A Toxic Love Story. (L-R) Angela and Jason in A Toxic Love Story. Cr. NETFLIX © 2026
A Toxic Love Story chronicles one of the twistiest and most unbelievable true crime cases Netflix has ever covered. It brings together an elaborate case involving a ‘rape fantasy’ plot from U.S. Marshal Ian Diaz, which was used to frame his ex-fiancée.
While many documentaries strive to lay out the facts in chronological order, Netflix’s A Toxic Love Story paces itself in a way that keeps the audience guessing throughout. It’s incredibly twisty and layered, depicting one of the most infamous framing plots in American legal history. In this post, we lay out the timeline of the case with facts that were missing from the Netflix documentary, and we take a look at where the key figures involved are today.
The Case: A Complete Overview
Key facts not included in the documentary have been gathered from the official lawsuit document, which you can view here.
Ian Diaz and his relationship with Michelle Hadley
Ian Diaz was first hired by the U.S. Marshals Service as a criminal investigator in 2010. Before he became a U.S. Marshal, he worked at Disneyland. In 2013, he began dating Michelle Hadley after meeting on a dating app; they were immediately smitten and their relationship quickly blossomed into something wholesome, with frequent trips to his former workplace at Disney. According to Hadley, he had pressured her to take a $20,000 pay cut to leave her job for a marketing position at Disney, which, in retrospect, she believes was a coercive technique to ensure his ex-colleagues kept an eye on her. The lawsuit notes that he frequently “had people at Disney ‘checking up’ on her job performance.” It also mentions that some of her Disney colleagues were aware of his behaviour.
Hadley also noted that early in their relationship, he dictated her style, including crop tops, a navel piercing, and long acrylic nails. He also had a strong say over how much she drank and how much she slept. The intrusive behaviour involved spying too. The official lawsuit document mentions: “Any time she drove outside the narrow triangle of home, school, and work, IAN DIAZ would immediately call her, as if he was tracking her vehicle.”
Despite the early suspect behaviour, Michelle Hadley remained in a relationship with Ian, determined to make it work. She accepted his marriage proposal in December 2014.
A few years later, in June 2015, they bought a condo together in Anaheim, California. It is noted that Ian Diaz was excited about the property as it was located near Disneyland. Michelle Hadley alone paid the down payment of $14,401.20 and the two obtained a mortgage in the amount of $459,745.00.
After they moved in together, Ian’s controlling and abusive behaviour towards Michelle became more severe. He would soon get her involved in his sexual fantasies, demanding she have sex with strangers while he watched. This constant pressure triggered severe emotional distress, later diagnosed as PTSD. On one Valentine’s Day, she gave in to the pressure and had sex with a man she believed Diaz obtained from Craigslist.
In August 2015, merely months after purchasing the condo, Michelle Hadley packed up her car and left him. Diaz proceeded to destroy her personal property, also cancelling her car insurance without informing her. Ultimately, Michelle Hadley moved into an apartment near Chapman University, leaving her job at Disney. She made moves to sever her ties with Ian Diaz. He did, however, remain living in Anaheim. The condo became a significant point of contention between both of them. The two exchanged heated emails over the condo. Ian Diaz made no attempt to assume the mortgage of the condo.
A Toxic Love Story. Ian in A Toxic Love Story. Cr. NETFLIX © 2026
Ian Diaz, Angela Diaz, and the ‘rape fantasy’ plot
After the breakup with Michelle Hadley, Ian Diaz quickly moved on to another relationship. He married Angela Connell in early 2016, around a month after they met. She moved into the Anaheim condo with him.
It wasn’t until a few months later that Michelle was made aware of their relationship, seeing her name on documents linked to the condo. After living alone in a small apartment, she moved in with her parents in Ontario. She gave up her career and education, selling many of her possessions, and worked towards a fresh start, believing Ian Diaz posed a significant threat to her safety.
In a bizarre move, Michelle later realised in the summer of 2016 that Angela had taken out a restraining order on Michelle. At that point, the two women had never met each other.
The ‘rape fantasy’ framing
In June 2016, Ian and Angela created Craigslist accounts under Michelle Hadley’s name, as well as other personas that linked to her name, most notably Lilith. They posted ads under Craigslist’s casual encounters section, asking for a ‘rape fantasy,’ in which men would come to her home and violently assault her. After receiving responses, they gave out the condo’s address and asked them to ignore her if she screamed, cried, or fought back. The premise of the framing was for Ian and Angela to claim that Michelle was trying to have Angela raped.
Angela willingly and actively participated in Ian’s plot to frame his ex-fiancée Michelle. She notably faked both pregnancy and cancer as part of an orchestrated plot to paint herself as a vulnerable victim and make Michelle look malicious. The framing culminated in a calculated ‘rape fantasy’ plot. When men showed up at the home, Angela called 911 several times, claiming that Michelle had been sending threats, showing police the Craigslist replies that she and Ian had fabricated.
The Anaheim Police Department ultimately arrested Michelle. They believed that she was deliberately targeting Angela, a woman seemingly pregnant and suffering from cancer.
Angela and Ian had, at first, successfully tricked the police into arresting Michelle. She was charged with Felony Stalking, Attempted Forcible Rape, Violation of Restraining Order, and Assault. She lost her job, her reputation, and her family business suffered as a result. Hadley spent 88 days in prison before being exonerated.
When the police re-investigated the case, they found incriminating evidence that Ian and Angela were the real perpetrators. The evidence was overwhelming, with the catalysts being IP addresses and temporary files on Ian’s computer, proving that emails were being sent under the name Lilith. Angela Diaz was sentenced to 5 years in state prison in October 2017. Ian Diaz was convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to over 84 months (7 years) in federal prison in June 2023.
A Toxic Love Story. Leslie in A Toxic Love Story. Cr. NETFLIX © 2026
How did the case progress and what happened next?
Michelle Hadley sued the City of Anaheim
Following her wrongful conviction, Hadley sued the city and its police department in November 2019. She alleged that officers ignored incriminating evidence early in the case.
Per Courthouse News Service, U.S. District Judge David Carter summarised that any “reasonably competent investigator” would have reviewed evidence and found no probable cause.
According to a report from her legal team at C.A. Goldberg, PLLC, Michelle Hadley secured a $1.795 million settlement from the City of Anaheim.
How Michelle responded after Ian Diaz was convicted in 2023
Following the conviction of Ian Diaz in 2023, which Michelle had been waiting six years to happen, she was overjoyed with the decision. “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, per NBC News.
Diaz was sentenced for: Conspiracy to commit cyber-stalking, Cyberstalking, Perjury, and Obstruction of justice.
The conviction coincided with another joyous moment in her life: the birth of her daughter. “My life has been filled by strange, often symbolic, and sometimes beautiful coincidences like this,” she added. “My daughter represents my rainbow after a very long storm, and my heart has never felt so full.”
A Toxic Love Story is now streaming on Netflix.
