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Warning: this story contains spoilers from Netflix's new documentary, "A Toxic Love Story," streaming now.
When U.S. Marshal Deputy Ian Diaz and his then-wife Angela Connell Diaz began to receive death threats and harassment messages from an online user named “Lilithistruth,” they pinned the blame on his ex-fiancé Michelle Hadley.
They claimed they received messages from the user about “rape fantasy” Craigslist ads, which were used to lure men into sexually assaulting Connell. When officers responded to a 911 call in June 2016, Connell said a man wearing a black ski mask shoved her against the wall and strangled her. But as authorities began to build a case, they realized the reality of the situation was much darker.
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The married couple had orchestrated the cyberstalking and harassment scheme themselves, according to a Department of Justice release. They impersonated Diaz's ex-girlfriend Hadley, staging several "hoax sexual assaults" and harassments, in an effort to frame her – and they did, at least for a little. Hadley served 88 days in prison and was held on a $1 million bail before being exonerated in January 2017.
Netflix’s “A Toxic Love Story” (now streaming) recounts the dizzying crime that was concocted by Diaz and Connell, who have since divorced. Here's a complete timeline of the crime, and a breakdown of where Ian Diaz, Angela Connell, and Michelle Hadley are today.
August 2013
Michelle Hadley and Ian Diaz met on an online dating site. Diaz was Hadley's second serious relationship – the first was with her high school sweetheart – and the two quickly became a love match. After getting engaged, the couple purchased a condo near Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in May 2015. Hadley made the down payment, while Diaz made regular mortgage payments, she said in the documentary.
As their relationship progressed, Diaz allegedly began to put pressure on Hadley. She claimed he asked her to have sex with another man while he watched, set expectations for how she dressed, asked her to wear fake nails and installed a camera facing the kitchen. She also alleged that Diaz was very unpredictable with his behaviors, saying that he would take her out for an extravagant dinner one day, but then be aggressive and slam the brakes of the car on the next.
August 2015
After two years together, Hadley and Diaz separated, according to a release by the Orange County District Attorney's office.
January 2016
Following their breakup, Diaz met Angela Connell. Within a month, the couple eloped, and Connell legally took Diaz's surname. They moved in together, living in the Anaheim apartment that Diaz owned with Hadley.
May 2016
Shortly after getting married, Connell told her husband she was expecting twins, according to a release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
June 2016
By summertime, Connell reached out to the Anaheim Police Department, reporting that she received cyberstalking messages and threatening emails, which included images of decapitated babies, from a person she claimed was Hadley. In "A Toxic Love Story," the emails are addressed from a user called "LilithIsTruth" or "Lilith," which refers to a female, devil-like figure.
The couple also falsely accused Hadley of responding to Craigslist ads about "rape fantasies," claiming she would lure men to Connell's home so they would forcibly rape her. The couple had routed the emails to themselves, making it appear as if Hadley sent them, using multiple accounts and VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), according to an Orange County District Attorney's Office release.
On June 24, Connell alleged that a man arrived at her apartment and attempted to rape her, according to records.
July 2016
In the wake of the "rape fantasy" report, Anaheim Police arrested Hadley in July 2016. At the time, she received felony charges and faced the possibility of life in prison. While Hadley spent time in jail, Diaz sold the condo under her nose.
January 2017
Hadley served 88 days in prison before she was released and exonerated of all charges on Jan. 9, 2017, by the Orange County District Attorney's Office. That same month, law enforcement in Phoenix, Arizona, arrested Connell, according to Orange County records.
Connell was charged with 10 felony counts and pleaded guilty in January 2017 to all charges, including fraud, false imprisonment and falsely reporting a crime. She was sentenced to five years in state prison nine months later.
In a 2017 news conference, former Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said it was "unfathomable why" Connell "would concoct such a diabolical scheme to hurt an innocent person," claiming that she never showed any "remorse, compassion, or empathy for the victim."
And it wasn't the first time, according to the Netflix doc. The Orange County District Attorney's office and the Anaheim Police Department also stated that Connell lied about having cervical cancer and her employment during a previous relationship with Jason Rayburn.
In the doc, footage shows Rayburn gathering close friends and family to confront Connell. "Everybody in this room has been deceived," he said in the archival video, referring to her alleged lies about her job, staged doctor's appointments and falsified battle with a terminal illness. "I'm more heartbroken than anything else."
May 2021
In May 2021, Diaz was arrested. Nearly two years later, a federal jury convicted the former U.S. Marshal for framing Hadley for the "rape fantasy" schemes and cyberstalking. Federal prosecutors believe Hadley was targeted in the puzzling plot to convince her to leave the condo they previously purchased. On the same day of his conviction, Hadley gave birth to a baby girl.
June 2023
Diaz is sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison for conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, perjury, and obstruction of justice, according to a Department of Justice news release.
Where are Angela and Ian Diaz now?
Diaz annulled his marriage to Connell in April 2017, and she reverted to her maiden name, according to the documentary. In January 2018, Connell reported to prison but was released to parole supervision in July 2020 after being granted 342 days of pre-sentence credit for time, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Information confirmed to USA TODAY. Connell officially completed her parole on July 19, 2021.
Following her prison time, Connell moved away from California. She now lives on Indigenous lands in Phoenix, Arizona, and works as a director at an abortion hotline, according to the company's website. She declined to participate in the Netflix documentary. USA TODAY has reached out to her attorney for comment.
As for Diaz, he is serving a 10-year prison sentence at FMC Fort Worth, a federal medical facility with a detention center. He has a release date of Jan. 31, 2031, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Where is Michelle Hadley now?
After serving 88 days behind bars in January 2017, Hadley sued the city of Anaheim, as well as Diaz and Connell. The city settled for an undisclosed amount in 2021, according to court documents viewed by USA TODAY.
Hadley went on to complete her master's degree, move to New York City and pick up a marketing gig. After living in New York for six years, she left the state and began a new chapter, including raising a little girl. (Hadley has not disclosed her current residence or her child's name.)
"I'm also going to teach her in general what healthy love actually looks like," Hadley tells USA TODAY, emphasizing that her daughter surrounds herself with people who respect her boundaries. "One of the best things to equip her with is a sense of her own identity, a sense of self-confidence."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where are Michelle Hadley, Ian and Angela Diaz now? 'Toxic Love Story' update
