerge. Anaheim police rushed to obtain a warrant to search Angela's devices, which should have been done before sending Michelle to prison.

They discovered that Angela had routed the disgusting emails to herself using VPNs, third-party proxy servers, and eight accounts she created under Michelle's name. Not only that, but after finally checking the Diaz's home security footage, they realized that no one had broken in and attacked Angela in June 2016. She had hurt herself. The more they looked into the 32-year-old, the more they wondered what else she had lied about.

Investigators began digging into Angela's past, not knowing they were about to stumble into a labyrinth of lies. She had lied about past employers, forged doctor's notes, faked checks to masquerade as a high earner, and lied about having a law degree. Appallingly, she had even faked cervical cancer to manipulate an ex-boyfriend into letting her move into his home. There was no mistaking it. Angela was a pathological liar, and she was about to pay for it.

On October 17th, 2017, Angela Diaz pleaded guilty to 10 felony charges and 22 misdemeanors. Her charges ranged from making false reports to kidnapping, false imprisonment, and perjury. The world waited with collective suspense, itching to see her hit with a harsh sentence. However, although Angela's actions almost sent Michelle Hadley to prison for life,

She was sentenced to a mere five years in prison as part of a plea bargain. While Angela got a taste of her own medicine, Michelle began picking up the pieces of her life and reputation. She completed her MBA at Chapman University and landed a good job as a marketing specialist for a beauty company. However, her nightmare was far from over. She had survived America's broken justice system, but the allegations against her lived on in the ether.

A simple Google search of her name produced outdated articles from the time the world believed she was a depraved sex criminal. Michelle fled from her infamy in Orange County and moved in with her sister in New York. Still, she struggled to claw her way out of the crater the Diaz's had created. Michelle's bills had piled up during her incarceration

and her wings were clipped by enormous debts. Ian had already sold their condo by the time she was released. However, as expected, she never saw a cent of the $500,000. It didn't matter to her though. She didn't want a payday, she wanted justice. The 31-year-old began her crusade by repaying the kindness of her elderly cellmate,

Michelle had gotten a taste of the corrupt judicial system and realized that she only ever had faith in it because of her privilege. She was bailed out, exonerated, and given her day in court because she was born white, middle-class, and able-bodied. Others weren't as lucky. Michelle persuaded her parents to pay the legal fees for the 85-year-old grandmother and vowed to use her experience to dismantle the blue wall of silence. Part Eight

breaking down the blue wall of silence. On December 20th, 2018, the day of Michelle's 32nd birthday, her attorneys filed a federal civil lawsuit against the city of Anaheim, the Anaheim police, and her ex-fiance, Ian Diaz.

They accused the defendants of 15 violations of her rights, which included her false imprisonment and defamation. Michelle acknowledged that Angela played an active role in the plot to ruin her life. However, she was adamant that her abusive ex was the mastermind behind it. Ian had access to her biblical rants and email accounts, and it came out that he had hacked into her computer to spy on her online activity. Most importantly, he had a motive.

Michelle believed that Ian was bitter after their breakup and became hell-bent on making her suffer for leaving him. The dispute over the condo was the final straw. She alleged that Ian concocted the plan to frame her as an unhinged sexual predator and have her incarcerated, leaving him with the condo. Despite his obvious involvement, Ian was virtually untouched by the scandal that surrounded him

He was protected by the police, the press, and their sexist stereotyping. While the women were referred to by name and portrayed as crazy exes in a cat fight over a love triangle gone wrong, his identity was protected. Ian was known only as John Doe, a moniker typically reserved for the victim of a crime. Worse still, after snitching on his accomplice, Ian was never questioned by police again.

it was clear to Michelle and her attorneys that they were up against the blue wall of silence, an informal term used to describe the common problem of police officers covering up crimes committed by their own. They accused the Anaheim police of foregoing standard investigation protocols and ignoring glaring evidence to protect their brother in arms. To start with, when Michelle was initially arrested,

She told police that Ian was abusive and may be impersonating her online. Instead of looking into it, the officers dismissed her concerns and victim blamed her, asking why she hadn't reported him earlier. The detectives even ignored concrete evidence that proved Michelle was innocent. In late May of 2016, one week before Angela filed a restraining order against her, Michelle noticed strange activity on her accounts.

Google alerted her that a Gmail address she'd never created had been shut down. And Microsoft notified her that her primary email address had been made the recovery contact for several new ones. Michelle knew that someone, likely Ian, was up to something sinister. She phoned the Anaheim Police Department four times to report her suspicions, but never heard back from them. That's not all. It came out that three days before Michelle's first arrest in June 2016,

A search warrant showed that 21 of the threatening emails were sent from Ian and Angela's condo. Astonishingly, police arrested and jailed her regardless. The investigators also failed to check the condo surveillance cameras and didn't follow up on the timing of the emails, which would have shown that Michelle was in school, in the hospital, or had handed her devices over to police when several of them were sent.

adding insult to injury. She never did get her phone, tablet, or laptop back. Rather than remaining impartial, the Anaheim detectives immediately believed the Deputy U.S. Marshals' claims that Michelle was just some crazy emotional woman. They arrested her for an elaborate but poorly executed scheme that a basic investigation would have unraveled. The evidence was there. They chose to ignore it, and now they would face the consequences. Part 9.

untangling the Diaz's labyrinth of lies. Over two years after taking them to court, Michelle Hadley won her federal lawsuit against the city of Anaheim and its police force on April 27th, 2021. Although the city's attorneys claimed that the officers had probable cause to believe Michelle had committed the crimes, the US District Judge David Carter disagreed.

He stated that any competent investigator would have thoroughly reviewed the evidence and found no probable cause nor criminal behavior by Michelle. Judge Carter ruled in her favor and the city of Anaheim settled for an undisclosed amount. However, Michelle was not satisfied with money. She wanted her toxic ex-fiance brought to justice. On May 12th, 2021, that's exactly what happened.

43-year-old Ian Diaz was indicted for framing Michelle and causing her incarceration. His ex-wife, Angela Connell, wasn't indicted but was named as a co-conspirator. The evidence had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Ian masterminded the plot to frame Michelle as a rape predator so that he and Angela could keep the condo.

The disgraced Deputy US Marshal was slapped with a slew of charges, including cyber-stalking, conspiracy to commit cyber-stalking, and perjury. At Ian's request, Angela created the fake online personas, sent herself the grisly emails, and created the rape fantasy ads that coaxed creeps to her home. When the 17-year-old responded to one of their ads, Angela called 911 and left Ian to speak with the officers.

He urged his fellow law enforcers to arrest his crazy ex-fiance and told them she was hiding out at her parents' house. After Michelle was arrested, evidence shows that Ian actually texted another Craigslist user the next day to lure him to their condo and further incriminate her. Ian covered his tracks by plotting with Angela over encrypted messaging apps and canceling his cell service after posting several Craigslist ads himself.

He knew his conspiracy would likely unravel once Michelle went to court for the crimes they had accused her of. So he threw his then wife to the wolves. Ian feigned innocence and turned Angela into the police before she had a chance to do the same. He made one grave mistake though. He underestimated Michelle Suzanne Hadley. On May 13th, 2021, Ian Diaz was arrested.

He faced a maximum penalty of five years for each of his charges. The US Marshal Service publicly condemned him for his actions, relieved him of his operational duties and put him on administrative leave. Finally, Michelle had won the justice she deserved. Her perseverance and bravery exposed the Anaheim police's coverup and ultimately led to the true criminal finally facing the wrath of the justice system he manipulated to destroy lives.