Netflix’s latest true-crime documentary has a surprising Texas connection
Here’s the Fort Worth prison where Ian Diaz is spending his sentence.
Netflix’s new true crime documentary “A Toxic Love Story” follows former U.S. Marshal Ian Diaz, his wife Angela Diaz and ex-fiancée Michelle Hadley.
Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix’s latest true-crime documentary doesn’t follow the story of a grisly serial killer or a cold case. Instead, it’s the twisting, turning and somewhat inscrutable case of one man and his two exes — ending with a 10-year prison sentence being served out in Fort Worth, Texas.
A Toxic Love Story follows former U.S. Marshal Ian Diaz, who is currently in prison after framing ex-fiancée Michelle Hadley for stalking, harassment and attempted rape of his then-wife, Angela Connell. If that feels hard to follow, here’s the short version: Diaz sent then-wife Connell threatening emails from an account she believed belonged to Hadley. The Anaheim, California, couple also claimed that Hadley had impersonated Connell in Craigslist ads for “rape fantasies.” Hadley would spend days in jail and faced charges that could’ve resulted in life in prison before investigators traced the emails to Connell herself. Connell was arrested in 2017 and pleaded guilty to fraud, false imprisonment and falsely reporting a crime. But it doesn’t end there.
Ian Diaz was sentenced to 10 years in prison for framing his ex-fiancée for stalking, harassment and attempted forcible rape of his then-wife, Angela (left).
Courtesy of Netflix
Diaz, 48, is currently serving several years at Fort Worth Federal Medical Center, a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas. According to a database, Diaz will be released on January 31, 2031 — so how did he end up there? In 2017, the case was re-examined by special agents as all Department of Justice employees are subject to, according to People. The special agent investigating Diaz felt that he had been coaching Connell during police interviews and learned about his volatile relationship with Hadley. Eventually, he was tied to the threatening emails sent to Connell and was found to have responded to email inquiries from the Craigslist ad.
He was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, cyberstalking, perjury and obstruction of justice, according to the DOJ. The story goes, according to the DOJ, that posing as Hadley, Diaz and Connell “sent themselves harassing and threatening electronic communications that contained apparent threats to harm [Connell].”
The couple “solicited and lured men found through Craigslist ‘personal’ advertisements to engage in so-called ‘rape fantasies’ in an attempt to stage a purported sexual assault on [Connell] orchestrated by [Hadley]” the DOJ release says. They “then reported this conduct to local law enforcement, falsely claiming that [Hadley] posed a genuine and serious threat to Diaz and [Connell].” That resulted in Hadley’s nearly three-month detainment “for conduct for which Diaz and [Connell] framed her.”
According to Netflix’s blog, Tudum, “the documentary questions, but doesn’t resolve, whether Angela was herself manipulated by Ian.” Connell served five years in prison and declined to take part in the documentary, which was released on July 22.
