skbrienchts i'm craig melvin. >> i'm nat rnatalie morales, ans is "dateline. >> she was sooireceiving long, rambling e-mails saying her husband is 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 kind of when the fireworks happened. >> obviously, this hasn't stopped. >> what arrived next was far worse. >> strange men appeared at her door and tried to attack her.

>> somebody was posting ads on-line saying they wanted to fulfill a rape fantasy. >> everything pointed to her husband's ex. >> they said we're going to have to take you into custody. >> you're incarcerated? >> for potentially the rest of my life. >> with hiding behind the threats was a cyber secret. >> evil. something that the devil might do. michelle hadley seemed to have it all. a loving family, solid education, with the opportunities and support to help her fulfill the promises of youth, and now she had a fiance she was crazy about. her life was about to be turned upside down. here's dennis murphy with

"diabolic." >> locked in a cage. the shrieks of women howling in the night. >> this isn't real. this is like something you would see in a movie. this doesn't happen in real life. >> how did a self-described goody two shoes, des any princess, get swept away in a conspiracy to convoluted, so twisted? >> this is one of the most well thought out plans, and it's scary. >> diabolical. >> absolutely. >> a tangled web and bizarre. >> completed scheme. >> very complicated. very creative. >> this is the most shocking form of love rivalry i've ever seen. >> there would be aelgss of harassment, assault, cyber stalking, and attempted rape. someone was going to get hurt. someone was going to go to jail. at the end of the nightmare, well, no one saw that coming. you describe whether it was a love rivalry.

in the beginning it was clearly a boy meets girl love story. >> it was an intense period of my life in the sense of just a very kind of whirlwind type of romance. >> august 2013 20-something michelle hadley met a u.s. marshall named ian diaz over a cup of coffee. things moved fast. >> he told you that he loved you, or you were beautiful? >> yes. >> sort of hit you with a thunderbolt. >> kind of early on, actually. yeah. about the second date he was telling me he loved me. >> did you think slow down, buddy? did you welcome it? >> i think when you're a young girl who has been raised on the fairy tale princess dream, it's very exciting and flattering. >> could this be her prince charming? >> she was very imaginative, very intelligent, and she just loved to play and create. >> michelle's mother, susan, and father, michael, raised her and

her younger sister in this modest home in ontario, california. she was a cross-country runner, good student. >> i was an over achiever. >> you were the kid who ruined the curve for everybody else. >> yeah, actually, sometimes. >> michelle was offered a scholarship to attend dickinson, a well-regarded liberal arts college back in pennsylvania. >> you must have both been proud of how your child was working out? >> very. >> after graduation she tried various careers before eventually landing a marketing job at disney. now she had met this man, ian diaz, the u.s. marshall. her very own prince charming. in december 2014 for her 28th birthday he whisked her top of new york to propose. >> and you said? >> i said yes. yeah. i said yes. >> it was time to find a starter castle to complete the fairy tale. just minutes from her job at disney, they bought into a new condo development in anaheim.

she would be able to watch the disneyland fireworks from the roof. >> i put the whole down payment down. >> you put the whole payment down? >> yes. >> they waited for the condo to be finished, and in june they moved in, but michelle said that's when the relationship changed. fell apart, actually. two months later she packed her jetta with whatever stuff she could fit in and left. showed up at her parents' doorstep. >> surprised? tell me about that night. >> well, i had gotten a text from her saying can i come home? i said you don't even need to ask. >> why were you not suited for him in your opinion? >> i didn't feel that the relationship was healthy for me. >> not nurturing for you? >> not nurturing for me, yeah. >> were there tempers? were there -- >> let's just say that i'm not a strong personality, and so, you know, i have to be very careful the kinds of people i surround myself with, where it's almost better for me not to be in a relationship than to be in a bad one. >> but there were still ties that bound the former couple. a mortgage, the deed to that

condo in anaheim, which became a source of tension. both hired lawyers. it got personal. michelle claimed ian was unfaithful, even abusive, and she sent him a strange e-mail. the language laced with religion and references to the bible, satan and a mythical dual called -- >> please explain to your real estate attorney that god's law is above allahs, including the law of n.ma lilith, you may try to hide behind the law of man, but it is a weak shield that will bend and crack against the sword of god. ian denied her allegations and said he was so alarmed by michelle's e-mail that he applied for a restraining order against her. he accused her of infidelity and wrote, "because of her emotional instability, history of fits and ranl, i fear for my safety." the request for the restraining order was dismissed a few weeks later, and the law of man prevailed. or so it seemed.

the lawyers hashed out a compromise. >> we actually got a settlement agreement. >> ian and michelle signed it in november of 2015. the deal allowed ian to stay in the condo, but he had six months to get his own mortgage. failing that, he would have to sell the condo and split any profits with michelle. michelle stood to lose most of her down payment. about $10,000. she said it was worth it. >> i moved on with my life completely. 100% completely. i actually had started dating again. >> so you had this problem with the condo. it was not a major part of your life. >> once the settlement agreement was signed, it was just a waiting game. >> she went back to school, started an mba program at chapman university. ian, too, moved on quickly. married a woman named angie. but the nagging condo issue still wasn't resolved, and the six-month deadline was approaching. >> that's kind of where all the fireworks started happening.

>> soon, more emails. really frightening ones. and at 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 not long after the e-mails arrived, so do police. >> what's going on out here? the guy said we just arrested michelle. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vfor nearly .

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we june 1st, 2016, tension over the anaheim condo michelle hadley and ian diaz had shared was once again starting to peak. the deadline was fast approaching. ian needed take over the mortgage or sell the condo. that's when some odd events began to unfold. michelle's father, michael, was at work. his youngest daughter was at their home in an toir o his youngest daughter was at their home in an tointario. >> i get the -- i said look outside. is there police cars. two have them. open the door. is it scared her, i guess. so the woman throws down a restraining order. >> here, you've about an served sort of thing? >> the police, two officers 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 wife of three months, who had recently announced she was pregnant. >> angela came into the picture not long after ian and michelle had actually broken up. >> reporter kate covered the story for "the daily beast." she spent hours digging through the curious emails michelle sent ian during the condo dispute. >> one minute she's very polite and thanking him for reminders on her car insurance. the next minute, you know, she's saying that he is satan and the anti-christ. >> even after they signed the agreement on the condo, the emails kept coming. ian got this one on may 22nd. "you told me i was your first love, but you did not treat me like the precious, perfect treasure i am. you have sinned against god, and 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

too. >> long, rambling emails saying that, you know, her husband ian doesn't love her, that michelle is, you know, his one true love and that ian is cheating on her. he manipulates women. she better get out of the picture soon before he hurts her. >> these new emails to angela sounded like michelle's emails to ian complete with biblical imagery, but they came from multiple e-mail addresses and were signed jason ray. >> telling angela that she would always be eve and that michelle was ian's lilith, his truth, and that angela would never be his one true love. >> then another e-mail to angela appeared. the subject line "die." the message, "i hope you are scared of death tomorrow. be prepared. don't sleep. be watchful of the daughters of god." the e-mail continued. "we will steal your child, and

we will watch as it dies." angela said when she looked to see who sent this e-mail, it was from michelle hadley. >> you can understand from angela's point of view where she would be so rattd? >> right. >> a bare of emails arrived on may 21st, 2016. be warned, angela. you've lost. i am going to end you. you will suffer. i will pray for you. the next morning, june 1st, angela filed for that restraining order. the one police served at the hadley's home. it read, in part, "ms. hadley has been e-mailing me for over one week, repeatedly threat ming my life, my marriage, my safety. >> the rett cal language you used in the e-mail to your ex -- >> yeah. >> -- had a kind of biblical ferocity to it. is this the same person? >> well, no comment on that, but, you know -- >> >> michelle admits she did send fire and brim stone emails

to ian. she was reluctant to discuss them on camera. she later said it was a symptom of post traumatic stress disorder chrks she blamed on her fallen relationship with her ex. she told us she never sent any emails to angela. in fact, michelle says she didn't even know her. >> i have never heard of her. i have never communicated with her. >> didn't say where she lived or pick her out of a line-up? >> i'm assuming she lives in the condo with imhad, but aside from that, but that's the extent of what i know about her. i don't know where her job is. i don't know where she works. i don't know anything about her background. >> or so she said. >> it was very compelling evidence. >> sergeants -- >> it seemed to be the same kind of e-mails that are coming to angela. did that drive some of your theory about the case? >> i can't talk about specifics,

but there was carelear and convincing evidence to believe that michelle hadley is the person sending the emails. >> a judge ordered michelle to cease all contact with angela and ian. the emails continued. june 6, you will pay for this. i hope to god you are ready for the pain i will show you. and this. "burn in the fiery pits of hell tonight as by god's law you will be hurt." three weeks after the restraining order was filed, police returned to michelle's parents' house. >> they have a search warrant for my devices. i hand all my devices over. i give them all the pass codes. he opens up my cell phone. >> the officer looked through her e-mail account, checked the activity there. then arrested michelle for violating the restraining order. >> i heard a door slamming out front, and i went to the front, and i said what's going on out here, and the guy said we just arrested michelle. >> arrested your michelle? >> yes. >> she was placeed in a holding cell. her parents posted a bond to get

her out. after a very long night, they picked her up from the anaheim police department. >> there she was sitting on the steps out in front. >> that's one of the stranger days of your life. >> the strangest. >> but strange days were only beginning. >> coming up, from dagger by emails to danger at the front door. >> somebody was posting ads on-line saying they wanted to fulfill a rape fantasy. when "dateline" continues.

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. june 2016. michelle hadley was out on bail living with her parents. anaheim police suspected michelle had sent threatening emails to her ex-boyfriend, ian, his pregnant wife, laangela. even though on its face it didn't make much sense. >> a young woman. a good student. she's trying to get an mba. >> there are two sides of everyone. >> all we're seeing is the evidence against michelle hadley. >> the case went way beyond threatening emails. police had evidence she was up to something much more sinister. something symptom-churning. it began in early june. about the same time as the deadline on the condo was approaching. >> somebody was posting ads on-line through craig's list

saying that they wanted to fulfill this rape fantasy. >> rape fantasy. i don't think i've ever heard of this. >> i had never heard of it either until this particular case. apparently, yes, there's a market for it. >> it's a type of personal ad. you can find them on craig's list and elsewhere on-line. men seeking women who want to meet and act out a rape. a woman responded to the ad. i have been dying to have a rape fantasy occur. if you can fulfill this tonight, please let me know. i am 30, tall, gorgeous, and ready. i have a yorkie i walk every night. c come find me. the e-mail gave an address. the condo in anaheim where ian and angela live. angela and ian told police a man showed up at their door expecting to have violent sex with angela. they told police they sent him away, but other men followed. all invited by e-mail responses to rape fantasy ads. >> it escalates again. now to the point that angela

calls it is police department and reports that another person had showed up and had actually tried to rape her. >> police officers responded to angela's 911 call. >> what did they encounter? >> they encountered a very distraught angela diaz who says another person had shown up and -- >> she's got abrasions here, right? >> on her neck. her shirt was torn. >> this is way beyond internet misdemeanor mischief. this is criminal act in your city. >> most definitely a criminal act. >> who was inviting men to rape angela? police believe there was no question it was michelle hadley. that's what led them to arrest michelle outside her parents' home. angela reported that during the night michelle spent in jail, she received no threatening emails, but then michelle made bail. she was out. >> almost immediately emails start again. >> so is there kind of a feel here about this activity, and it's continuing. >> correct. >> this is a very complicated scheme. >> yes.

>> "daily beast" report kate tried to unravel the story from her office in new york city. angela diaz appeared to be the victim at the center of an increasingly dangerous game. >> she was afraid for her life. she was afraid to go anywhere. she felt that she had to uproot her whole life, take down her on-line profiles, and hide. >> july 11th, two weeks after michelle bailed out of jail, a new rape fantasy ad appeared on craig's list, and a response. once again, the e-mail directed the man who placed the ad to the home of angela diaz. >> what would michelle's motivation be in doing this? >> it's interesting. i mean, there's the fact that there's some sort of love triangle going on, right? there's two women, one guy. there's also the unsold condominium. >> the condo was still a factor in the story. the bank had not approved ian and angela for the mortgage, so it was time to sell as agreed to.

but that wasn't going to happen, according to michelle's father. the ex-boyfriend was digging in his heels. >> he is not going to sell the condo. he does not want to move out, period. it's that clear. >> on july 12th, 2016 even as she remained under investigation for cyber stalking and worse, michelle filed a breach of contract lawsuit against ian over the condo. the next day angela called police. another man was outside her condo. anaheim detectives found a 17-year-old in the courtyard. he told police he was responding to a craig's list ad. >> i think the day before yesterday. >> orange county district attorney tony. >> we got to get her off the street. it's hazardous to angela at this point. >> michelle looked like a loose canon out there. >> she did. >> capable of harm? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> police got a warrant, and once again, arrested michelle hadley. >> it's very hard to see your daughter being placed in handcuffs, and 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, making criminal threats, and six counts of attempted rape for directing those men to angela diaz's door. michelle's second arrest got the attention of reporters both in orange county and across the country. >> the headline seemed to convoluted to even be true. >> the bail this time was $1 million. michelle faced life in prison. >> is this rock bottom moment for you, michelle? >> absolutely. it's the scariest moment of my life. >> dateline returns after the break. , yeah. sure. except, you know what? it's all about image. it's like so true. you know what i mean? [ grunting ] the moment you realize a good back yard party requires a good backyard. at lowe's we have everything you need to create the outdoor space you've always wanted. ♪ all projects have a starting point.

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hi, i'm richard lui with your hour's top stories. the president is claiming victory over the inspector general's report on the handling of the hillary clinton e-mail case. trump saying that the report discredits the russia investigation and contains no findings on that investigation. anger rose over the zero

tolerance policy of separating migrant children from their families at the border. the house plans to vote next week on two immigration bills. one of which could keep children from being taken from their families. now back to "dateline." welcome back to "dateline." i'm craig melvin. michelle hadley was in jail, accused of multiple felonies, including stalking, and attempted forcible rape. she sent those threatening emails to her former fiance's wife, or was this all a terrible mistake? her parents thought so, and were derp determined to help. where to even start? here again is dennis murphy. >> the charges in the headlines were devastating. in an article in her hometown paper the shorthand was that michelle hadley was the psycho

ex-girlfriend. the mover behind a lurid and devious plot. her parents wouldn't believe. >> there's nothing -- >> not at all. >> it's actually 180 degrees so out of sync with her behavior. >> they went to see michelle on her first day in jail after bein chaed. >> is this going to be conversation with phones through glass? yes. >> yes. >> there are cells without cages, but she's in a cage. i don't know why. she always has to be a caged one, but she does. >> her bail was set at $1 million. to get her out, mike and suzanne would have to come up with about 10% of it. that's $100,000 cash. they told their daughter they had enough to do that or to hire a good lawyer. not both. >> bottom line is we're going to have to fight this, and there's no bail, and that's it. >> how tough is that, suzanne? you had the money. you could have had her home for dinner. >> yeah, it was pretty tough. >> i told my dad i was scared to

death, and i didn't know what was going to happen in jail, but i told my dad, i was, like, i can handle it. don't worry about me. go get a good attorney. >> and you're incarcerated? >> yep. for potentially the rest of my life. >>. ♪ >> the girl who loved disneyland, fairy tale princesses, and her morning starbucks said she would stay behind bars and tough it out. jailhouse dinners were her new black. >> well, i stood out like a sore thumb. >> what is your cell like? >> tiny. i have two bunk beds, a table and two chairs, and then your toilet is actually attached to your sink. everyone can kind of see in, so you never get any privacy. >> what is the day in jail? >> well, they wake you up at 4:30 a.m. then had he bring you your breakfast. >> which is what? >> it's usually some sort of gruel looking potato mash. i don't know how to describe it. >> i'm guessing not a foamy starbucks. >> no starbucks.

>> we're talking about food. what's lunch? >> bologne sandwich and really, really nasty bologne. i almost didn't eat for the first, you know, three or four days. >> michelle -- >> good luck sleeping in jail. the door slamming is very loud, and the women at night sometimes scream like banchies. you'll hear it echoing throughout the jail. >> the population of street-hardened prisoners took a close look at the petite young woman from a good home now living in their cell block. checked her out especially after that story about her in the local paper got passed around. >> after that article i had women coming up to my cell done harassing me about it. i got a death threat letter at one point slipped under my cell door. what if it one of the girls goes after me? what happens then? >> one of the women who took you under her wing said you got to toughen up, girl? >> yeah, she did. >> you developed a swagger. >> well, apparently i walked

like a church mouse, and that's not cool, and she said you're going to get hurt in here because you look weak when you walk. >> you need to become scar face, huh? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> of course, to the outside world, she already was scar face. kate of "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 attney. >> youon have criminal defense attorneyon your speed dial, i'm guessing. >> coec we do not. >> mike and suzanne wanted the right lawyer to deal with a cyber crime. they also wanted to start working in michelle's defense right away. their daughter was in trouble. they started their own investigation. >> was it clear to you, mike, if you are going to claw your way out of this thing, you have to understand the story told by the computers? >> correct. >> the forensics of this case? >> yes. >> you have to learn a whole bunch of jargon. >> i know ip addresses and all the other stuff. >> ip address is a numeric code

that identifies a computer network or an individual device. mike had copies of all the incriminating emails from the evidence file for that restraining order. he started going through them with software that traces ip addresses. >> this investigative software that you used to become your own detective, is that something you got to go to cal tech to get a cop of? is this nsa material? >> oh, gosh, no. it's a 15-year-old kit material. >> as mike got results, suzanne would organize them. >> he would print out on yellow pads of legal paper all the ip addresses, and then i would take all of them and i put them on a spreadshe spreadsheet, and then we highlighted where certain ip addresses were the same. >> the idea being that this ip address is going to go back to a physical location. >> yes. >> if they could trace an e-mail sent from one location and prove michelle was somewhere else at the same time, it could be an alibi. but to da tony, it looked like a

bad set of facts for michelle hadley. >> looking at the emails and the pictures and the ads, looked like michelle hadley was just doing this terrible thing, stalking and victimizing of angela. >> the wheels of justice were grinding slowly. the lives of two young women were hanging in the balance. >> dateline returns after the break. ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years.

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each day in jail was a struggle for michelle hadley. not just the daily grind, but the death threats, the fear, living in legal limbo. she took comfort writing long letters to her family, trying to convince them and maybe herself that she was okay. >> july 21st, 2016. dear ma and daddy and rebecca. my comisary order finally arrived today, so i have paper and decent pencils, among other goodies. >> writing has always relaxed me, and since i'm pretty sure this ordeal is the most stressful of my life to date, 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 as much for my mood and sanity as for yours. one positive thing. i haven't had this much time to read in a long time.

wish list. a gourmet burger and a glass of red wine. all my love, michelle. >> i hear a lot of you reassuring them. >> that was exactly what was happening. i didn't want them to worry too much. i didn't want them to be afraid. they were already fighting so much on the outside and doing so much work, you know, and i wanted them to be proud of what a brave girl they had raised. >> but as the weeks turned into months, her brave front started to crack. >> there were mornings when i would wake up and i would open my eyes and i would see the white 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 felt your humanity slipping away? >> yeah. >> she looked absolutely not even close to herself.

>> that's your gut talking. >> my gut is pretty good. >> michelle's parents hired michael to defend their daughter. he felt an instant connection to the hadleys. >> i looked at michelle's family, and to a large extent, i saw my family. i saw -- 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 alchemistic. >> and was facing life in prison. >> for no reason. no reason. >> so this is kind of the case you go to law school for. >> this is the reason you become a lawyer. >> michelle's mom and dad showed michael 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 thing? >> they're not. there's no digital fingerprints whatsoever. >> looks like it's coming from michelle brsh. >> it looks like somebody is trying to make it come from michelle. that's for sure. >> the hadley spreadsheet showed some of the emails came -- >> here's michelle at school. she's at chapman. here's 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 those emails. >> the hadleys thought they had proven that michelle was innocent, but defense attorney disagreed. he knew it would take skillful legal legwork to convince prosecutors. >> a district attorney is never going it -- 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 is working on the case, and he was in constt attorn's office and trying to t piece it together to help prove a case and solidify it for court. >> the problem was -- >> it just wasn't coming together. these electronic messages were coming from a different place. we couldn't verify it was coming from michelle hadley's device. >> it was a blow to the prosecution's case. but there was more evidence than just ip addresses. there was the bad blood between michelle and ian. the restraining orders. those attempted rapes of ian's new wife, angela, and that fire and brim stone language of the threatening emails so distinctive and seemingly in michelle's voice. >> that language of religious retribution -- >> made it appear to be michelle. >> stand before god on this thing. >> that's right. and that caused the police and

our investigators as well to look at it and say this is michelle. >> one thing was clear, though. the computer forensics had blown a sizable hole in the prosecution's case. michael seized the moment and worked out a deal. the d.a. would release michelle from jail, but he would not drop the charges against her and the investigation would continue. after 88 days michelle walked out of jail. >> on the outside basically my parents, they were there waiting for me, and i got my coffee. >> you missed coffee. >> yeah. a good cup of coffee. which, oh, man, i had been droming about that for so long. >> it was an incredible moment for the hadleys. a legal victory, but not the end of the road. >> she's still in jeopardy. she's still charged with the same crimes. >> and she's got an ankle bracelet on? >> she had an ankle bracelet on. >> i already felt like i was so scarred from jail and wearing that device, you kind of still

feel like you're an animal, and i just remember thinking how did i get here? i didn't do anything. >> coming up, if michelle wasn't sending the emails, who was? and why? the d.a. has a word for it. >> diabolical. >> how did that word come to you? >> it's something evil. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. before people invite something they want to know who you are. we're almond breeze. and we only use california-grown blue diamond almonds in our almondmilk. cared for by our family of almond growers. blue diamond almond breeze. the best almonds make the best almondmilk. from the first moment you met, it was love at first touch.

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welcome back. michelle hadley had been released from jail. if she hadn't sent those amish e-mails filled with references to satan, threats of kidnapping, rape and death, who did? could the answer be in the e-mails themselves? now with the conclusion of our story, here's dennis murphy. >> reporter: with every thump of her heart, michelle felt she was losing a little 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 tracking her. >> i had wrapped it with this sports bandage because i was so embarrassed to be wearing it, you know? >> reporter: but 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 actually have a lab -- our own computer forensics lab, and then we have people that are very well-trained, and -- and that's really how this came to fruition that we were able to -- to determine that michelle hadley wasn't the suspect. >> reporter: this was momentous. after months in jail. after the ankle bracelet. michelle hadley was cleared. >> you're happy, but your emotions are all over the place 'cause you're kind of coming out of this fog. i'm very lucky that my parents were there to take care of me 'cause it's a rocky transition. >> reporter: now police faced a daunting new investigation. the suspect could be literally anybody with a cell phone or access to the internet. >> we can't show where it was coming from without the service of a search warrant, and then getting the information from the -- internet service provider. and it took months. >> reporter: police needed critical data from internet providers to confirm the precise times and locations of the cyber attacks against angela. they executed more than 50 search warrants and court

orders during their investigation. >> there's very few cases where we've had to write that many search warrants just to get to the bottom line, to get to the truth. >> reporter: and when they finally started getting the information they needed, the results were stunning. the ugly trail of ones and zeroes seemed to show that at least some of the hateful 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. and i don't think they wanted to leave. >> if the ex-girlfriend -- crazy, psycho ex-girlfriend in the public eye is incarcerated and away, that resolves some of these financial issues? >> right. they'll have complete control over their residence. >> reporter: and now both of them were suspects: ian, the us marshal and angela, the pregnant newlywed. >> in a way it makes more sense if you're looking at conventional motivation that it would be the ex-boyfriend, diaz --

>> right -- >> rather than the woman he married. >> right, exactly. >> reporter: but the deeper they looked, the more police zeroed in on the woman ian married, and all the bizarre goings on swirling around her. one that stood out was angela's report that someone tried to rape her in the garage of the condo. >> you have to go to an alley to get to the garage and the garage doesn't have an address on it. >> ah, so you're wondering how this alleged -- >> so -- >> assailant actually found her. >> that gets to be a question but then also there was some surveillance cameras that were in the area. >> and presumably would have shown someone tryin' to enter -- and you didn't have that. >> we didn't have that. >> what about the scene itself? >> when you start questioning whether or not this could have happened, and her story about how she fought the guy off and compare that to the rather light injuries that she was showing it all started looking a little bit sketchy. >> reporter: investigators uncovered more sketchy behavior. angela seemed to have a troubling history. >> we started seeing -- some of the -- fraudulent things that she's -- you know, that she's been involved in. >> some bad checks. >> bad checks. >> faking a cancer episode. >> faking a cancer episode.

things like that. >> reporter: the da says angela lied about something else too. she was not pregnant with ian's child. but it wasn't the 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 the da, from a cell phone. angela's cell phone. in an already beyond strange case. this turned things up to 11. >> their original victim ended up being their number one suspect. >> how's that for whiplash? >> i don't think anyone could believe it. >> reporter: it was time. six months after michelle hadley was first charged, angela diaz was arrested and jailed. >> good morning and thank you all for coming. >> reporter: da tony rackauckas held a press conference and delivered the stunning news. >> i am here to announce the filing of a felony complaint against angela marie diaz by the orange county district attorney's office. >> reporter: there were no charges against ian, the man in the middle.

the da said 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 who turned out to be angela pretending to be michelle pretending to be angela. >> reporter: the charges were just that convoluted. angela accused of sending herself threatening emails. inviting men to her own home to rape her. inflicting injuries on herself. and all to put her husband's ex-girlfriend behind bars. what's more at least for a few months, authorities say, she succeeded. >> when someone who is innocent gets arrested and charged with a crime, that's not just a bad day, it's a nightmare. it needs to be made clear in the media and in cyberspace, ms. hadley is an innocent victim of a diabolical scheme. >> how did that word come to you? and what do you mean now about diabolical in this scheme? >> diabolical is something evil. it's something that the devil might do.

>> not to be too glib. your theory was wrong, but you untangled it. is that what happened here? >> well, that is right. uh-huh. >> you're sorry that the first theory was wrong? >> absolutely. you know, it's a terrible thing to -- accuse an innocent person. >> were the apologies enough? your county authorities doing in effect a walk of shame. saying, "we got this terribly wrong." >> i appreciate the apologies. but the apologies don't rebuild your life and the apologies don't undo what's been done. i'll carry this around for the rest of my life. michelle's lawyer michael guisti has already filed paperwork against the city of anaheim. and against di both the diazs. >> the anaheim police

department, our detective, didn't create the situation. angela diaz did. we did what we had to do as the circumstances came about, and as the evidence presented itself, up to and including continuing to investigate and exonerating michelle. >> the court has considered the impact on michelle hadley's life being incarcerated. by being wrongfully accused. through no fault of law enforcement and it was through the tremendous efforts of law enforcement that the truth was finally uncovered. it was a waste of resources to have law enforcement running around in circles because of the repeated accusations being made against ms. hadley. >> reporter: angela is facing a slew of felony charges, including kidnapping, false imprisonment, perjury, and forgery.

she pleaded not guilty to all of them. she did change her plea to guilty and sat to learn her fate before a judge. the court will sentence you for a period of five years. >> reporter: allison margolin is angela's defense attorney. she believes it needs a closer look. to investigate the role of ian is a serious concern. we reached out but got no support. >> everything points to her. there isn't any evidence. her life was changed forever by something, well, 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 either people deeply and making her

question who she is. making her question her faith in humanity. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. i'm natalie morales. and this is "dateline." houfl that so many people think seechb avery is innocent? >> it's emotional. they made him out like a nice person. what's happening is wrong. the evidence is beyond overwhelming. the story gripped the nation in a series, making a murderer. >> so many learned about it. >> steven