“Simply Diabolical”: Dateline NBC Reports on How Michelle Hadley Was Framed in a Cyberstalking Plot August 21 2026

NBC’s Dateline presents “Simply Diabolical” on Friday, August 21, 2026, at 10/9c, with correspondent Dennis Murphy examining a Southern California cyberstalking case that began with claims of threats, sexual violence and revenge. The accusations centered on Michelle Hadley, whose former fiancé, Ian Diaz, had married Angela Connell, also known as Angela Diaz. Police came to believe that Hadley had launched a campaign against the newly married couple after the end of her relationship with Diaz.

The case led to Hadley’s arrest and 88 days in jail. She faced charges that carried the possibility of a life sentence. The case against her collapsed when investigators found evidence that she had been framed. Angela was prosecuted in state court, but that was not the end of the investigation. A federal inquiry exposed Ian Diaz’s role in the scheme and led to his conviction on cyberstalking, conspiracy, perjury and obstruction charges. Federal prosecutors said Diaz had abused his position as a deputy U.S. marshal while participating in a plot that deprived an innocent woman of her freedom.

• Who Is Michelle Hadley? Where the “Simply Diabolical” Survivor Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Ian Diaz? Where the Former U.S. Deputy Marshal From “Simply Diabolical” Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Angela Connell? Where Ian Diaz’s Former Wife From “Simply Diabolical” Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile

Michelle Hadley and Ian Diaz Had Shared a Life Before the Criminal Case

Michelle Hadley and Ian Diaz had been in a relationship before Diaz met Angela Connell. Hadley and Diaz owned a condominium in Anaheim, California, together, a financial connection that remained after their romantic relationship ended. The breakup left conflict over the property and their past relationship. Federal prosecutors would later present the shared condominium as part of the background to the scheme against Hadley.

Hadley has said that her relationship with Diaz involved control, fear and pressure. In A Toxic Love Story, the Netflix documentary released in 2026, she described Diaz as someone who tracked her movements and carried a gun as part of his work. She also described sexual pressure during the relationship and said she came to fear his behavior. Her account places the events that followed within a relationship she now views through the framework of coercive control and abuse.

Angela Connell Becomes Ian Diaz’s Wife

After the relationship with Hadley ended, Diaz married Angela Connell. Angela used the surname Diaz during their marriage. The couple presented themselves to police as targets of harassment from Hadley, who was portrayed as an angry former fiancée unable to accept that Diaz had moved on.

Angela also claimed that she was pregnant with twins. The pregnancy became part of the story presented to authorities because threatening communications appeared to target her and the children she said she was carrying. Police faced what appeared to be a serious situation involving threats against a pregnant woman, strangers responding to sexual advertisements and an ex-partner with a possible motive for revenge.

The “Lilithistruth” Messages Point Police Toward Hadley

The harassment included emails linked to an identity known as “Lilithistruth.” The name drew from Lilith, a figure found in Jewish folklore. Messages connected to the account contained violent material and language that appeared designed to create fear.

Hadley had sent angry messages to Diaz before the criminal case. She has acknowledged using biblical language in those communications, but she denied writing the violent messages attributed to Lilithistruth. She said the original messages reflected anger connected to her relationship with Diaz but did not contain the graphic threats that appeared in the later communications.

The distinction became important. Whoever created the false communications appeared to have material that could make the messages resemble Hadley’s writing. The similarities gave the accusations against her a degree of credibility while the violent content made her appear dangerous.

Craigslist Advertisements Escalate the Threat

The case moved beyond threatening emails when Craigslist advertisements appeared under Angela’s identity. The advertisements described a sexual assault fantasy and encouraged men to come to the Anaheim condominium. Men who responded were led to believe that resistance from Angela was part of the fantasy.

The danger created by the advertisements was real even though the allegations against Hadley were false. Federal prosecutors said Diaz and his then-wife solicited and lured men through Craigslist advertisements in an effort to stage what would appear to be sexual assaults arranged by Hadley. The pair posed as Hadley while creating communications that could support the claim that she wanted Angela attacked.

Federal prosecutors said one or more hoax sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults were staged before reports were made to police. The reports presented Hadley as the person responsible for sending men to the home.

Angela Reports an Attack at the Anaheim Condominium

In June 2016, police responded to the Anaheim condominium after Angela reported that a man had tried to rape her in the garage. Officers found her crying with a torn shirt and marks on her neck, according to contemporary reporting based on law enforcement accounts. The report strengthened the belief that the online threats had crossed into physical violence.

Another person later appeared near the condominium after responding to an advertisement. Police had evidence that men were responding to online solicitations connected to Angela’s address. What investigators did not understand was who had created those advertisements and who was communicating with the respondents.

The evidence seemed to support Angela’s claim that someone was trying to have her assaulted. Police focused on Hadley, whose prior relationship with Diaz supplied a motive that fit the story investigators had been given.

Michelle Hadley Is Arrested

Hadley was arrested in 2016 and accused of offenses connected to stalking, threats and an attempted sexual assault plot. She was arrested twice during the investigation. After her second arrest, she was held on $1 million bail. Prosecutors accused her of crimes that could have resulted in a life sentence.

Hadley denied responsibility for the Craigslist advertisements and the threatening messages. Her denials did not prevent her incarceration. She remained in jail for 88 days while the case became a media story built around the image of a jealous former fiancée seeking revenge against her ex-partner and his new wife.

The public version of the case placed Hadley at its center as the accused perpetrator. That image would take years to dismantle even after the criminal charges disappeared.

Investigators Find Problems With the Digital Evidence

The case began to unravel when investigators examined where the messages and advertisements had originated. Evidence began pointing away from Hadley and toward locations associated with Angela.

Orange County prosecutors said the Craigslist advertisement and harassing emails had been traced to the Anaheim condominium and Angela’s father’s home. Investigators concluded that software had been used to make communications appear as though Hadley had sent them.

The discovery changed the case. Hadley had not created the communications used as the foundation for her prosecution. Investigators had been given fabricated evidence designed to resemble evidence of guilt.

The digital trail raised another question. If Hadley was not responsible, who had gone to such lengths to frame her?

Angela’s Personal History Raises More Questions

Investigators learned that Angela had made false claims in other parts of her life. People who knew her described claims that she had Stage 4 cervical cancer. Her former boyfriend Jason Rayburn said he became suspicious when she would not allow him to accompany her to treatments.

According to the account presented in A Toxic Love Story, Rayburn later took Angela to what she described as a medical appointment and learned that the office was treating her for a mole rather than cancer. Friends also found material that raised questions about her cancer claim, including medical tubing and a photograph connected to another person’s chemotherapy treatment.

Angela had also claimed that she worked as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. That claim proved false. Prosecutors and later reporting documented a wider pattern of fabricated medical, professional and financial claims.

The Pregnancy With Twins Was Fabricated

Angela’s claimed pregnancy became another part of the deception. Diaz learned that she was not carrying twins. According to the Netflix documentary, he found a doctored sonogram and pregnancy tests that had been marked to make them appear positive.

The discovery raised doubts among people close to the couple about the claims involving Hadley. If Angela had fabricated cancer, employment and a pregnancy, the accusations of stalking required fresh examination.

Anaheim police opened an investigation into Angela. The focus that had rested on Hadley began to shift.

Hadley Is Released After 88 Days

Hadley was released from jail in October 2016 as investigators accumulated evidence supporting her innocence. On January 9, 2017, prosecutors dismissed the charges and exonerated her. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas described Hadley at the time as an innocent victim of a “diabolical scheme.”

The exoneration ended the criminal prosecution of Hadley, but it could not reverse the 88 days she had spent incarcerated. Her name had been tied to accusations of stalking, attempted sexual violence and revenge. Her family had spent money defending her against charges based on fabricated evidence.

The state prosecution now turned toward Angela.

Angela Connell Is Arrested

Angela was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 6, 2017, and extradited to California. Prosecutors accused her of constructing the false case against Hadley through fabricated electronic evidence, false police reports, forged documents and staged events.

The charges extended beyond the cyberstalking scheme. Prosecutors accused Angela of kidnapping, false imprisonment, forgery, possession of forged checks, perjury, grand theft and repeated false crime reports. Contemporary records show that she faced 10 felony counts and 22 misdemeanor counts.

The prosecution established that Angela had played a major role in framing Hadley. At that stage, however, Ian Diaz had not been charged with participating in the plot.

Angela Pleads Guilty and Receives a Five-Year Sentence

On October 17, 2017, Angela pleaded guilty to 10 felony and 22 misdemeanor charges connected to the scheme and other acts. The offenses included kidnapping, false imprisonment, forgery, perjury, grand theft and false reports to law enforcement. She received a five-year state prison sentence.

Angela served her sentence in the California prison system. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has reported that she was released on July 19, 2020. She remained under parole supervision until July 19, 2021.

Her marriage to Ian Diaz was annulled. Public accounts indicate that she later left California. She declined requests to participate in Netflix’s A Toxic Love Story, and little verified information about her present life has entered the public record.

The Case Against Angela Did Not Explain Everything

Angela’s conviction appeared to explain how Hadley had been framed, but questions remained. Hadley believed that investigators had failed to examine Diaz’s conduct with the same attention given to Angela.

Diaz had been present throughout the accusations. He was a deputy U.S. marshal, a position that carried credibility when he spoke with police. Hadley has argued that his status affected how authorities viewed the dispute and how they evaluated her denials.

A later federal civil court ruling noted that Diaz told detectives on September 30, 2016, that he believed Angela had framed Hadley. The court record also states that Diaz was not investigated by those detectives at that time.

The question of Diaz’s role moved to federal investigators.

Federal Investigators Examine Ian Diaz

In 2017, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s Cyber Investigations Office opened an investigation into Diaz. The inquiry examined whether a federal law enforcement officer had participated in the false campaign and whether he had used his status to help send an innocent person to jail.

Investigators reviewed electronic evidence, emails, police reports and recordings from law enforcement encounters. They also examined how the false evidence had been constructed and how Diaz and Angela had communicated.

The federal inquiry took years. Its conclusions changed the understanding of the case.

Digital Evidence Connects Diaz to the Scheme

Federal prosecutors said Diaz and his then-wife had worked together to pose as Hadley. They sent threatening communications to themselves while pretending those messages came from Diaz’s former partner. They also used Craigslist advertisements to lure men to the condominium.

The pair took steps to hide their identities. Prosecutors said they used email accounts registered under false information, virtual private networks and encrypted messaging services. Diaz deleted email accounts connected to the scheme.

One important thread involved a man who had responded to one of the sexual advertisements. Investigators found evidence connecting Diaz’s personal communications to conversations with a man who had been directed toward the condominium. The evidence undermined the claim that Diaz had been a passive victim who knew nothing about the creation of the online persona.

Federal authorities concluded that Diaz had been a participant in the plot used to frame Hadley.

Prosecutors Say the Pair Worked Together to Frame Hadley

The federal case presented the events as a conspiracy between Diaz and his then-wife. The Justice Department said the two posed as Hadley, sent threatening material to themselves, used online advertisements to lure men and staged purported sexual assaults or attempted assaults.

They then reported the conduct to local police while claiming Hadley presented a genuine threat. Those reports resulted in her arrest and detention.

The federal prosecution also placed Diaz’s law enforcement position at the center of the case. The Justice Department said he abused the authority and trust associated with his role as a deputy U.S. marshal.

The evidence turned the original story on its head. The federal law enforcement officer once presented as one of the targets of a dangerous former partner became a defendant accused of helping manufacture the criminal case against her.

Ian Diaz Goes on Trial in Federal Court

Diaz was indicted in 2021 and prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The trial examined the digital records, the false communications, the Craigslist activity and Diaz’s statements during the investigation.

On March 23, 2023, a federal jury convicted Diaz on four counts: conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, cyberstalking, perjury and obstruction of a federal matter. The Justice Department announced the verdict the following day.

The verdict established that Angela had not acted alone. A federal jury found that Diaz had participated in the scheme that caused Hadley to lose almost three months of her freedom.

Ian Diaz Is Sentenced to More Than 10 Years

On June 30, 2023, a federal judge sentenced Diaz to 121 months in prison, equal to 10 years and one month. The court also imposed three years of supervised release. Diaz was remanded into federal custody after sentencing.

The precise sentence is significant because reports sometimes describe it as a 10-year term. The federal judgment imposed 121 months, one month beyond 10 years.

By the time of his sentencing, Diaz was a former deputy U.S. marshal. His law enforcement career had ended, and he entered federal prison for crimes tied to his treatment of the woman authorities had once accused of stalking him.

The Ninth Circuit Upholds Diaz’s Convictions

Diaz appealed his convictions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He challenged aspects of the jury instructions and the legal basis for his cyberstalking convictions.

On January 23, 2025, the Ninth Circuit rejected his arguments and affirmed all four convictions. The court found no basis to reverse the jury’s verdict on conspiracy, cyberstalking, perjury or obstruction.

The decision left his prison sentence intact. Diaz has continued to pursue post-conviction relief through the federal courts, but his convictions remained in force heading into the 2026 Dateline broadcast.

What Role Did Angela Play Compared With Ian?

The federal case established that Diaz and his then-wife acted as co-conspirators, but questions remain about the dynamics inside their marriage. A Toxic Love Story examines whether Angela, despite her criminal responsibility, may also have experienced manipulation from Diaz.

The filmmakers did not reach a conclusion on that question. Neither Angela nor Diaz participated in the documentary, preventing the filmmakers from questioning them about their private relationship and each person’s role in planning individual parts of the scheme.

Hadley has taken a similar position. She has said she can consider the possibility that Angela experienced manipulation while holding her responsible for the actions that sent Hadley to jail.

The legal outcomes provide clearer answers about criminal responsibility. Angela admitted guilt in state court. A federal jury found Diaz guilty of crimes arising from the conspiracy.

Michelle Hadley Pursues a Civil Case

Hadley also sought accountability through the civil court system. She filed claims connected to her arrest, incarceration and the investigation that accepted fabricated evidence against her.

A federal judge reviewing parts of the lawsuit in 2020 allowed several of Hadley’s claims to proceed while dismissing others. The court’s description of the case noted that she had spent 88 days in jail after being framed and continued to report consequences from the experience.

Hadley reached a settlement with Anaheim in 2021. The civil proceedings brought further attention to questions about how police handled the original investigation and whether greater scrutiny of the electronic evidence could have prevented her prolonged detention.

Hadley Builds a New Life After Her Exoneration

Hadley has spent the years since the case rebuilding her personal and professional life. Reports published around the release of A Toxic Love Story state that she completed an MBA, built a career in marketing and launched a consulting business.

She has also written about trauma and recovery and has spoken about the experience of being falsely accused. Her advocacy focuses on people who experience abuse, coercive control and financial dependence inside relationships.

Hadley has stressed the financial component of her relationship with Diaz. She had put savings into the Anaheim condominium, and the property remained a source of conflict after their breakup. For Hadley, financial control became part of the larger story of how relationships can trap people even after the romantic connection has ended.

Her Daughter Was Born on the Day Diaz Was Convicted

One of the case’s striking personal details came on March 23, 2023, the day the federal jury convicted Diaz. Hadley gave birth to her daughter on the same date.

For Hadley, motherhood has influenced the way she thinks about the themes that shaped her relationship with Diaz. A Toxic Love Story discusses the role Disney culture played in the lives of Hadley, Diaz and people around them. Several had worked at Disneyland, and Hadley recalled that Diaz compared her to Belle from Beauty and the Beast when they dated.

Hadley has said that she now wants her daughter to associate stories about princesses with intelligence, courage, kindness and independence rather than the expectation that a woman needs a man to rescue her.

Where Is Angela Connell Now?

Angela completed her prison sentence and was released from California custody in July 2020. She completed parole the following year. Reports connected to the Netflix documentary state that she moved away from California.

She declined to be interviewed for A Toxic Love Story. Because she has kept a low public profile, verified information about her current circumstances remains limited.

Her absence from recent documentaries leaves an important perspective missing. The criminal record establishes the offenses to which she pleaded guilty, but it does not provide a full account of her relationship with Diaz or how responsibility for the scheme was divided inside their home.

Where Is Ian Diaz Now?

Ian Diaz remains a federal inmate serving his 121-month sentence for conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, cyberstalking, perjury and obstruction. His conviction survived direct appeal when the Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment in January 2025.

Diaz declined to participate in the Netflix documentary. His absence means that the recent public examination of the case has relied on court records, law enforcement evidence, Hadley’s account and interviews with people who knew the principal figures.

His conviction stands as the final major criminal judgment in a case that had begun with authorities treating him as a victim.

“Simply Diabolical” Shows How the Original Story Was Reversed

The title “Simply Diabolical” recalls the language Orange County prosecutors used when Hadley was exonerated. In January 2017, authorities described her as the innocent victim of a scheme after admitting that the prosecution against her had been built on fabricated evidence.

Each major figure in the story underwent a shift in legal status. Hadley went from accused stalker to exonerated victim. Angela went from reported victim to convicted defendant. Diaz went from federal law enforcement officer and apparent target to a convicted participant in the conspiracy.

The transformation did not occur through one discovery. Local investigators first uncovered evidence against Angela. Federal investigators then spent years examining Diaz. A federal jury supplied the final criminal verdict against him in 2023.

The Case Raises Questions About Trust in Law Enforcement

The Hadley case illustrates the consequences that can follow when fabricated digital evidence is accepted within an investigation. The threatening messages, online advertisements and reports of attacks appeared to reinforce one another. Each piece made the next accusation seem more credible.

Diaz’s position added another element. He worked within federal law enforcement, while Hadley was his former partner denying accusations that appeared to be supported by electronic records and statements from two people. The Justice Department later said Diaz had abused his position while executing the cyberstalking scheme.

Hadley has questioned why investigators did not give greater weight to inconsistencies in the evidence and why her account received less credibility. Her 88 days in jail demonstrate the cost of those failures.

The Outcome of the Michelle Hadley Case

Michelle Hadley was exonerated on January 9, 2017. Angela Connell Diaz pleaded guilty in October 2017 to 10 felony counts and 22 misdemeanor counts and received a five-year prison sentence. She was released in July 2020 and completed parole in 2021.

Ian Diaz faced a separate federal prosecution. A jury convicted him in March 2023 of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, cyberstalking, perjury and obstruction. On June 30, 2023, the court sentenced him to 121 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. The Ninth Circuit affirmed his convictions on January 23, 2025.

For Hadley, the legal victories cannot restore the months she lost in jail or erase the public accusations made against her. Her later work has focused on telling the story from the perspective that was missing when she was first arrested.

NBC’s Dateline: Simply Diabolical airs Friday, August 21, 2026, at 10/9c. Dennis Murphy reports on the cyberstalking scheme, Michelle Hadley’s wrongful incarceration and the investigation that exposed Ian Diaz’s role in a case built on deception.

More “Simply Diabolical”

• “Simply Diabolical”: Dateline NBC Reports on How Michelle Hadley Was Framed in a Cyberstalking Plot August 21 2026
• Who Is Michelle Hadley? Where the “Simply Diabolical” Survivor Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Ian Diaz? Where the Former U.S. Deputy Marshal From “Simply Diabolical” Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Angela Connell? Where Ian Diaz’s Former Wife From “Simply Diabolical” Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile