Michelle Hadley later told the judge in a deeply personal letter how her ex-fiancé’s actions upended her life before he was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison.
Hadley, whose story is revisited in Netflix’s Toxic Love Story, spent 88 days behind bars for crimes investigators later determined she did not commit.
She met Ian Diaz online in 2013, and the relationship moved quickly. The pair eventually became engaged, but they split in 2015 after Hadley said his behavior had become controlling.
Even after the breakup, the situation did not end. Diaz and his later wife, Angela Connell, would go on to orchestrate a campaign that left Hadley facing criminal charges.
In 2016, Connell told police that Hadley had been stalking and harassing her online. Authorities were also told that graphic images, including pictures of decapitated babies and aborted fetuses, had been sent to her.
Connell and Diaz, a former US marshal, also claimed Hadley had created Craigslist posts using Connell’s photo to invite men to their home for supposed rape fantasies.
Hadley was arrested in 2016, denied the cyberstalking allegations, and nevertheless spent nearly three months in jail.
The case later unraveled when investigators found that the messages and online activity had actually been created by Diaz and Connell, who used a VPN in an effort to cover their tracks. Once that evidence surfaced, Hadley was cleared and the focus shifted to the married couple.
At Diaz’s sentencing, Hadley submitted a letter describing the lasting effect the ordeal had on her.
In the letter, which has been obtained by TMZ, she wrote:
“I was a captive of Mr. Diaz long before I ever ended up in a jail cell.
“In fact, while the experience of being falsely arrested and imprisoned amounted to my worst nightmare, I have often told friends and loved ones this chilling truth: that I would take three months in jail over a single day spent in his company.”
She also said it was important for the court to understand what Diaz had done to her life, describing him as ‘dark, twisted and malicious’.
She concluded:
“Your honor, I didn’t have shadows in my eyes before Ian Diaz, but I certainly did after what he put me through.”
When Diaz received his sentence, Hadley said she felt grateful for the outcome.
In a statement to NBC News, she said:
“I am so grateful to the [Justice Department Office of Inspector General] for the work they put into this case and to the jury for a conviction that has brought so much peace to my family and restored some of the faith we lost in the justice system as a result of Diaz’s crimes against me,” she said in a statement to NBC News at the time.
After her release, Hadley rebuilt her life. She completed her master’s degree and went on to work in marketing.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she is now employed as a Customer Relationship Management Manager.
The underlying case began years earlier. Diaz, then a deputy US marshal, and Hadley started dating after meeting online, and by June 2015 they had purchased a condominium together in an Anaheim suburb of California.
The property came with major financial commitment. The pair took out a mortgage for just under $500,000, while Hadley contributed nearly $15,000 as a down payment.
Just two months later, the relationship ended. The condo then became a source of tension, with messages from September 2015 showing the former couple discussing the financial strain tied to the property.
Although Diaz married Connell in 2016, his continuing financial issues involving the condo remained part of the backdrop during the early period of that marriage.
Investigators later found that Diaz and Connell had set up several online accounts in Hadley’s name. Using fake email addresses, they created and responded to Craigslist “rape fantasy” ads designed to make it appear that Hadley was behind them.
Authorities were falsely told that Hadley, pretending to be Connell, had invited men to the couple’s home so they would sexually assault her.
Multiple men responded to the ads and showed up at the property, which Connell then used as part of her fabricated allegations against Hadley.
After the Diaz family sought restraining orders against her, Hadley was arrested by Anaheim police. She insisted she was innocent but was held for 88 days after bail was set at $1 million.
While she was in custody, digital forensic investigators traced the online activity. Their findings pointed not to Hadley, but to Connell.
The devices used to run the accounts were linked to Connell, and the IP address data supported the same conclusion.
On the same day Hadley was released, Connell was arrested. Later that year, she pleaded guilty to crimes including forgery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping.
Connell was sentenced to five years in prison.
Diaz’s role came under closer scrutiny in 2021. In 2023, he was convicted of cyberstalking, perjury, and obstruction of justice.
He was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Hadley, who gave birth to her first child on the day Diaz was convicted in March 2023, said in a statement to NBC News:
“I am so grateful to the [Justice Department Office of Inspector General] for the work they put into this case and to the jury for a conviction that has brought so much peace to my family and restored some of the faith we lost in the justice system as a result of Diaz’s crimes against me.”
Meanwhile, Connell has since rebuilt her life after being released from prison in July 2020. She now lives in Arizona and works as the director of peer counseling services at Exhale Pro-Voice, an abortion access advocacy organization. According to the organization, Connell pursued a master’s degree in Psychology and Justice Studies while incarcerated and has dedicated herself to transformative justice work.
Diaz remains incarcerated and is currently pursuing legal avenues to challenge his conviction, having filed a motion in February 2026 claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. His direct appeal was denied in 2025, leaving his conviction intact.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline on 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 24/7. You can find a list of local resources here.