Loading summary
Transcript213 lines
- [00:01]
A
Every month, my wireless bill used to arrive and I'd stare at it like it was evidence from an active investigation. Random fees, vague charges, free perks that somehow were not so free. The whole thing felt deeply suspicious. Eventually, I did what any rational person would do. I stopped the madness and switched to Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile has premium wireless plans starting at just $15 a month with high speed data and unlimited talk and text on the nation's largest 5G network. No long term contracts, no nonsense. You can bring your own phone, keep your number and activate with ESIM in minutes. Turns out the real crime scene was my monthly phone bill. Turns out the real crime scene was my monthly phone bill. Ditch overpriced wireless and get three months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans@mintmobile.com crime scene. That's mintmobile.com Crimescene. Upfront payment of $45 for three month five gigabyte plan required, equivalent to $15 a month new customer offer for the first three months only. Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. A pregnant wife says she's being terrorized. Her husband, a federal agent backs up her whole story. The police believe them. An arrest is made. But what if none of that story were true? In 2016, federal agent Ian Diaz reports to the Anaheim police that his pregnant wife, Angela is being stalked and harassed by Ian's ex, Michelle. There was overwhelming evidence. They were distraught. The suspect was seemingly unhinged. Michelle is arrested. But none of it is what it appeared to be. Welcome to Crime Scene, the show where we tell the stories behind the world's most unforgettable crimes. This week on the show, the story of Michelle Hadley. And this is a case that starts out as something you think you might have heard before. A woman scorned, a jealous ex. But it's also a story that turns that trope completely on its head. From Sony Podcasts and the Binge, this is the story of the fake stalker. Hey, y'. All. Welcome to the Crime Scene Office. I'm Jonathan Hirsch.
- [02:33]
B
And I'm Cooper Maul.
- [02:34]
A
And together, each week, we're going to bring you the most remarkable cases and crimes throughout history. We're going to dive into the investigation, the legal, the criminal, all the angles. But most importantly, we're going to tell you the story. Beat by beat, line by line. This show is a part of the Binge, which is Sony Podcast's network of limited series true crime shows that I lead up where you might hear me from time to time. And, Cooper, think of this as all the things you love about riveting true crime storytelling in those series in a single episode. So with so many of these cases, we're immediately left with a lot of questions. I think what makes the story we're about to talk about so unique is that even though there are two sides to every story, what happens when you only look into one? And who do we trust implicitly by virtue of their status and station in life, their background to tell us the truth? And should we?
- [03:31]
B
All right, well, let's get into it.
- [03:32]
A
Let's do it. Okay. So it's June 2016. Late at night in Anaheim. We're in a condo complex in Orange County. Angela Diaz stumbles out of the garage of the condo that she shares with her husband. She's bruised, she's scratched. Her clothes are ripped. She dials 911. A stranger just tried to rape her in her garage. She says she barely got away. Police arrive within minutes, and Angela is shaking. She's crying. She tells the officers that she's a lawyer, that she's pregnant with twins, and that her husband is Deputy U.S. marshal Ian Diaz. The condo Angela is standing in front of is more than just like a backdrop. It's the same Anaheim unit that Ian once shared with his ex fiance, Michelle Hadley. Angela tells the officers that this was not a random act of violence. For months, she's been saying that someone has been sending her threatening graphic email posting about her on Craigslist.
- [04:42]
B
Terrifying.
- [04:43]
A
So in one situation, she tells law enforcement that her name was in a Craigslist post that somebody had made about, like, a rape fantasy in which they put her name and her address in it. And they said, like, if this person resists or screams to keep going because it was sort of, like, part of the fantasy.
- [05:03]
B
Yeah, I think they call this, like, consensual non consent, which, you know, between two consenting adults is a very, you know, not for me to judge. Yeah, but if you're not expecting that, that's got to be terrifying.
- [05:17]
A
And some of the men who read these ads and assume that it was accurate show up at the condo assuming that, like, something was supposed to happen here. They were just, like, sort of confused, turned on. And they tell police that they were responding to what they thought was a consensual kink ad. Angela and Ian say they know exactly who is behind all of this, and it's Michelle Hadley, Ian's ex fiance.
- [05:45]
B
I mean, the moment you say ex fiance, My mind immediately goes to jealousy also because the address is listed. It's gotta be somebody who knows where these people live.
- [05:55]
A
Seems like a reasonable story, and I think law enforcement believed it at the time. They obtain a warrant. Michelle Hadley, the ex, is a 29 year old grad student. She's arrested and booked in the Orange County Jail. She's charged with stalking, criminal threats, attempted rape, and assault during a residential burglary. These charges together comprise a life sentence, potentially. Yeah, I know. Overnight.
- [06:25]
B
Yeah. I mean, situation she's in, grad student to accused would be rapist. That's kind of intense. But okay.
- [06:35]
A
And on top of that charge, it's quite a provocative story. Right. Like, it ends up in the local and national media immediately. People call her deranged and obsessed.
- [06:46]
B
I mean, that is what it looks like.
- [06:47]
A
Yeah.
- [06:48]
B
But this can't be like all of who she is. So who was she before this?
- [06:53]
A
So to back up a little bit. Yeah. In 2013, Michelle and Ian, they meet online. She was in her late 20s, he was in his 30s, and he was already working as a deputy U.S. u.S. Marshall at the time. They bonded over Southern California and especially Disneyland. They would go on like theme park dates together.
- [07:13]
B
I mean. Yeah, this one gets me. Yeah. You know how I feel about all of this. Like, the Disney adult thing is not my cup of tea. Do not understand how people connect with that.
- [07:23]
A
But to each their own. If you love going with your bow to Disneyland, I appreciate that for myself. It's not exactly the place that I want to be. I have two small kids too, so my memory of Disneyland is exhaustion, not.
- [07:36]
B
Yeah. It doesn't give off the romantic vibe. But hey, I mean, they are in Anaheim. Like the proximity to Disneyland, it's an easy thing to go do.
- [07:42]
A
Yeah. If you're an Angelino. If you're from Southern California, the Disney adult phenomenon is something that you may be more familiar with than your average person.
- [07:50]
B
Definitely.
- [07:51]
A
Right. So, okay. So anyway, after two years of dating Michelle and Ian, they buy a condo together in Anaheim, just a short distance from Disneyland. And Michelle pays the entire down payment. But both of their names go on the title of the condo. Right. So the mortgage and everything is.
- [08:11]
B
Their lives are getting more entwined here.
- [08:13]
A
Yeah. They're linked together. And this condo, as far as we can tell, was sort of an anchor for their shared life together. This symbol that they were building just outside of Disneyland.
- [08:25]
B
I mean, moving in together, owning anything together is a major milestone and like status symbol in a relationship.
- [08:30]
A
Right, right. And you are tied to that person. In very meaningful ways after that. And eventually the engagement is in fact. And the breakup was not good. It was bitter. It was drawn out.
- [08:43]
B
I mean, I feel like there, like when you own anything with anyone, share custody of children, animals, own a home, whatever, like the breakup is always worse. It just can't be clean.
- [08:53]
A
Yeah. You don't want to be trying to figure out where you live with a person that you don't want to live with anymore.
- [08:59]
B
Yeah. And you certainly don't want to be living with your ex either.
- [09:01]
A
Yeah. After the split though, Michelle starts sending these messages to Ian. So it escalates a little bit. As far as we know, they have like religious. Religious language in them and some moral judgment. She accuses him of sinning against God, called him Satan at one point and warned of God's vengeance.
- [09:24]
B
Yeah, I would be. I'd be freaked out by that for sure.
- [09:27]
A
Yeah. If your ex is telling you that they're warning you of God's vengeance, I would definitely be a moment of pause. Some of the emails that we've seen sort of. Girl.
- [09:39]
B
Winter is so last season. And now spring's got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders that perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done. Hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear open that envelope. It's time for a little in person spring treatment. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. Focus features in Blumhouse Obsession. When I have a crush on a guy no one knows.
- [10:14]
A
Be careful.
- [10:15]
B
I wish Nikki loved me more than anyone in the entire world.
- [10:18]
A
Who you wish for? Obsession is 96% fresh on rotten tomatoes.
- [10:23]
B
I love you so, so, so, so much.
- [10:26]
A
It's blood soaked nightmare fuel.
- [10:29]
B
What kind of spills you put on her? You have been warned. Obsession.
- [10:33]
A
Rated R under 17, animated without parent only theaters May 15 with special engagements in Dolby. Say as much. You know that like the spirit of God would sort of like imbue the conversations they were having about the condo. And you know that there will be vengeance if you don't cooperate in the sharing of this asset. So you know at one point she says, like, like, will you please explain to your real estate attorney that God's law is above all laws.
- [11:04]
B
I don't think that the real estate attorney is going to care about that at all.
- [11:08]
A
I got to say, a sort of Mixing business and pleasure there a little bit. But you know, it didn't go over well for her. Either way, they go to court and the outcome is, is that Ian gets to stay in the unit, but if he ever did sell it, they would have to split the proceeds because both of their names are on the title. Michelle retains a legal stake in the property, and then a new woman enters the picture.
- [11:31]
B
Okay, I feel like I know where this is going.
- [11:33]
A
Yeah. Ian meets Angela on a dating site. She's a lawyer and within a month they're engaged.
- [11:41]
B
This guy moves incredibly fast.
- [11:44]
A
Yeah, he does. And Angela is now, in a way replacing Michelle in the condo. They're living together.
- [11:53]
B
And of course, this is like most of the time when we break up with someone, if they get with somebody else.
- [11:58]
A
Yeah.
- [11:58]
B
We can kind of not have, as we can choose how much visibility into that we have.
- [12:03]
A
Yeah. But because we do, we live in a world where we can have ultimate visibility into that. Yeah.
- [12:08]
B
But the, the sharing of the condo, I mean, Michelle is going to be privy of any kind of life updates of Ian's. Right.
- [12:17]
A
She co owns the space. Yeah.
- [12:19]
B
Okay. Yeah.
- [12:21]
A
So they get married in February of 2016. So this is all happening quite quickly. And soon after, Angela announces that she's pregnant with twins.
- [12:33]
B
So, you know, I'm thinking about like post breakup here. It looks like Ian's life has like, you know, accelerated. Accelerated. He's had a glow up, he's got this new wife, he's got babies on the way, he's got a career. All this stuff. I know that feeling of like, when you break up with someone, you secretly want to be the one doing better than the other person. Right, right.
- [12:55]
A
It does feel like a competition when you. It shouldn't. But we all have been there, you know, you don't want to feel like you were left behind with somebody.
- [13:02]
B
Oh, no, no. But I'm sure this is, this is tough for Michelle. You know, I can understand why, like, Michelle would be miffed by this.
- [13:08]
A
Yeah. I mean, for all intents and purposes, it appears as though he has moved on. But the emails keep coming, but this time not to Ian. Yeah. Angela starts to get these emails that are saying things about like how she needs to fear potentially God's vengeance, how, you know, in one case they said, I hope you're scared to death tomorrow.
- [13:31]
B
And she's pregnant.
- [13:32]
A
Yes. And you might be beautiful, you might be the one he married, but you are still a sinner and must be punished. I mean, wow.
- [13:44]
B
Yeah. I received my fair share of weird texts from exes and that. Nothing like this.
- [13:51]
A
That takes the cake for sure. Next, this Craigslist post that appears where Angela seems to be inviting men to the condo. Men start showing up. They said that they're responding to this ad.
- [14:04]
B
I think something that's interesting about this here is, like, it's, I think, easy for maybe someone like Angela to villainize these men, but these men are responding to something they think is a consensual ad. So now, you know, they're being thrown into this makes and being greeted by a woman who's like deer in headlights. And I'm. I'm sure their intention is not to be like, a scary and threatening presence, but thinking as, like, Angela, she's like, you know, pregnant. She's in this kind of, like, fragile state. These are not the kind of people I'd want this, like, coming around my home.
- [14:38]
A
Yeah, you're trying to build a little bit of a cocoon when, you know, you're anticipating a new member of your family in that situation. And to feel like you are actively in danger is. I can't imagine what that must have felt like. So Angela and Ian get the cops involved, right? They tell the police they suspect that Michelle is behind these emails and the ads they're pointing to her angry post breakup messages and the ongoing dispute about the condo.
- [15:10]
B
Well, yeah, they have a ton of fodder for their. Their claim here now.
- [15:13]
A
Yeah. And then they file, of course, a restraining order. She's informed because of it. She's stunned when she finds out about this. We haven't heard a lot about Michelle so far, but she denies any emails or posting anything on Craigslist. And she says that she wanted no contact with Ian. So what gives, right? So for about a month after all of this happens, the messages died down.
- [15:42]
B
I think that is a little suspicious, right? I mean.
- [15:44]
A
Right. It would seem that she had something to do with it. Do you know what I mean? But by the same token, she's here saying, like, hey, I don't even want contact with this guy, so who are you going to believe? I think in this case, given the background, it's easy to believe that Ian and his new partner, Angela are clearly being harassed and that, you know, as far as they can tell, it seems that she had something to do with it.
- [16:14]
B
Yeah, I mean, there's. There's definitely ample motive.
- [16:17]
A
Yes. And after about a month, the emails start up again.
- [16:24]
B
Oh, boy. Okay, well, what do they say this time?
- [16:27]
A
So the Craigslist posts are continuing, you know, and they're more Graphic, now more violent. They include explicit instructions about the, you know, showing up at the house and ignore any screaming. More men are approaching the condo. Angela calls the police and repeatedly accuses Michelle as the mastermind. And In June of 2016, this is when Angela calls 911 and tells the officers that a stranger had attacked her and tried to rape her. They found cuts and bruises, as I said, and torn clothing, and she's visibly shaken.
- [17:02]
B
Awful.
- [17:04]
A
Combined with the months of all these email reports and the restraining order and the Craigslist ads, the investigators start to treat this as a very serious escalation in a pattern of stalking.
- [17:14]
B
Yeah, that's exactly what I would call it as well. I mean, and also, restocking is like. I think it's like something like two instances of unwanted contact.
- [17:24]
A
Right.
- [17:25]
B
There's definitely more than that here now. And it seems to all be tracing directly back to Michelle. Like, who else would be behind this at this point?
- [17:34]
A
Yeah. And they're freaked out and agitated. I mean, at one point, Ian tells the detectives, while pushing for them to arrest her, she needs to be in cuffs and in a padded room. That's his perception of it.
- [17:48]
B
Yeah. Interesting prescription. But, I mean, I understand he's feeling extremely protective of his pregnant wife here.
- [17:55]
A
I feel like a padded room would be enough. You don't. Feels a little bit excessive, but, you know, I wasn't there. I don't know. You can see how people would start to really get engaged with this on a national level. And the stakes are. Are incredibly high, because even though there isn't necessarily. This isn't necessarily like a capital murder case, all of the charges together comprise something that looks like a life sentence, which is about as high a stake, almost as high a stake as it gets.
- [18:23]
B
Yeah.
- [18:24]
A
So bail is set at a million dollars. But Michelle does something very interesting. She chooses to not post bail and instead wants to hire a lawyer with the money that she has, an attorney named Michael Joosty. And I think this is really interesting. Right. Because if you believe you did not do it, why would you spend all this money to post bail? Right. You would take that money, whatever money you had.
- [18:55]
B
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this seems like the smart financial decision here. Right, Right. I think a lot of times people just impulsively post bail and then they're left in the lurch, like when it comes to legal representation.
- [19:07]
A
Right. So whatever the outcome is of this particular story, word to the wise, if you're charged with a murder and you gotta choose between an attorney and bail, I would take the attorney.
- [19:16]
B
Likewise.
- [19:17]
A
Right. So it does sort of speak to the possibility that maybe Michelle has a case here that hasn't fully been explicated in the court of the public opinion or in the law just yet.
- [19:30]
B
Yeah, but it seems like law enforcement's kind of already made up their mind that this is her. There's a ton of evidence. Is there anybody kind of advocating for her on the outside?
- [19:40]
A
Yeah. I mean, you would think, right? Like, I've watched enough episodes of Lincoln Lawyer to know that, like, you can't advocate for yourself exclusively in prison. You gotta get out there. But she does have people helping her. Her parents believe her story. They're not accepting the sort of rapidly snowballing media narrative about her, and they
- [19:59]
B
probably know her better than anybody else.
- [20:01]
A
Yeah, they're pushing hard for investigators to look at this a little bit differently than they have been. So seemingly, everything seems to trace back to Michelle. The emails, the ads, the history. But, Cooper, if it was that simple, we wouldn't have gotten this far.
- [20:20]
B
Right. I'm seeing what you're getting, what you're getting at with the two sides to every story thing here.
- [20:24]
A
We're about to get to that coming up. Stories aren't lining up, and suddenly the version of events everyone accepted doesn't feel so solid anymore.
- [20:42]
B
Okay, for everybody who's been following, we are at the point in the story where we've got a pregnant woman who's being hunted and stalked, a jealous ex who's sitting in jail, and, you know, a pretty ample amount of digital evidence tracing back to her. But now the lens is kind of widening, and her family is starting to advocate that there's another side of the story here.
- [21:07]
A
Yeah, they want to see something different.
- [21:09]
B
So to catch everybody up, who's following, we have this pregnant woman, Angela Diaz. She has been stalked and harassed for months, both physically and digitally.
- [21:19]
A
Yeah.
- [21:21]
B
The alleged mastermind behind this is her husband's ex girlfriend, Michelle Hadley, who's now sitting in jail, who's claiming that she had nothing to do with this, and she's got now enlisted her parents to advocate for her on the outside. So what do they start finding?
- [21:36]
A
I mean, they do. They do start to advocate for her. They pressure law enforcement alongside this attorney that they thankfully could afford to hire, since they weren't posting bond to obtain search warrants for the IP addresses tied to these email accounts that they claimed were phony. And this is where it gets interesting. What they find completely upends the investigation. Up until this point. One of the IP addresses traces back to Angela's Father's house in Phoenix. Another traces to the place where they both lived, the condo.
- [22:19]
B
So the call was coming from inside the house.
- [22:22]
A
The call. Never has there been a more accurate use of the phrase the call that's coming from inside the house than this story.
- [22:31]
B
It totally blows my mind that people still think they can get away with crimes like this.
- [22:37]
A
Oh, my God. I know.
- [22:38]
B
Everything can be traced back to you now, right?
- [22:40]
A
Yeah. And it means that a lot more cases are getting solved than they would have gotten.
- [22:45]
B
Yeah. I mean, we have incredible digital forensic tools now, right?
- [22:48]
A
Yeah. I did the series Watching youg back in December for the Binge, which was about the murder of Nikki Lyly. And that case was eventually solved because they were able to prove the fingerprints, the digital fingerprints of the individual who removed surveillance footage at the time that Nikki went missing and ultimately was murdered. And there was only one person who could do it. But, like, that evidence was the absence of evidence, if you will. And we now live in a world where even if you try to manipulate fact through, you know, digital obfuscation, you'll probably get caught.
- [23:30]
B
Yeah. And we're all using. You know, this has all become so second nature to us, I think that we forget that there. We all have, like, a unique digital signature. Right.
- [23:39]
A
And it's everywhere.
- [23:40]
B
All the time. All the time. I mean, and the data does not lie.
- [23:43]
A
So, I mean, spoken like a true librarian, by the way.
- [23:47]
B
I mean, so now investigators are out here with, like, a very different type
- [23:52]
A
of what is going on inside the house, where all the emails are coming from, Right?
- [23:58]
B
Yes. So, you know, it's not so much how do we build this case against Michelle, but who's Angela?
- [24:05]
A
Who's Angela and did she do this? So, yeah, I mean, they start to look into Angela and they find some troubling information there. They talked to one of her ex boyfriends who had said at one point that she had had cervical cancer.
- [24:21]
B
Yeah. Are you about to tell me that this was a lie, too?
- [24:24]
A
Yeah. There's no records indicating she ever received cancer treatment. And on a day that she was supposedly at an appointment, she never left the house. So she was confronted about this. She didn't apologize or explain, according to the ex boyfriend, she just moved on.
- [24:44]
B
I don't know if any of our other, like, true crime obsessed people are watching this right now. This makes me think of Anatomy of Lies, the Elizabeth Finch story, the TV writer who lied about having cancer and, you know, which ended up being like, one of the most benign lies she told. However, I mean, she put so much effort into this lie. I mean, like, fake chemo, port, all of the medications, et cetera, posting photos with them. I mean, I think lying about having an illness is just extremely manipulative and awful. But it's not illegal.
- [25:23]
A
It's not illegal. And oftentimes people who get caught in the worst case scenario of lies like this have a long history of engaging in this kind of behavior. And this becomes a tip of the spear for investigators. And I think they recognize that pretty early. I mean, to your point about lying as a crime versus, like, a pathology, it is terrifying for the people who are stuck in the middle of somebody's pathological lying behavior, because the purpose is to rearrange reality to fit the needs of that person's desires, wants, agenda. And if you're in the middle of that lie, as it appears, maybe Michelle was. Your whole world can rearrange to meet that person's twisted reality. And then it becomes a news story that you are at the center of, that you're the villain of. Not just a local news story, but a national news story. I cannot imagine how horrible and terrifying and disorienting that must have felt for her. Yeah.
- [26:39]
B
I mean, so what else did they find on Angela?
- [26:40]
A
She told Ian that she was a lawyer. Right. We talked about that earlier. You know, that should be an easy enough thing.
- [26:47]
B
Yeah. To verify your degree, your bar record.
- [26:51]
A
Yeah, she might have a bar record, but she definitely didn't pass the bar. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but the investigators continue to look into this, and there is more. We find out then that this twin pregnancy that was forthcoming was also not real.
- [27:11]
B
But wouldn't have Ian seen, like, ultrasounds, medical records?
- [27:17]
A
Not if you bought them on Etsy for $7 and 50 cents.
- [27:21]
B
It is just, oh, like, wild to me, the amount of energy people put into this. Right.
- [27:27]
A
For what aim? I mean, I guess she was trying to keep this relationship afloat and all of that, but the amount of effort to lie about this, pulling these on Etsy, I mean, they did a reverse image search, which is wild to think that you were, like, looking on the Internet to see if you could find this. And it popped up under the bathroom sink at the house. When they got this warrant, you know, they find used pregnancy tests that had been altered with a pen. And there were no legitimate medical records indicating that she had been involved in any kind of prenatal services through the hospital.
- [28:05]
B
At the risk of sounding giddy here, I just. I'm so amused by all this. Cause you know, this is just my favorite type of proof of.
- [28:12]
A
Well, I mean, I think Margot Freshwater, Fatal Beauty. The stories that you've done are clearly in a space where you're dealing with women like this who are duplicitous, who are existing in two realms at the same time. One that is reality making and.
- [28:31]
B
Yeah. And one is. That's really what's going on. Right. I mean, it's like you talked about earlier. It's like bending that reality.
- [28:38]
A
Yeah.
- [28:38]
B
So, you know, intensely that it becomes your own world.
- [28:42]
A
Right.
- [28:42]
B
I think we talked about. It's like the lying part of this isn't illegal, but it can, you know, morph into lying. That is criminal. Right. Perjury, fraud.
- [28:57]
A
And it has a habit of ticking up with intensity and threat level the farther they go. Almost as if they're pushing the boundaries of what's possible for them to get away with.
- [29:08]
B
And you see it with this. I mean, and we've talked about this before. It's like these people like this typically start with like one little thing. They see they can get away with it, so they keep upping the ante and up. Upping the ante. And for me, it should be like, so exhausting to keep up with all of this.
- [29:24]
A
So much. Yeah. And the cracks are already starting to show. You know, by August of 2016, Angela told Ian that she'd started a job in Orange county as a county clerk. And she asked him at one point to cash a paper check that she had received from the county because she didn't have a bank account.
- [29:44]
B
Okay, what, like grown adult woman.
- [29:46]
A
She has a law degree but no bank account. I don't know, that's. That seems like she did that backwards. But she deposit. He deposits it for her and on September 6 and two days later, it bounces. The account number was closed. And he confronts her. And she admits that she had never worked for the county and that she'd used a computer program to sort of generate a fake pay stub.
- [30:11]
B
I mean, I think about this, like, with frauds. Like, this is like if they applied niota of these, like, crafty and creative skills to something that, you know, wasn't illegal.
- [30:21]
A
This is clearly a job description for something that is legal. That's not happening. I completely agree with you. It's very impressive. Ian begins to suspect that Angela might be behind these harassment campaigns against Michelle.
- [30:38]
B
Yeah, you think? I mean, and now I'm just thinking about, like, Michelle is, you know, been sitting in jail all the while, you know, it could have been offered nothing. I Mean, did the cops start, like, you know, moving the needle on this or what?
- [30:53]
A
Yeah. So detectives are continuing to pull. Unravel the thread here.
- [30:58]
B
Yeah. One of the things I'm kind of stuck on here is like the garage attack. Right. Because Angela, you know, she had visible signs of assault. Her clothes are ripped.
- [31:08]
A
You know, and to your point earlier, there is a digital footprint wherever we step, wherever we go. So they pull the security camera footage from the condo, and for the night that Angela says that this person assaulted her, there is no evidence of an attacker entering the house in the timeframe that she described.
- [31:31]
B
She tricked us. So we had all the evidence that we had had at that point point pointed at Ms. Hadley. But as we found out, it now
- [31:42]
A
appears that Angela Diaz was the one behind everything.
- [31:46]
B
This is the type of thing that really makes my blood boil, because for people who are legitimate victims of these crimes, every time somebody fakes one, it
- [31:54]
A
undermines the integrity of anybody coming forward with a report against another person for assault, domestic violence, sexual assault. That's a scary world to operate in. And I mean, as this story has shown, like, we live in a world where there is a digital footprint for every single movement that we make. And, you know, if a story like this hits the news, it can snowball into, you know, viral stories on TikTok and Instagram and everywhere else. And that becomes very difficult to walk back if what's being presented about you is untrue.
- [32:35]
B
Yeah. Because if people don't catch the long tail, especially now that we're in, like, this 24. 7 news cycle. Right.
- [32:40]
A
Yeah.
- [32:41]
B
You could just be branded. Like, for some people, their. Their memory of you stops with whatever you were pinned at and not actually what happens, you know, what's uncovered. Right.
- [32:51]
A
You can't really unwind that because it just kind of takes on a life of its own. So the woman that we met, this terrified, pregnant victim, is now the one in handcuffs. And Michelle is free to go, which is wild. It's almost like they sort of like.
- [33:08]
B
Yeah.
- [33:08]
A
Like ships in the night traded places again. Yeah.
- [33:13]
B
You know, there is another person at the center of this. Right. I mean, where is Ian in all of this?
- [33:17]
A
I mean, he insists that he was fooled like everyone else was. But if that's true, then why did he appear in the beginning at least to be covering things up? Coming up, the case that looked clear cut from the outside turns inside out, raising a much harder question, who really was in danger here?
- [33:45]
B
This episode is brought to you by.
- [33:47]
A
Prime Obsession is in session.
- [33:49]
B
And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off campus Elle every year after the Love Hypothesis, Sterling point and more. Slow burns, second chances chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. Eczema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with ebglis, a once monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four month or longer dosing phase. About four in ten people taking Epglis achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing.
- [34:34]
A
Emplis Lebricizumab, LBKZ, a 250mg per 2ml injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to ebglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with Eglis. Before starting Ebglis. Tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection.
- [35:08]
B
Ask your doctor about eglis and visit ebgliss.lilly.com or call 1-800-lilyrx or 1-800-545-55979. Okay, y'. All, like by now we've watched this entire story flip on its head.
- [35:21]
A
Yeah.
- [35:22]
B
So Michelle has been released, Angela's been arrested, and we've learned that pretty much everything we've known about Angela has been fabricated, from her career to her pregnancy to the garage attack. So the focus is now I get, you know, I'm assuming, turning on Angela.
- [35:42]
A
Right.
- [35:43]
B
But maybe not just Angela.
- [35:46]
A
Yeah. I mean, and as, as you said, there's quite a. Quite a history now that has built up around the lies and misinformation. So she charged with. With kidnapping, false imprisonment, fraud, forgery, possession of forged checks over $950, which is obviously a felony. Perjury, grand theft, a misdemeanor count of falsely reporting, and 22 counts of false reporting on top of that. So that seems like a book's Being thrown at her there.
- [36:18]
B
Yeah, it's a laundry list. I mean, this is exactly, you know, we're kind of getting to earlier, which is, like, kind of how lying can, you know, become criminalized. Right. I mean, yeah, we all tell white lies.
- [36:30]
A
Yeah.
- [36:31]
B
You know, mistruths, withhold the truth or whatever. But lying to this extent, this is just a whole other level.
- [36:35]
A
Yeah. It seems like she pushed up against the very limit of what was possible for her and ended up where she is. So she pleads guilty and is sentenced to five years in state prison. The DA his statement after the guilty plea was, you know, if not through the hard work of law enforcement continuing to investigate and seek the truth in this case, Ms. Hadley could have continued to face a life in prison. It's unfathomable why Ms. Diaz would concoct such a diabolical scheme to hurt an innocent person. Even while pleading guilty, Diaz showed no remorse, compassion, or empathy for the victim. We hope the resolution of this case brings some closure to Ms. Hadley so she can move forward with her life. So in late 2018, the search for resolution continues as it does in these cases. She files a civil lawsuit against the city of Anaheim and several of the officers, alleging that they rushed to judgment, as it appeared a lot of people did, based on clearly doctored emails and ignored digital evidence that pointed away from her.
- [37:48]
B
I believe that the police had enough information available to them before they arrested me the first time to know it wasn't me doing it. Her and the DA Seem to see this a little bit differently.
- [38:01]
A
Yeah, clearly. And Michelle's moving on with her life. I actually did correspond with her briefly about this, and I will say, from what I can tell, it seems like she's really trying to build a life that's positive and really has nothing to do with all of this. As she's going through the civil judgment, at one point, she discloses that Ian pressured her into sex with strangers, and she identifies herself as a domestic violence survivor.
- [38:30]
B
Awful.
- [38:31]
A
In 2001, she accepts a confidential settlement with the city of Anaheim. The bank account details are sealed, but the larger motive is starting to come into focus. Which.
- [38:44]
B
The condo number.
- [38:46]
A
Yes. You got it. Yeah, the condo. Always the app listener, Cooper.
- [38:51]
B
Who's. Who's gonna get to keep that after all this?
- [38:54]
A
Well, yeah. I mean, Ian and Angela are living in the condo Michelle helped buy. Her name's still on the title.
- [39:03]
B
That's right.
- [39:04]
A
She paid the down payment. And so under this breakup settlement, she retains this legal stake. Right. But if Michelle can be branded as dangerous or locked up for life, that stake becomes a lot easier to erase. Do you have any idea why she had this feeling toward you?
- [39:28]
B
I have my theories, but. Well, there was a condo issue, and it. To me, it's about the condo, because otherwise, what threat am I? You know, I was out of the picture. All of this over the damn condo. I mean, what's crazy to me is this was Angela's first idea of how to alienate Michelle. Like, can't everyone just be adults and sit down and be like, hey, we'd like to be the owners of this condo, or get, like, a, you know, process server to figure it out? Like, mediate the conversation for you? I mean, I just.
- [40:05]
A
No, she wanted to create an entire universe of lies. Right. So, I mean, there's still a lot of questions about Ian, though, right? Like, he goes to the police. He insists that he acted alone. He portrays himself as a husband who was deceived just like everyone else. He files for divorce. He obtains an annulment, and for a time, law enforcement sort of appear to believe his stories.
- [40:29]
B
I mean, yeah, he is a man of the law.
- [40:31]
A
I mean, he is.
- [40:32]
B
You know, this is what the Trust but verify.
- [40:34]
A
Yeah, well, verifying seems to be the thing that came a little late in this case. But over the next couple of years, federal investigators do quietly start to build a case, suggesting that Ian was not as passive a victim as he's making himself out to be. They compile some evidence. Deleted email accounts after learning that the search warrants were being served, changed phone numbers. He lied under oath about his access to Angela's devices and accounts.
- [41:05]
B
Not a good look.
- [41:06]
A
No, not good at all. So In March of 2023, federal jury finds Ian Diaz guilty on all counts, including perjury, cyber stalking, obstruction in a federal matter as a federal agent, and conspiracy. So he's sentenced to 10 years and one month in federal prison, which is basically double the sentence that Angela was given.
- [41:33]
B
I mean, this is like a very specific type of betrayal. Right. Like, this is when. When somebody who's trusted to uphold the law.
- [41:42]
A
Yeah.
- [41:43]
B
Betrays it.
- [41:44]
A
Yes.
- [41:46]
B
I wasn't expecting this story to go there.
- [41:48]
A
I have quite a bit of reverence for folks in federal law enforcement. In fact, the Deputy U.S. marshal, now U.S. marshal of Northern Ohio, Pete Elliott, was the center of my Fugitive dad, the series we did a couple of years ago. One of the most honest, upstanding human beings I've ever met. And I know how deeply he reveres his office and responsibility. It's hard to look at this and not feel shaken personally about what public trust was endeared to this federal agent that a court of law has indicated we should not have given. You know, it's really sad. So on the day that Ian is convicted In March of 2023, Michelle, on the other hand, like I said, she's moving on with her life. She gives birth to her first child, a daughter. And Ian begins to serve his 10 year federal sentence as a disgraced former deputy U.S. marshal. And the condo, it appears at the end of the day, is going to Michelle.
- [43:04]
B
I mean, they went through all of that only to end up both of them behind bars and Michelle get the condo. I mean, just.
- [43:14]
A
And in a way, this story is the quintessential example of how digital platforms can be weaponized and that there's these familiar story tropes.
- [43:27]
B
Yeah, like the obsessed ex or like, you know, the. The perfect wife or whatever. Right.
- [43:33]
A
Yeah. Or VICT, for that matter. And we manufacture this reality that feels true to us because it fits our expectations. I think this story raises a lot of important questions about how we accept those narratives and how we expect them to go a certain way and how often the human beings behind those stories are far more complex and nuanced than we give them credit for.
- [44:04]
B
You know, and it's core, this is really a story too, about, like, how quickly somebody's life can be rewritten.
- [44:11]
A
Yeah. Right. Yeah. And like, how. How do you get it back?
- [44:19]
B
Yeah. I mean, it's got to be a long and painful process.
- [44:23]
A
When a person who's committed a crime
- [44:25]
B
gets arrested and charged, that's a bad day.
- [44:30]
A
But when someone who's innocent gets arrested and charged with a crime, that's not just a bad day, it's a nightmare. Yeah. And every case is different, Right. Like, the outcomes are going to be different. And I'm so curious what you all think about this case. You know, like, if this story landed in your feed, you know, the jealous ex, the pregnant victim, the federal agent husband, you know, how many red flags would you need to see before you turned around and started to question the narrative a little bit? And you can see how airtight that is when you just see a quick sound bite of it or like a little, you know, 30 second video on your news feed.
- [45:11]
B
Let us know.
- [45:12]
A
Yeah, I mean, let us know what y' all think. Cooper, it's a pleasure to see you in the office. I guess we'll catch everybody next week.
- [45:19]
B
Next time. Okay, Jonathan, before we go.
- [45:22]
A
Yes.
- [45:22]
B
Gotta say, I've already listened to the first two episodes of Cut Color Kill.
- [45:25]
A
Yeah. What do you think?
- [45:27]
B
I can't wait to see what happens next. I don't wanna give anything away and I hope that our listeners will catch up with me who haven't heard it so far.
- [45:33]
A
Okay, so I will try not to do too much revealing, but if you've been listening along, you'll know that there's more to the story than a burglary case here. It appears as though there was some coordination, some kind of other motive for what happened to Fabio that night. And then a mysterious man named Robert Baker appears at Fabio's wake alongside Monica in a leather jacket sort of unfamiliar to the people in the crowd. There's questions being raised about his identity, and his identity will set off a cascade of events once it's revealed. That really is at the heart of what actually happened to Fabio that night, which is what we get to in Cut Color Kill. So please go ahead and listen along with us. If you haven't already gotten started on listening to Cut Color Kill, you can watch it on Spotify or listen to it on Apple, or you can go to getthebinge.com and listen to the entire thing right now and hit us up, let us know what you think. Hey y', all, thank you so much for joining us on Crime Scene. Just a reminder here, you can watch or listen to us, us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. This show is a production of Sony podcast and the binge. Thank you to everybody who makes this happen week in and week out. Also, we're journalists. We love journalism. These stories have been deeply reported, the ones that you hear on the show. And you can find an extensive bibliography by going to the show notes of this episode and to every episode episode to learn more about the reporting that informed all of the great stories you hear on crime Scene. And just one last note, you can get exclusive content from us and the binge over 60 jaw dropping true crime stories bingeable and ad free right now by signing up for our patreon@getthebinge.com so go to getthebinge.com to get access to our entire catalog of stories but also to get behind the scenes access to all of the stories that Cooper and I are working on. To join us in the conversation about these cases, go to getthebinge.com to learn more. When Mother's Day means celebrating your mom, your wife, maybe even your daughter as a new mom, trust 1-800-FLOWERS to help you celebrate every important woman in your life with Double blooms from 1-800-Flowers. Order one dozen roses and get another dozen for free. It's a simple way to give beautifully with colorful blooms that make Mother's Day feel meaningful for every mom you're celebrating. Order with confidence and get double blooms at 1-800-flowers.com Spotify that's 1-800-Flowers.com Spotify.