did you ever think you would actually be in this situation where you've got your arm around your mother? and the two of you are talking about this in the past tense? with smiles on your face? >> never. >> not at that point. we didn't think it would ever be possible. but here we are. >> and we are very glad to see you safe. >> thank you. [laughs] >> wonderful, wonderful. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. laying] >> hello, i'm craig melvin. and this is dateline. >> she was receiving long, rambling emails, threatening her life, saying that her husband's cheating on her. she's telling her to watch her back, she better get out of the picture. >> menacing emails

sent to a newlywed. >> the new wife went to authorities and said that she was being harassed. >> that's when the fireworks start happening. obviously, this has a stop. >> what arrived next was far worse. >> strange man appeared at her door and try to attack her. >> somebody was posting ads online saying that they wanted to fulfill this rape fantasy. >> everything pointed to her husband's ex. >> they said, we're going to take you into custody. >> your carson. rated >> for potentially the rest of my life. >> hiding behind the threats was a cyber secret. >> even. something the devil might do. >> who was the real double? >> dea in this case would use the word diabolical. >> i think he's close to the mark. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, and welcome to dateline. michelle hadley seem to have it all. olympic normally, solid education, what the

opportunities and support to help her fulfill the promises of youth. now, she had a fiancée she was crazy about. her life was about to be turned upside down. here is dennis murphy what diabolical. >> locked in the cage. the shrieks of wind and howling in the night. >> this isn't real. it's something we see in the movies. it doesn't happen in real life. >> how did a self-described goody tissue, disney princess, he swept away innocent conspiracy so convoluted, so twisted? >> this is one of the most well thought out, well executed plants. it is scary. >> diabolical. >> absolutely. >> a tangled web, you bet. altogether bizarre plot. complicated scheme. >> very complicated. very creative. >> this is the most shocking form of love rivalry i have ever

seen. >> there would be allegations of harassment, cyber stalking, assault and attempted rape. someone was going to get hurt. someone was going to jail. at the end of the nightmare, well, no one saw that come in. you decide whether it was a love rivalry. in the beginning, it was clearly a boy meets girl love story. >> it was a very intense period of my life in the sense of a role went type of roe mouths. >> august 2013, 20 something, michelle hadley, met the u.s. national famed dias overcome coffee. >> he told you that he loved daniel beautiful? >> it you thunderbolt? >> kind of early on. yeah. about the second day, he was telling he loved me. >> did you think, slow down, buddy. did you welcome it? >> i think when you're a young girl who has been based on the fairytale princess dream, it's very exciting and flattering. >> could this be her prince charming she was leading over a cappuccino? the man she dreamed of since she was a little girl. >> she was very imaginative, very intelligent. she loved to play and create. rachel's mother, suzanne, father,

michael, raise her and her younger sister in his modest home in ontario, california. she was a cross country runner, that student. >> i was an overachiever. >> ruined it for everyone else. >> sometimes. >> michelle was offered a scholarship to dickinson, a liberal arts college in eastern pennsylvania. >> you must both been very proud of her. >> yeah. >> after graduation, she tried various careers before landing a marketing job at disney. now, she had met this man, ian diaz, u.s. marshall, her very own prince charming. and december 2014, for her 20th birthday, by he was drafted new york. to the rockefeller center that proposed. >> you said? >> i said yes. yeah. i said yes. >> it was time to find a starter castle to complete the fairytale. just minutes from her job disney, they walked into a new condo development in

anaheim. she would be able to watch that disneyland fireworks from the roof. >> i put the down payment down. >> you did? >> i paid the whole down payment, yes. >> they waited for the condo to be vanished. in june, they moved in. but rachel said that that is when the mission relationship change. belle park, actually. two months later, she packed her jacket with whatever stuff she could didn't and let. showed up at her parents doorstep. >> surprise. tell me about that night. >> one, i had gotten a text on her saying, can i come home? they said, you don't need to ask. >> when we not see for him, in your opinion? >> i did feel the relationship is healthy for me. >> nurturing grief? >> not nurturing for me, yeah. >> with their tempers? >> let's just say that i'm i'm not a strong personality. i have to be very careful the kinds of people and surround myself with. it's also better for me not to be at that a relationship that they have

won. >> but there is still ties that bound the former couple. a mortgage. the date that condo in anaheim, which became a source of tension. both hired lawyers. it got personal. michelle claimed that it was unfaithful. even abusive. she sent him a strange email. the language they sought religiously and references to the bible. i'm mythical demon called la la. please explain to real estate -- cause loss of all loss. including the law of man. you may try to hide behind a lot of that, but it is a weak shield that will bend and crack against this sort of god. ian denied her allegations it was so alarmed by her email that she applied for a straining order against. heard he accuse her of infidelity milk, because of her emotional instability, bits of rage, i fear for my safety. the request for the trading order was dismissed a few weeks later. back at the live member failed, or so it seemed. the lawyers hashed out

a compromise. >> we had just getting a settlement agreement. ian and michelle signed it in november 2015. that deal allowed ian to stay in the condo, but he had six months to get his own mortgage. failing that, he would have to solve a condo and split any profits with michelle. michelle stood to lose most of her down payment. about $10,000. she said it was where that. >> i moved down my life completely. 100%, completely. i started dating again. >> it wasn't a major part of the life. >> was

a settlement agreement was signed, it was a waiting game. >> she went back to school, started an nba program at chaplin university. ian, two, moved on quickly. married a woman named angela. the naked condo issue still was a result. and the six month deadline was approaching. >> that's another firework started happening. >> soon, more emails. really frightening once and a new target. coming up -- >> angela was claiming that she was receiving long, rambling emails saying that her husband, ian, doesn't love her. that she better get out of the picture, soon, before he hurts her. >> and after [inaudible] arrived, so do police. >> i said, what's going on out here? guys, and we just arrested michelle. >> when dateline continues. copd isn't pretty. i'm out of breath, and often out of the picture. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful.

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concern. two officers were there. it was from angela diaz. >> the restraining order was for michelle, who was still living at her parents home. it came from angela diaz, ian's why the three months, who had recently announced she was pregnant. >> angela came into the picture not long after ian that that michelle had broken up. >> reporter kate covered it for the daily beast. she spent hours digging through the curious emails that michelle said ian during the condo. >> one minute she's polite and thanking him for reminders on her car insurance, the next minute she is saying that he is the anti christ. >> even after they signed the agreement, the evils kept coming. ian got this one on may 27th. >> you told me i was reversed. like you did not treat me like that precious, perfect treasure i am. you have sent against god. i want my

power back because it belongs to us, the daughters of god. then, something new and strange started happening. angela began receiving emails. >> law, rambling emails saying that, you know, her husband, ian, doesn't love her. that michelle is his one true love. that ian is cheating on her, that he millipedes women. she better get out of the picture before he had started. for >> the new emails to outlaw sounded like michelle this's emails to ian, complete with biblical imagery. it came from multiple you know that. >> telling angela that she would always be and michelle was his truth. angela what never be his one true love >> then, another email to angela appeared. the subject, diet. the message? i hope you are scared of death tomorrow. be prepared. don't sleep. be watchful of the daughters of god. email continues. we will still hear child and biffle watches it dies. angela said

what she loved to senate who sent the email it was from michelle. >> you can understand them angela why should be so rattled. >> right. >> a barrage of emails robbed unpaid that, first 2016. >> be warned, michelle we -- angela, you've lost. you will suffer. i will pray for you. the next morning, june 1st, angela filed first rainwater. one place served at the hadley's home. you bet in part, miss hadley has been emailed me for over one week repeatedly threatening my life, my marriage, my safety, slandering my husband. >> the rhetorical language you used in your email to your ex, had biblical, old testament rossiter. it is as a? >> well, no comment on that. you know -- two >> years, it was. not >> now. no. >> michelle admit she said fire brimstone emails to it, she was just elected to

discussing my camera. she said it was a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder that she blood on her bow -- volatile villages epithets. she told us that she never sent any emails angela. tipped back, michelle said, she didn't know her. >> i've never heard of her. and never communicating with her. >> it is a where she lived pickardville? >> exactly. i'm assuming she loves a condo with. tampa side that, that is the extent of what i know about her. i don't know what her job is, i don't know where she works. i know nothing about her background. >> more so she said. please that otherwise. >> there was compelling evidence. >> sergeant dared by it was a public information for that anaheim police. >> there was

biblical imagery that was clearly read by michelle to her acts, it is to be in the same emails that are coming to angela. to that drive some of your theory but the case? >> i can't talk about specifics. there was clear and convincing evidence to believe that michelle hadley was the person who is sending her emails. >> a judge ordered michelle to cease all contact with angela and ian. but the emails continued. just six, you will pay for this. i hope to god you are ready for the pain. this, burn and the fire pits of hell tonight as by god's law. you will be hurt. three weeks after the restraining order was filed, police returned to's parents house. >> devilish search warrant for my devices. i had all my devices over. i give them all the past codes. she opens up myself. and >> the officer looked at her email account, check the activity there. that arrested michelle

for violating the restraining order. >> i heard or slamming up front. i went out and i said, what is going on out here? >> the guy said, we just rested michelle. >> arrested your michelle? >> yes. >> she was placed on hold exam her parents posted a bond to get her out after a long fight -- they picked up from the anaheim police department. >> she was sitting out on the steps up front. >> one of the stranger days. >> the strangest. >> strange days wrongly beginning. coming up -- from badgers by email to things in the front door. >> someone is posing as online to craigslist to see if they wanted to fulfill the right path to say. >> when dateline continues! in continues!

>> june 2016, michelle hadley without on bail, living with her parents. anaheim police suspected michelle has sent threatening emails to her ex boyfriend, ian and his pregnant wife, angela. you've been the moments this it didn't make much sense. >> living an exemplary life, a good student. she's trying to get an mba. >> two sides to every person. overseeing of evidence. it looks very clear that everything is originating from michelle hadley. >> but the

case against michelle what way beyond threatening emails. police had evidence she was up to something much more sinister. something stomach churning. we began in early june. about the same time as a deadline on the condos approaching. >> someone was posting ads online through craigslist, saying that they want to fulfill this right now to see. >> right now to see as a genre? i don't think i've ever heard of this. >> i didn't hear that either until this case. yes, there is a market for it. >> it is a tight personal ad. you can buy them on craigslist and elsewhere online. men seeking women who want to meet and act out of rape. of women responded to the ad. i've been dying to have this fantasy occur. if you can feel this tonight, please let me know. i am 30, tom, gorgeous, ready. i have a yorkie i walk every night. come find me. the email gave an address, the condo and anaheim where angela and ian let. on june 13th, angela and ian told police a

man showed up at her door, expected to have violent sex with angela. he told police they sent him away. other men followed. all invited by email responses to rape fantasy ads. >> it had escalated began. to the point where angela calls plays department that another person had showed up and had actually tried to rape her. >> police officers responded to angela's 9-1-1 call. >> what did their counter? >> they encountered a very distraught angela diaz who said that another person had shown up. >> and she is abrasions. i care. >> on her neck. her shirt is torn. >> this is beyond misdemeanor mischief. this is a criminal act that you're seeing. >> most definitely, a criminal act. >> who is inviting men to rape angela? places like there was no question that it was michelle hadley. that is what led them to arrest michelle outside of her parents home. angela reported that during the night

that michelle sent -- in jail, she received no emails. then after michelle was out. >> almost immediately, but the mail started again. >> who is the deal here the book is actively? >> correct. >> it is continuing? >> correct. >> this is a complicated scheme. >> yes. >> daily beast reporter tried to unravel the story from her office in new york city. angela diaz appear to be at the center of an increasingly dangerous game. >> she was afraid for her life. she was afraid to go anywhere. she felt she had to approve her whole, and take down her online profiles and hide. >> july 11th, two weeks after michelle build out of jail, a new rape fantasy ad appeared on case less and a response. once again, the email directed to the home of angela diaz. >> what what michelle's motivation being doing this? >> it's interesting. the fact that there is some sort of love triangle going on, right?

there's two women and one guy. there is also the unsold condominium. >> the condo was still a factor in the story. the bank had not approved ian and angela for a mortgage. it was time to sell as agreed to. that was not going to happen, according to's bother. the ex-boyfriend was digging in his heels. >> you have yourself a conduct, he doesn't wanna move out, period. he makes that claim. >> on july 12th, 2016, even as she remain under investigation for cyber stalking and worse, michelle filed a breach of contact against ian over the con -- conduct. the next day, angela call plays. another minute was outside her condo. anaheim detectives found a 17-year-old in the courtyard. he told police that he was responding to a crisis at. >> tony was the orange county district attorney. >> get out the straight. it's hazardous to angela at this point. >> michelle looks like a loose cannon out there. >> she did. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> police got a warrant. once

again, arrested michelle hadley. >> it's very hard to see your daughter the placed in handcuffs. i just kept saying to him, no, no. i can't believe it. >> this time, it was much more serious. michelle was charged with stalking and making criminal threats and six counts of attempted rape for directing those meant to diaz's door. michelle's second rest got attention from reporters in that one county across the country. >> to cooking and calm validity even be true. >> bill this time was $1 million. they michelle slept in prison. >> this is ruffin for you, michelle? >> absolutely. it is a scariest moment of my life. >> dateline returns after the break.

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i top story. the weather is putting a damper on the nation caucuses -- and i will. candidates have already counted some offense there with concerns that blizzard conditions will complicate turnout. a final iowa poll showing former president donald trump maintaining a dominant lead, survey finds trump leading among likely gop caucus goers at 48%, they can lay it 20, ron desantis at 16. now, back to dateline. ome back to "dateline." >> welcome back to dateline, i i'm craig melvin. am craig melvin. michelle hadley was in jail, accused of multiple felonies, including stalking and attempted forcible rape. had she sent those threatening emails to her former fiancée's wife? or was this all the terrible mistake?

her parents thought so and we're determined to help. but where to even start? here again is dennis murphy. >> the charges and the headlines were devastating. in an article in her hometown paper, the shorthand was that michelle hadley was the psycho ex-girlfriend from hell. the mover behind alert and devious plot. her parents, michael and susan, couldn't and wouldn't believe it. >> there's nothing a character with the michelle you've raced here? >> not at all. >> it's actually 180 degrees so out of sync with her behavior. >> they want to see michelle on her first day in jail after being charged. >> this is going to be conversation with phones through glass? >> yes. >> yes. >> there are cells without

cages. she is in a cage one. i don't know why she was asked of indication. she does. >> rachel's bill was set at 1 million dollars. to get her out, mike and suzanne would have to come up with 10% of that. that is $100,000 cash. they told their daughter that they had enough to do that or to hire a good lawyer. but not both. >> bottom line is, we are going to fight this. there's no bail. that's it. >> how tough is that, susan? yet the money, you could've had her home for dinner. >> yeah. it was pretty tough. >> i told my dad, i was scared to death. i didn't know what was going to happen in jail. i told my dad, i can handle it. don't worry about me. go get a good attorney. >> you are incarcerated? >> yeah. for potentially the rest of my life. >> the girl who loved disneyland, fairytale princess and her morning starbucks said she stayed behind bars and tough it out. jailhouse denims were her new black. >> i stood out like a sore thumb. >> what was yourself? like >> tidy. they have to putt beds, a table and two chairs and your toilet is attached to your sink. everyone can see in. you never

get any privacy. >> what is a danger? >> they wake up at 4:30 a. m.. they bring you your breakfast. >> which is what. >> it's usually some sort of role looking potato mesh. i don't even know how to describe it. >> i'm guessing that if only starbucks. >> no starbucks. >> we're talking about food. what is village? >> bologne sandwich and really, really nasty bologne. i almost didn't eat for the first three or four days. >> michelle, the sounds of the jailhouse? >> yeah. good luck sleeping and jail. the door slamming is very loud. the women at night sometimes scream like banshees. you will hear it going through the jail. >> the population of prisoners took a close look at the poteet young woman from a good home, now living in their cell block. checkered especially after the story about her in the local paper got passed around. >> after that article, i had women coming up to my cell door

harassing me about it. i got a death route letter one point slipped under my cell door. what if one of the girls goes after me? what happens then? >> one of the woman who took you said, you have to toughen up, bro. >> she did. yeah. >> you need to develop sweater. >> apparently i walk like a church mouse and that is not cool. she said, you're gonna get hurt in here because you look weak when you walk. >> you have to become scarves? >> yeah. yeah. yes. >> according to the outside world, she already was scar face. kate from the daily beast reported on the case. >> these were incredibly serious charges that michelle was facing. felony charges that included attempted forcible rape. >> meanwhile, michelle's parents were in crisis mode, looking for an attorney. >> you don't have criminal defense attorneys on your speed all and guessing? >> we do not. >> michael suzanne wanted the right lawyer to deal with a cyber crime. they also wanted to start working on

michelle's defense right away. their daughter wasn't trouble. they started their own investigation. >> was it clear to you, like, if you're going to probably wear this, thank you have to understand the story told by the computers? >> correct. >> the forensics of this. >> absolutely. >> you have to learn a bunch. >> i know ip addresses, all that other stuff. >> and ip addresses a numeric code that identifies a computer network for an individual device. mike i top use of all the incriminating emails from the evidence filed from that restraining order. you started going through the software that traces ip addresses. >> this investigative software that you become your detective, is that something you have to go to caltech to get a copy of? is this nsa material? >> gosh, no. a 15-year-old kid material. >> it's like a salt, suzanne what organize them. >> he would print out on yellow pads of legal paper all of the ip

addresses and then i would take all of them and i would put them on the spreadsheet. we highlighted where certain ip addresses were the same. >> the idea being that this ip addresses going to go to physical location? >> yes. >> if they could trace the email sent from one location and prove michele was somewhere else at the same time, it could be an alibi. but a dea tony ricacaud, they look like a bad set of facts for michelle hadley. >> looking at the emails and the pictures and the ads, it looked like michelle hadley was doing this terrible thing, stocking and victimizing angela. >> the wheels of justice were grinding slowly. the lives of two young women were hanging in the balance. >> dateline returns after the dateline returns after the break.ou have graves' disease, your eye symptoms could mean something more. that gritty feeling can't be brushed away. even a little blurry vision can distort things. and something serious may be behind those itchy eyes.

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michelle hadley. not just the daily grind, but the fear. living in legal limbo. she took comfort in writing long letters to her friend, trying to convince them and herself that she was okay. >> july 21, 2016. dear mommy, daddy, rebecca. my commissary order finally arrived today. so, i have paper and pencils, among other goodies. >> reading has always

relaxed me. since i'm pretty sure this ordeal is the most stressful of my life today, you can expect to get letters from me. i wanted to send you one positive thing and one thing i want to do when i'm free is for my red and sanity as for yours. one positive thing, i haven't had this much time to read in a long time. >> wishlist, a gourmet burger and a glass of red wine. all my love, michelle. >> i hear a lot of you reassuring them in that. >> that's exactly what was happening. i didn't want them to worry too much. i didn't want to be afraid. they were fighting so much on the outside and doing so much work, you know? i wanted them to be proud of what a brave girl they had raised. >> as the weeks turned into months, her brave front started to crack. >> there were mornings when i would wake up and i will bring my eyes and i would see the white of the jail

cell wall and i would think, okay, i'm going to wake up a second time. this is just a nightmare. and it wasn't. it was for real. i was starting to feel like i was slipping away. >> you thought your humanity slipping away? >> yeah. >> she was nothing like a criminal. >> that's forgotten? >> my gut is pretty good. >> her parents hired michael guisti. michael guisti felt an instant connection to the hadley's. >> i looked at michelle's family, to a large extent i saw my family. i saw a working class family who fiercely defended their child. she was a young, ambitious mba student who was nothing but bright-eyed and optimistic. >> and was facing life in prison? >> for no reason. no reason. >> so, this

is the case you go to law school for. >> this is the reason we become a lawyer. >> michelle's mom and dad showed guisti the computer research they had done on the emails at the heart of the case. michael hadley was convinced they found something crucial. >> why are michelle's digital fingerprints on this? >> they're not. there are no digital fingerprints whatsoever. >> it looks like it's coming from michelle. >> it looks like someone is making it look like it's coming from michelle. that is for sure. >> they spreadsheet showed something credit mandating emails were sent what michelle could prove that she was in the classroom at chapman university. >> here's michelle at school, and. janet here emails coming. she's in class >> she was in class doing her final course presentation. there's no way she's going to be sending this email. >> the

hadleys -- that they had. it proved that michelle was innocent. defense attorney guisti disagreed. he knew it would take skillful legal window to convince prosecutors. >> a district attorney is never going to buy my evidence. a district attorney is going to have to convince themselves that they have evidence which might accidentally coincide with what i have. >> in fact, police and prosecutors were still doing everything they could to link those emails to michelle. >> we have a very skilled detective who's working on the case. he was a constant communication with the district attorney's office and try to piece it together to prove the case and solidify at court. >> problem was -- >> it wasn't coming together. >> his electronic latches were coming from a different place. we can verify it was coming from michelle hadley's device. >> it was a blow to the prosecution's case. but there was more evidence that just ip addresses. there was the bad blood between michelle and ian, the restraining orders, those harrowing attempted rapes of

ian's wife, angela. and that fire and brimstone language of the threatening emails so distinctive and seemingly in michelle's voice. >> that language of religious retribution, they appear to be michele. you stand before got on the-- >> that's. or that caused the police are investigators as well look at it and say, this is michelle. >> one thing was clear that, the computer forensics had blown a sizeable hole in the prosecution's case. guisti seized the moment and worked out a deal. the dea would release michelle from jail, but he would not drop the charges against her. and the investigation would continue. after 80 days, michelle locked out of jail. >> on the outside, basically my parents, they were there waiting for me and got my coffee. >> like a cup of coffee. >> the good cup of coffee. which, man, i've been dreaming about that for so long. >> it was an incredible

moment for the hadley's. a legal victory, not the end of the road. >> she still in jeopardy. still having charges. she had ankle bracelet on. >> i felt like i was so scarred from jail. and wearing that device, you feel like you're an animal. i just remember thinking, how did they get here? i didn't do anything. >> coming up -- if michelle wasn't sending the emails, who was? and why? >> i'm here to announce a filing of a felony complaint. >> i don't think anyone could do that. >> the dea has a word for it. >> diabolical. >> how did that work come to? you >> diabolical it's something evil. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50.

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♪ you'll get a great deal every day! ♪ welcome back. hadley has been released from jail. if she hadn't sent those ominous emails filled with references to -- and kidnap and rape, who did? could the answer be in the emails themselves? now, with the conclusion of our story with dennis murphy. >> with every thump of her heart, michelle felt that she was losing a part of herself. out of jail, but not out of jeopardy. free to go to a high

end coffee shop, but not allowed to remove the ankle bracelet tracker. >> i wrapped it with the sports bandage because i was so embarrassed to be wearing it. you know? >> everything was about to change. after a thorough search of michelle's digital devices, investigators concluded the damning emails did not come from them. >> we have a lab, our own computer forensics lab. we have people that are very well trained. that is how this came to fruition. we were able to determine that michelle hadley was not the suspect. >> this was momentous. after months in jail, after the ankle bracelet, michelle hadley was cleared. >> you are happy, but your emotions are all over the place because you are coming out of this fog. >> please face a daunting new investigation. a suspect could be literally anybody with a cell phone or access to the internet. >> we can't show groups coming from about the service of a search warrant. getting the information from the internet

service provider -- months. >> police needed critical data from internet providers to confirm the precise times and locations of the cyberattacks against angela. they executed more than 50 search warrants and court orders during their investigation. >> they're very few cases where we've had to write that many search warrants just to get to the bottom line, to get the truth. >> when they finally started getting information that they needed, the results were stunning. the ugly trail of ones and zeroes came to show that at least one of the people emails were coming from the condo in anaheim. the one ian and michelle had been to court over. the one ian and angela were now living in. the condo, suddenly looking like the scene of the crime and the motive all in one. >> this is where angela and ian lived. i don't think they wanted to leave. >> so, if the ex conference, crazy, ex

girlfriend in the public eyes incarcerated, that resolves financial issues? >> right. they will have complete control over their residents. >> now, both of them were suspects. ian, the u.s. marshal and angela, the pregnant--. >> in a way, it makes more sense if you're looking at conventional motivation that it would be the ex-boyfriend, diaz and the woman he married. >> right, exactly. the deeper they looked, the more police zeroed in on the woman and married. all the bizarre goings on. one that stood out was angela's report that someone tried to rape her in the garage of the condo. >> if you go to the alley to get the garage. crushes and have a dress on. >> how did this assailant found her? >> that's a question. there's also some surveillance cameras that were in the area. presumably, would have shot someone tried to enter. we didn't have that. >> help out the scene itself? >> the question whether this could have happened and strive how she felt like i, of compare that to the light injuries she was showing, it looks sketching. >> investigators uncovered more sketchy behavior. angela seem to have a

troubling history. >> you start seeing some of the fraudulent things that she's been involved in. >> that checks? >> faking a cancer episode? >> faking a cancer episode. things like that. >> the dea says that angela lied about something else. she was not pregnant with ian's child. it wasn't that trail of lies that really mattered. it was the trail of emails that ultimately cracked the case. it turned out the emails sent from the condo didn't come from a computer at all, but, says that he, from a cell phone. angela's cell phone. in a beyond strange case, this turn things up to 11. >> the original victim ended up being their number one suspect. >> has that for whiplash? [laughter] >> i don't think anyone could believe it. >> it was time. six months after michelle hadley was first charged, angela diaz was arrested and jailed. >> good morning, thank you for coming.

>> the dea, tony rackauckas, held a press conference and a look at the stunning evidence. >> i'm here to announce the filing of felony complaint against angela diaz by orange county district attorney's office. >> there were no charges against ian, the man in the middle. the dea, said that angela diaz was the mastermind and sole actor in an elaborate scheme to portray herself as a victim. she had quite simply framed michelle hadley. >> michelle is accused of being -- angela and pretending to be michelle pretending to be angela. >> it was just that convoluted. angela accused of sending herself threatening emails, invited men to her own home to rape her. inflicting injuries on herself. all to put her husband's ex-girlfriend behind bars. what is more, at least for a few months, authorities say that she succeeded. >> awhen someone who's innocent gets arrested and charged with a crime, that's not just a bad day. it is a nightmare. it needs to be made clear in the media and in

cyberspace. this hadley is an innocent victim of a diabolical scheme. >> what do you mean diabolical in this scheme? >> diabolical something even. it's something that that the devil might do. >> your theory was -- >> that is right. >> you're sorry that your theory was wrong. >> absolutely. it's a terrible thing to accuse an innocent person. >> were the apology is enough? where county authorities during a walk, and say we did this terribly wrong. >> i appreciate the apologies, but the apologies don't rebuild your life. the apologies don't undo what has been done. [crying] i will carry this around for the rest of my life. >> to attempt to get justice for michelle, her lawyer filed a lawsuit against angela diaz, diaz, and the city of anaheim.

in 2021, the city, without admitting liability, agreed to pay michelle $1,795,000. ian diaz and angela diaz reached separate settlements with michelle. >> anaheim police and our detective didn't pretty situation. angela diaz did. what we had to do, as the circumstances came about, as the evidence presented herself, after i continue to exonerate michelle. >> in october 2017, angela pleaded guilty to felony charges, including kidnapping, false imprisonment, perjury, forgery. she was sentenced to five years. >> this diaz does speak not only punishment, but needs help. she appears to be devoid of any sense of empathy or compassion to others. any kind of realization as to the impact to what actions have on another person's life. >> one

other thing angela lost besides her freedom was her husband, ian. he had their reginald. angela's defense attorney believed ian deserved a closer look. >> the failure to investigate that adequately, the role of ian diaz in it, is a serious concern. >> we reach out to ian hoping to speak to him, but got no response. turns out that federal prosecutors also had questions. after investigating his role in the scheme, they charged ian diaz with conspiracy to commit cyber stalking, cyber stalking and perjury. and march 2023, a now former u.s. marshal was convicted on all counts and sentenced to ten years and one month. he has filed an appeal. >> when we last sat down with michelle, her personal struggle was far from over. a struggle to rekindle the spirit of an

innocent young woman whose life was changed forever by something diabolical. >> i don't think there's anything more evil than finding a girl who believes in the best in humanity and who loves other people deeply and making her question who she is, making her question her fate in humanity. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i am craig melvin. thank you for watching. ♪ ♪ ♪ hello. welcome to this sunday edition of morning joe: weekend. let's jump right into some of the week's top stories. >> for 54 years, they were trying to get roe v. wade terminated