we'd have two guys sitting on death row for something they didn't do. didn't do. / >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morale he s.. >> and this is "dateline." >> she was receiving long rambling e-mails threatening her life, saying that her husband was cheating on her. she's telling her to watch her back, she better get out of the picture. >> menacing e-mails sent to a newly we had. >> the new wife went to authorities and said that she was being harassed. >> that's when the fireworks started happening. >> obviously this has to stop. >> what arrived next was far worse. >> strange men appeared at her door and tried to attack her.

>> somebody was posting ads online saying they wanted to full this 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. >> hiding behind the threats was a cyber secret. >> something the devil might do. >> who was the real devil? >> the d.a. in this case would use the word diabolical. >> i think he's close to the mark. ♪ ♪ >> hello and welcome to "dateline." michelle hadly 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. but her life was about to be turned upside down. here's dennis murphy with

"diabolical." >> locked in a cage, the shrieks of women howling in the night. >> this is something you would see in a movie, not something you'd see in real life. >> how does a goody two shoes get swept way in a conspiracy so convoluted, so stwitwisted? >> it's a well thought out plan and so scary. >> die boll cal. >> absolutely. >> an all together bizarre plot. >> complicated scheme. >> very complicated, creative. >> this is the most shocking form of love rivalry i've ever seen. >> there would be harassment, cyber stalking and attempted rape. someone was going to get hurt. someone was going to jail. and at the end of the nightmare, well, no one saw that coming. you decide whether it was a love rivalry. but 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 just a very kind of whirlwind type of romance. >> august 2013, 20-something michelle hadley met ian diaz over a cup of coffee. things moved fast he told you he loved you and you were beautiful? hit you like a thunder bolt? >> yeah, by the second date he was telling me he loved me. >> did you think, slow down, buddy here, or did you welcome it? >> when you're a young girl kind of raised on the fairy tale princess theme, it's exciting and flattering. >> could this be her for instance charming she was meeting over a cappuccino, the man she dreamed of since she was a little girl? >> she was very imaginative, very intelligent and she loved to play and create.

>> she and her younger sister were raised in this modest home in ontario, california. she was a cross-country runner, good student. >> i was an overachiever. >> you ruined the curve for everybody else. >> some triemz. >> she was offered a scholarship to attend dickenson, a well regarded liberal arts college in easton, pennsylvania. you must have been proud of how your child was working out. >> very proud. >> after graduation she tried various careers before eventually landing a marketing job at disney. and now she had met this man, ian diaz, the u.s. marshal, her very own prince charming. in december 2014, for her 28th birthday, he whisked her off to new york. took her to rockefeller center, and proposed. >> and you said? >> i said yes. 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 fire works from the roof. >> i put the whole down payment down. >> you paid the whole down? >> i paid the down payment, 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 a strong personality and so i have to be very careful the kinds of people i surround myself with. it's almost better for me not to be in a relationship than to be in a bad one. >> but there were ties that

bound the former couple. the deed to the condo in anaheim, which became a source of tension. both hired lawyers, but it got personal. michelle claimed ian was unfaithful, even abusive. and she sent him a strange e-mail, the language laced with ri yong religiousity and someone name lilith. lilith, you may try to hide behind the law of man, but it is a weak shield that the 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 rage, i fear for my safety. the request for the restraining order was dismissioned a few weeks later, and the law of man prevailed, or so it seemed.

the lawyers hashed out a compromise. >> we ended up getting 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'd have to sell the condo and split any profits with michelle. michelle stood to lose most of her down payment, about $10,000. but she said it was worth t. >> i moved on with my life completely, 100% completely. i actually had started dating again. >> so you had this toothache of a problem with the condo. >> yeah. >> it was not a major part of your life. >> once the settlement agreement was signed it was a waiting game. >> she went back to school, started an mba program at chatman university. ian, too, moved on quickly, married a woman named angela, but the nagging condo issue still wasn't resolved, and the six-month deadline was approaching. >> and that's kind of when all the fireworks started happening.

>> soon, more e-mails, really frightening ones aimed at a new target. coming up. >> angela was claiming she was receiving long rambling e-mails, 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. >> i say, what's going on out here? and the guy said we just arrested michelle. >> when "dateline" continues. wingardium levioka. ♪ wingardium levitoga ♪ wingardium leviosa ♪ thanks. the perfect gift isn't just about getting something. it's about getting someone. nobody knows the wizarding world like we do. barnes & noble. moderate-to-severe eczema,

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by june 1st, 2016, tension over the anaheim condo michelle hadley and ian diaz shared was starting to peak. the deadline was fast approaching. ian needed to take over the mortgage or sell the condo. and that's when some odd events began to unfold. michelle's father michael was at work. his youngest daughter was at their home in ontario. >> i get a phone call from my younger daughter saying, hey, somebody is beating on the door, and i said, look outside. is there police cars? she said yeah, there's two of them. then open the door. because it scared her i guess. so, a woman throws down a restraining order -- >> here, you've been served kind of thing? >> yeah, with the police, two off there. and 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 e-mails 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's satan and the antichrist. >> even after they signed the agreement on the condo, the e-mails 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 e-mails,

too. >> long, rambling e-mails, 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 e-mails to angela sounded like michelle's e-mails 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. we will steal your child and watch as it dieds." angela looked to see who she received this e-mail, angela hadley. you can understand from angela's point of view why she'd be so rattled. >> right. >> a barrage of e-mails were sent in 2016. be lost, i will 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 red, in part, miss hadley has been e-mailing me for over one week, repeatedly threatening my life, my marriage, my safety. slandering my husband. the rhetorical language you used in your e-mail to your ex, had kind of biblical old testament verocity. is it the same person? >> no comment on that. >> to your ears it was not at all -- >> no, no. >> michelle did admit she sent

fire and brim stone e-mails to ian. though she was reluctant to send them on camera, it was a symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder from being involved with her ex. she sent she didn't know angela. >> didn't know her, never met him. i assume she lived in the condo with him. that's the extent of what i know about her. i don't know what her job is, i know where she works, i know nothing about her background. >> or so she said. police thought otherwise. >> there is compelling evidence. >> sergeant darren wyatt works at the an time police department. there was if ferocious similar what was sent to ian.

does that sound similar to the case? >> i can't talk about the case. there was clear and convincing evidence that michelle was sending the e-mails. >> the judge ordered michelle to cease contact with angela and ian. june 6, you will pay for this. i hope to god you are ready for the pain i will show you. then 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 and so i hand all my dee vievices over. i give them all the pass codes. he opens up the cell phone. >> the officer looked through her e-mail account, checked the activity there. then arrested michelle for violating the restraining order. >> i heard doors slamming out in front. i went to the front. i said what's going on out here? the guy said, we just arrested michelle. >> arrested your michelle? >> yes. >> she was placed 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. >> it's one of the stranger days of your life. >> the strangest. >> but strange days were only beginning. >> coming up, from daggers by e-mail to danger at the front door. >> somebody was posting ads online through craigslist saying they wanted to fulfill this rape fantasy. >> when "dateline" continues. this isn't just any moving day.

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june 2016, michelle hadley was out on bail, lynching with her parents. anaheim police suspected michelle had sent threatening e-mails to her ex-boyfriend ian and his pregnant wife angela. even though on its face didn't make sense. a young woman who lived an exemplary life, a student trying to get an mba. >> there's two sides to every person. it's clear everything is originating from michelle hadley. >> but the case against michelle went way beyond threatening e-mails. police had evidence she was up to something much more sinister, something stomach churning. it began in early june, about the same time as the deadline on the condo was approaching. >> somebody was posting ads

online through craigslist saying they wanted to fulfill this rape fantasy. >> rape fantasy as a genre i don't think i've heard of t. >> i hadn't heard of it until this case, but there is a market for it. >> it's a type of personal ad. you can find them on craigslist and elsewhere online. 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. come find me." the e-mail gave an address. the condo in anaheim where angela and ian lived. on june 13, 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 diaz calls the 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 encount errered a distrt angela diaz. >> she has abrasions. >> on her neck and her shirt is torn. >> this is way beyond misdemeanor mischief. this is a criminal act. >> 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 e-mails. but then michelle made bail. she was out. >> and almost immediately the e-mails start again. >> so, is there kind kind of a feel here, we warned you about this activity. >> correct. >> and it's continuing. >> correct. >> this is a very complicated

scheme, kate. >> yes. "daily beast" reporter 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 online profiles and hide. >> july 11, two weeks after michelle bailed out of jail, a new rape fantasy ad appeared on craigslist, and a response. once again, the e-mail directed the man who placed the ad to the home of angela diaz. >> and what would michelle's mo motivation be in doing this campaign in >> it's interesting. there is some sort of love triangle going on. there's two women, one guy, and there's also the unsold condominium. >> the condo was still a factor in the story. the bank had not approved ian and angela for a 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's not going to sell the condo. he doesn't want to move out period, he made that clear. >> on july 12, 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 craigslist ad. >> i think the day before yesterday -- >> orange county district attorney tony rakakas. >> we have to get her off the street. it's hazardous to angela at this point. a michelle looked like a loose cannon out there. >> she did. >> capable of harm. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> police got a warrant and once again arrested michelle hadley. >> it's hard to see your

daughter being placed in handcuffs. i 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 headlines seemed too kooky and convoluted to be true. >> 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 in my life. >> "dateline" returns after the break. nts? what bad back? advil is... relief that's fast. strength that lasts. you'll ask... what pain? with advil liqui-gels.

i'm dara brown. the hour's top stories. in mexico, the incoming government denies there was a&m agreement struck with the u.s. to hold migrants from the caravan in that country. trump administration officials told nbc news a deal had been reached to keep asylum seekers in mexico while the courts

process their claims when that was made. in france, 20 people including four police officers are suffering from injuries after protesters clashed with police. thousands of demonstrators gathered in paris to protest rising fuel taxes. now back to "dateline." welcome back to diet line. i'm craig melvin. michelle hadley was in jail, accused of multiple felonies, including stalking, and attempted forcible rape. had she sent those threatening e-mails to her former fiance's wife, or was this all a terrible mistake? her parents thought so. and were 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 help. the mover behind a lurid and devious plot. her parents michael and suzanne couldn't, wouldn't believe it. there's nothing in character with the michelle that you've raised here. >> not at all. >> it's actually 180 degrees so out of sync with her behavior. >> they went to see michelle on her first day of jail after being charged. is this going to be a conversation with phones through glass? >> yes. >> she's in a cage. i don't know why she has to be in a cage one, but she does. >> michelle's bail was set at a million dollar. to get her out, mike and suzanne would have to come up with 10% of that. that's # $100,000 cash. they told their daughter they had enough to do that or get a good lawyer, but not both. >> bottom line is you have to fight the bail. that's t. >> you have the money, you could have had her home for dinner.

>> yeah, it was pretty tough. >> i told my daddy was scared to death. i didn't know what was going to happen in jail but i told my dad, 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'd stay behind bars and tough it out. yale house denims were her new black. >> well, i stood out like a sore thumb. >> what is your cell like? >> tiny. they have two bunk beds, a table and two chairs, and then your toilet is actually attached to your sink. so everyone can kind of see in, so you never get any privacy. >> what is the day in jail? >> they wake you up at 4:it 30 a.m., they bring you are your breakfast. >> which is what? >> it's usually some sort of gruel-looking potato mash. i don't even know how to describe t.

>> i'm guessing not a foamy starbucks. >> no starbucks. >> while we're talking about food, what's lunch? >> baloney sandwich and really nasty baloney. i almost didn't eat for the first three or four days. >> michelle, the sounds of the jail house? >> good luck sleeping in jail. the door slamming is very loud. and the women at night, sometimes scream like banshees. you'll hear it echoing through the jail. he >> the street hardened looked at the woman in her cellblock, especially after the story in her 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 threat letter at one point slipped under my cell door. what if one of the girls goes after me? what happens then? >> one of the women who took you under your wing said, you've got to tough enup, girl, talking to you. >> yeah, she did.

>> you have to develop a little swagger. >> apparently i walk like a church mouse and that's not cool. you're going to get hurt in here because you look weak when you walk. >> you need to become scar face. >> yes. >> of course, to the outside world she already was scar face. kate of the daily beast reported on the case. >> these were incredibly serious charge that's 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 dial. >> we do not. >> they wanted the right lawyer to deal with cyber crime and start working on michelle's defense right away. their daughter was in trouble so they started their own investigation. was it clear to you, mike, if you're going to claw your way out of this thing, you've got to understand the story told by the computers? >> correct. >> the forensics of this case in >> absolutely.

you ha >> you have to learn a whole bunch of jargon. >> i know ip address. >> it identifies a network or individual device. mike had copies of all the incriminating e-mails from the evidence file with 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 have to go to cal tech to get a copy of? is this nsa material? >> oh, gosh no. it's the 15-year-old kid material. >> as mike got results, suzanne would organize them. >> he would printout on yellow pads of legal paper all the ip addresses, and then i would take all of them and i put them on a spreadsheet, and then we highlighted where certain ip addresses were the same. >> the idea being this ip is dress 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 d.a. tony rakaskas, it looked like a bad set of facts for michelle hadley. >> looking at the e-mails and the pictures and the ads, looked like michelle hadley was doing this terrible thing, stalking and victimizing of angela. >> the wheels of justice were grinding slowly. and the lives of two young women were hanging in the balance. >> "dateline" returns after the break. used to get excited about things like concert tickets or a new snowboard. matt: whoo! whoo! jen: but that all changed when we bought a house. matt: voilà! jen: matt started turning into his dad. matt: mm. that's some good mulch. ♪ i'm awake. but it was pretty nifty when jen showed me how easy it was to protect our home and auto with progressive. [ wrapper crinkling ] get this butterscotch out of here. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. there's quite a bit of work, 'cause this was all -- this was all stapled. but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. but we can protect your home and auto but choosing to douggo that extra mileve. can be tough on his body.

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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 commissary 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 moods 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 in that. >> that was exactly what was happening. i didn't want them to worry too much. i didn't want them to be afraid. um, 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 that he 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 a criminal.

>> that's your gut talking. >> my gut is pretty good. >> michelle's parents hired michael juste to represent their daughter. >> i looked at michelle's family and, um, to a large extent i saw my family. i saw, um -- 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 kind of the case you go to law school for. >> this is the reason you become a lawyer. >> michelle's mom and dad showed juste the computer research they had done on the e-mails at the heart of the case. michael hadley was convinced

they'd found something crucial. were are michelle's digital fingerprints on this thing? >> they're not, there's no digital fingerprints whatsoever. >> it looks like it's coming from michelle. >> it looks like somebody is trying to make it look like it's coming from michelle, for sure. >> the hadley's incriminating spreadsheets showed michelle was in a clat room at chatman university. >> at school, she's at chatman, and here's e-mails coming. and she's in class. >> she was in class doing her final course presentation. there's no way she's going to be sending this e-mail. >> the hadleys thought they had it, proof michelle was innocent. but defense attorney juste disagreed. he knew it would take skillful legal leg work to convince prosecutors. >> a d.a. is never going to buy my evidence. the district attorney is going to have to convince themselves 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 e-mails to michelle. >> we have a very skilled dee terkti -- detective working on the case. he was in constant communication with the district attorney's office to piece it together and prove a case and solidify it for court. >> problem was? >> it wasn't coming together. these electronic messages were coming from a different place. we couldn't verify that 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 harrowing attempted rapes of ian's new wife angela. and that fire and brim stone language of the threatening e-mails so distinctive and seemingly in michelle's voice. that language of religious retribution -- >> made it appear to be michelle. >> you stand before god on this thing. >> that's right.

that caused the police and our investigators as well to look at it and say, this is michelle writing this. >> one thing was clear, though. the computer forensics had blown a sizeable hole in the prosecution's case. juste 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 got my coffee. >> famous coffee, the good coffee, yeah. >> yeah, the good cup of coffee which, oh, man, i had been dreaming 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 has an ankle bracelet on. >> she had an ankle bracelet on. >> i already feel 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 e-mails, who was? and why? the d.a. has a word for it. >> diabolical. >> how did that word come to you? >> diabolical is something evil. >> when "dateline" continues. go that extra mile can be tough on his body. that's why he wears dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles. they provide all day comfort so he has the energy to keep moving. delivering joy every step of the day. dr. scholl's. born to move.

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welcome back. michelle hadley had been released from jail, but if she hadn't sent those ominous 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. >> with everything 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 wrapped it with this sports bandage because i was so embarrassed to be wearing it, you know? >> but everything was about to change. after a thorough search of michelle's digital devices, investigators concluded the damning e-mails did not come from them. >> we actually have a lab, our

own computer forensics lab and we have people that are very well trained and that's really how this came to fruition that we were able to dee term that michelle hadley wasn't the suspect. >> 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 because you're kind of coming out of this fog. i'm very lucky my parents were there to take care of me because it's a rocky transition. >> now police face 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 getting the information from the internet service provider, and it took 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.

>> there's very few cases where we've had to write that many search warnlts to get to the bottom line, to get to the truth. >> when they finally started getting the information they needed, the results were stunning. the ugly trail of 1s and 0s showed at least some of the hateful e-mails 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 that they wanted to leave. >> so if the ex-girlfriend, crazy psycho ex-girlfriend is out of the public eye, that resolves the financial issues. >> right. they'll have complete control over their residence. >> now both of them were suspects. ian, the u.s. marshal, and angela, the pregnant newly we had. in a way it makes more sense if you're looking at conventional motivation it would be the

ex-boyfriend ian diaz rather than the woman he married. >> exactly. >> but the deeper they looked, police zeroed in on the woman ian married and the bizarre surroundings going on around her. one stood out angela's report that someone tried to rape her in the condo. >> you have to go to the alley and the garage doesn't have an address on it. >> the assailant doesn't have an address. >> also there were surveillance cameras that were in the area. >> presumably would have shown someone trying to enter. >> we didn't have that. >> you didn't have that. what about the scene itself? >> when you question about how she fought the guy off and compare that to the rather light injuries she was showing, it all started looking a little bit sketchy. >> investigators uncovered more sketchy behavior. angela seemed to have a troubling history. >> we started seeing some of the fraudulent things that she's been involved in. >> some bad checks? >> bad checks. >> faking a cancer episode? >> faking a cancer episode, things like that.

>> the d.a. said 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 e-mails that ultimately cracked the case. it turned out the e-mails sent from the condo didn't come from a computer at all, but, says the d.a., from a cell phone. angela's cell phone. in an already beyond strange case, this turns things up to 11. >> the original victim ended up being their number one suspect. >> how is that for whiplash? >> 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. >> go good morning and thank you all for coming. >> d.a. tony rackauckas held a press conference and delivered the stunning news. >> i'm here to announce the complaint by angela marie diaz

about the charges. >> the d.a. 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 who pretended out to be michelle pretending to be angela. >> the charges were just that convoluted. angela accused of sending herself threatening e-mails, 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. miss 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? >> that is right. >> you're sorry that the first theory was wrong. >> absolutely. it's a terrible thing to accuse an innocent person. >> were the apologies enough? your county authorities doing 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. >> to attempt to get justice for michelle, her lawyer, michael juste, filed a lawsuit against angela diaz, ian diaz and the city of anaheim. a spokesperson for the city of anaheim issued a statement, which reads in part, we believe our detectives properly followed the evidence. we are letting the legal process play out.

>> the on heim police department, our detective didn't create theization, 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 had considered the impact on michelle hadley's life by being incarcerated, by being wrongfully accused. through no fault of law enforcement. in fact, it was through the tremendous efforts of law enforcement that the truth was finally uncovered. it was a tragedy, and a waste of limited resources to have law enforcement running around in circles, chasing miss hadley because of the evidence presented to them because of the repeated accusations being made against miss hadley. >> angela faced felony charges, including kidnapping, false imprisonment, perjury and forgery. she pleaded not guilty to all of them.

but in october 2017, she changed her plea to guilty and sat before a judge to learn her fate. >> the court will sentence you to state prison for a period of five years. >> alison margolan believes ian deserves a closer look. >> the failure to investigate adequately the role of ian diaz in it is a serious concern. >> we reached out to ian hoping to speak to him but got no response. >> is he in on this thing? >> well, at this point there isn't any evidence that indicates that he is. everything points to her. >> when we sat down with her, michelle's personal struggle was far from over. a struggle to rekindle the spirit of an innocent young woman whose 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 other 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. >> this is "dateline". >> it was chaos. >> a day at the mall turns into mayhem. >> lots of screaming. lots of gunfire. they had a demeanor like they owned the place. >> panicked moms protecting their kids. >> i just kept telling them to be quite like amos. >> my goodness. he's going to cry. this is it. >> kids forced to protect one