Hey weirdos, before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about a place where the darkness never ends.
Wondery Plus. It's like stepping into a haunted mansion where the floorboards creak with ad free episodes and early access to new episodes lurks around every corner.
So come join us if you dare. Morbid is available one week early and ad-free only on Wondery+.
You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
You're listening to a morbid network podcast.
Listening on Audible helps your imagination soar.
Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities and new ways of thinking.
Listening can lead to positive changes in your mood, your habits, and ultimately your overall well-being.
Audible has an incredible selection of over 1 million audiobooks, podcasts, and Audible Originals all in one easy app. find the genres you love and discover new ones explore bestsellers like my sister's title new releases, plus thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and originals that members can listen to all they want with more added all the time.
I have been listening to the Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club, which actually Elena recommended to me.
She did not listen to it, but she said, girl, this title sounds so you.
And let me tell you, it did. I've been listening to it while I walk and I am absolutely loving it.
I love all the different narrators. I love Audible.
There's more to imagine when you listen.
Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free.
Visit audible.com slash morbid. Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach?
Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families.
With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly Set up chores, automate allowance, and keep an eye on your kids' spending with real-time notifications.
Kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely and parents can rest easy. knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place.
Try Greenlight risk-free today. at greenlight.com slash wondery.
Hey weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Elena. And this is Ash-Centric Morbid.
It's Ash-Centric. Wiggy, wiggy, wiggy. That's all you get.
I mean, it's like the electric slide. It's exactly like the electric slide.
It's electric. Oh no, it's boogie woogie woogie.
Right? I have no idea. You don't know the electric slide?
I don't know if it's boogie woogie or if it's wiggy wiggy.
It's definitely not wiggy wiggy. I have not done my research on that part of life yet.
This is already the most Ash-centric episode.
Sure is. Sure is. Here we are, everybody.
Do we have any business that we didn't plan to talk about?
I don't think we do. Yeah, I think we can kind of just jump into it today because I think we don't have any live shows yet coming up.
Not right now. Because it's still a pandemic.
Because it's a pandemic. Oh, you mean virtual.
Virtual. Wow. I was like, what? You're like, no, it's okay.
We're getting worse. Yes, I know that. I mean, it's a virtual live show.
I figured. We're on the same page. I guess I didn't figure.
I don't know what's up today. Or any day, really.
I think I always say that in the beginning of the episode.
I'm like, I don't know what's up with today.
It's just every day is a weird day. Yeah.
My kids had a dentist appointment today and their dentist looks like Jasmine.
Yeah, and so they dressed like Jasmine to go see her.
Yeah, that's a little dose of adorable for you guys today.
Their dentist literally is identical to Princess Jasmine.
And she like pretends. And she goes along with it and she has this like very high like princess voice that's like adorable and she's gorgeous like like stupid gorgeous she walks in and you're like i hate you all day but she's sweet and brilliant it's like wow You just got it all.
I love that. And of course the girls were like...
And I was like, you got to ask her. I don't know.
I was like, I can't be sure. And they asked her and she. she nodded quietly, like she made it like it's a secret.
And they were like, So then this time today when they went, they got fully decked in their Jasmine outfits.
And when we got in there, she was like, I love your outfits.
And they were like, oh, my God. I love it.
The most pure thing I have ever seen. I think we all need a little dose of that purity in life and wholesomeness.
There it is for you. I know, I wish that you could post one of the pictures of them literally just leaning with their heads their hands behind their head like what's up let's do this so relaxed in the dentist chair they love the dentist We talked about this earlier.
I'm not kidding you guys. I used to have to get sedated at the dentist.
And I can back that up because I used to witness it.
They would put me to sleep. Ash would have to get chased down the hallway.
And then sedated. Multiple times. Multiple times did they chase my ass down the hallway.
That and when she got shots. It There was no tolerance for pain.
No, which is funny now because I feel like I have a very high pain tolerance now.
Yeah. Remember on my 18th birthday when I got my tattoo and you guys all thought I was going to chicken out?
I sat there for like two and a half hours.
That's very true. I'm a badass bitch. Yeah.
We had to get sedated from the dentist. But either way.
I was like five. My kids love The Dentist and it's because it's Princess Jasmine.
They're so good at it. How cool is she that she just goes with it?
I know. Smart. She's a cool lady. She's a cool lady.
There's also one that looks like Prince Eric there.
They were given that eyes too. They were like, maybe Princess Erikson.
Princess Eric. Whatever works. Hey, whatever it takes.
But there's your little dose of wholesomeness.
You're welcome. Before we dive into some true crime.
Do you know what I did? I started off my true crime episode with a quote like I'm graduating high school and I'm the Oh, I love it.
You got to throw a quote in there. You got to do it.
So here's your quote. I don't know what this case is, guys, by the way.
She withheld it from me. I just thought it'd be more fun not to tell you, because this one is wild.
Spoiler alert before we start anything. There's no actual rape involved, but a lot of this case has to do with rape, if that makes any sense.
There you go. So if that's not your jam, it's not.
Alright, so it's often said that true life is stranger than fiction, and the facts of this case can make that statement spot on.
When a person who has committed a crime gets arrested and charged, that's a bad day.
But when someone that's innocent gets arrested and charged with a crime, that's not just a bad day.
That's a nightmare. This is the tale of a woman who faced such a nightmare.
Wow. And that was for the defense attorney.
That statement was from a defense attorney, and I'm not going to tell you whose one it was.
It feels like it's the beginning of like, here's a horror movie based on a true story.
I know. Oh, my God. And I forgot. Spencer, if you're listening.
Spencer Henry. I dedicate this episode to Spencer, and I'm not going to tell you why, but as soon as you hear it, you're going to know why.
Can I guess? Sure. Is there a Lifetime movie based on it?
No, there's not. Oh, but there should be.
We mentioned Lifetime. okay cool that's what i figured love you spencer yay all right so Not much can be found about Angela Diaz's early life, so we're going to start around her mid 20s, OK?
Angela was living with her boyfriend, Jason Rayburn.
He was a state highway patrolman, or as we like to say, A statey.
A statey. Do people say that in other places or is that like a Boston thing?
Is that a Massachusetts thing, guys? Yeah, I didn't know.
So he was a statey and she was an attorney.
So they were like super cute together. Power couple.
They met one night at a bar where they just started talking and just realized they had almost everything in common.
They were like, oh, my God, like. Are we soulmates?
That's either very rare or it's like one of you's bullshit.
Exactly. It's so funny how you can just call it like you see it.
Like, wow. Jason said that he remembers thinking it was too good to be true, kind of like you.
But he was really excited about their relationship.
They quickly moved in together because Angela had unfortunately been diagnosed with cervical cancer very recently.
And she couldn't stay where she had been living before.
Her living situation was just kind of like.
Not ideal. Sure, it's very hard to live by yourself and be going through cancer.
Oh, I can't imagine. Yeah. And especially cervical cancer.
So Jason was super helpful and doting. And Angela was quickly becoming sicker and sicker.
He even went as far as rearranging his home for her because she was weaker than usual and she kind of needed like a better way to get around wow what a sweetie I know, and this was especially hard on his son, who had special needs, because... like he liked his space the way it was.
I was going to say because routine and like consistency.
Change is like not super great. but they were trying their best to make it work.
Doctors started Angela on chemotherapy and It seemed like she was taking it like a champ, but she was losing her hair.
And unfortunately, she had to shave her head pretty early on in her treatment.
I know. This is like really a bummer. And so she kind of started like wearing a wool hat all the time everywhere.
Not that she was embarrassed, but she might have just been cold.
It's probably cold. Exactly. It's a big change.
But since Jason had really demanding work hours as a Boston State-y.
As a Boston stadium. I'm like, is that a Boston thing?
Is that a Boston thing? I'm calling Massachusetts State Troopers.
But since he had demanding work hours, he was not able to go to all of Angela's appointments.
But she'd send him pictures while she was getting treatment and be like, oh, like doing this today, like feeling all right, blah, blah, blah.
And he would take care of her when they both got home.
That's nice. No, Angela met a woman named Mary Bukaviska.
This one's hard to say. Bukav... Vixie?
Book of Vixie. Yeah. Mary B. Mary B. She met Mary B.
And they quickly became friends. And Mary remembers that Angela was insane.
Only smart and like the kind of person you could just talk to anything about and not be bored.
Kind of like me. Exactly like you. Yeah, exactly like me.
Never bored. She said Angela was a trooper through things and that she was always down to hang out.
And they still had fun together even when Angela was going through like the brunt of her treatment.
Oh, I love that. I know. So Mary's son went to a Catholic school and he would spend time praying for Angela. the most wholesome.
I know. And Mary would write like Facebook posts and like organize things and always hashtag Angie Warrior at the end.
I'm a little worried. Yeah, you should be.
Okay. The thing is... I'm starting to feel a little... In my Capricorn brain, my alarm bells are going off and going, this can't be pure.
I also love how jaded we are because I was reading this and I was like, oh, I know what's up.
Oh, immediately. Immediately my alarm bells are going off, which is awful.
Mary's alarm bells are going off too. because something that concerned her about Mary was that she didn't seem to be or something that concerned her about Angela was that she didn't seem to be making the lifestyle changes that many people with cancer do. make to get healthier and kind of fight against it.
It's not recommended to drink while you're undergoing chemotherapy or like many cancer treatments.
But Angela would bring like a bottle of wine to Mary's house and she'd drink the entire thing by herself.
Wow. Even when you're not going through cancer treatments, that's a lot.
That's very wild. Live your best life, but that's probably not going to make it last long.
No. She was also eating like a ton of sugary food all the time, and she didn't really seem to have the change or like really the total loss in appetite that anyone who has gone through chemotherapy experiences.
Even a little bit. I mean, our mom slash grandma had... Yeah.
Like, underwent cancer. Yeah. Yeah. And she like couldn't eat like toast.
Oh, we had to literally like try to force feed her.
Exactly. We were out buying her different. like anything that we thought she would eat yeah so this like wasn't happening for angela and of course Of course, everybody's different.
Like, your body reacts differently. And you never want to question somebody how they're going through it.
No, absolutely not. And she didn't want Mary didn't want to do that to her best friend.
Of course not. The town of Agde in France is famous for sun, sand, sea and sex.
But lately, life on the coast has taken a strange turn.
The town's mayor, a respected pillar of the community, has been arrested for corruption.
His wife claims he's been bewitched by a beautiful clairvoyant.
Then there's the mysterious phone calls that local people have been getting.
I am the Archangel Michael. The whole town has been thrown into chaos.
As the mayor is unable to carry out his duties, I would like to address you all.
Legal proceedings have been initiated. Join me, Anna Richardson, and journalist Leo Schick for The Mystic and the Mayor as we investigate a story of power, corruption, and magic.
Binge all episodes of The Mystic and the Mayor exclusively and ad-free right now on Wondery+.
Start your free trial in Apple Podcasts Spotify or the Wondery app But another thing that was worrying her was that Angela had told Mary a long time ago that Jason was like a super abusive piece of shit.
Really? Yes. And no matter how many times Mary tried to help Angela, she would never leave Jason.
And Mary was like, but like you're in like a really dark place right now and he's still being abusive.
Yeah, like he's abusing you while you're going through cancer. treatments right horrible exactly and she was like okay and she just said something about her friend just wasn't sitting Right after a while, like the more and more she tried to put the pieces together.
And she wasn't the only one who had their doubts.
Yeah, here was I over here. Here was you.
Here I was. Jason, along with you. noticed that Angela, again, wasn't experiencing any of the side effects of chemotherapy that he thought she would.
And he noticed that she actually had a lot of hair growing back under her cap.
Because you can tell when it's actually gone...
Versus whether you just shaved it off and it's growing right back.
Because when you shave your hair and you have like a... when you have cancer, it takes a long time to grow back.
Like Ma's hair took forever to grow back.
Yeah, and there was nothing. And I had clients that like, I would see them and I'd be like, oh, like, it's getting there.
Like, you know. Yeah. But... He started questioning too why he was never asked to go to any of her appointments. or even pick her up from an appointment.
He was like, I work a lot, but I could help you.
I have a hunch. I do too. And you know what?
He felt weird about it. But like I said, things weren't adding up.
So he asked one of his friends. Can you stake out the house because she's supposed to go to chemo today and I have a feeling maybe she's not sick.
Honestly, I don't really blame him. I don't either.
Well, so his friend was like, okay. Like, I feel weird doing that.
He's like, weird, but all right. Weird flux.
Weird flux. okay okay uh not a flex at all but uh yeah she was supposed to have chemo that day and she she never left the house Hmm.
So that's good. He also Googled and researched a lot about cancer and chemotherapy.
And along the way, he found some familiar pictures, the ones that Angela had sent him while she was getting her chemo transfusions.
Oh. Oh no, she just Google imaged some pictures?
Yeah, he thought the pictures belonged to her, but they popped up in a simple Google search of like, chemo transfusion oh yep he was no he was totally blindsided And I'm not sure who went to who first, but eventually Mary and Jason became connected.
And Mary realized there was no way that this man had been abusing Angela at all because he was crushed. yeah like he was so upset that he was blindsided and he was upset that he was being lied to and He had the same concerns about Angela's cancer that Mary had.
So they kind of figured this out together.
And he also found out Angela wasn't an attorney, like she told him.
Oh, no. I think she worked with Mary actually as a paralegal.
Oh. I think that's how her and Mary met.
I know for a fact that she was a paralegal.
See? Yeah. I told you. One of them was bullshitting.
You always be knowing. It's the Capricorn brain.
It is. We question. You do. So together...
Jason and Mary staged an intervention where they told Angela, like, the jig's up.
We know that you're not sick. We got you, sweetie.
And she was like, I do have cancer. Look at my papers.
Call my mom. Like, yes, I do. Call my mom.
She knows. Is your mom a pathologist? I was going to say.
Can you show me your cells? You're probably just lying to her too, Angela.
So Mary asked Angela to show them her port. which I think that's where the chemo goes through.
And Angela wouldn't take her jacket off.
She was like, no, I'm not showing you anything.
Which it's like, on one hand, you're like, gotcha.
And on the second hand, you're like... exactly because you're like you know that's an invasion of privacy technically it's like she doesn't have to show you that it totally is but obviously my My brain is going to.
Exactly. Well, and don't worry, we're not wrong.
But they're in a bad position because they can only question this so hard.
But they also just like they were full fledged.
Like, I don't believe you. So once you find those Google images.
Yeah, exactly. That's it. That's a smoking gun.
Yeah. So she was like, you know what? Both of them were like, you know what, we're done.
And Jason was like, get the fuck out of here.
Get out of my house. Because he's rearranged his life with a special needs son and everything.
Yeah. rearrange things for her exactly what a shitty person lying oh just like oh it gets so much worse So Mary actually packed up Angela's things so that Jason wouldn't have to, which I thought was really nice.
And in doing so, she found the medical bandage and the plastic surgical tube that Angela was using to fake her chemo pictures. wow because not only was she sending him ones from the internet but she would send him like ones with her in them But that's what she was using to fake it.
Can you imagine? Can you imagine going to those lengths?
It's like eventually people are going to find out.
Wow. It's like, did you watch The Real Housewives of O.C. when, like, the Brooks, Vicki Gunvalson's boyfriend, like, allegedly faked cancer?
Yeah. there's, I don't know if an answer ever came out about that, but I was like, eventually. people are going to find out and start asking questions.
Well, and like, who are you that's faking cancer?
Right, like what do you get out of that?
Who are you? Right. Like these poor people would give anything. yeah anything to not have cancer exactly you're faking it for like the good stuff for like sympathy It's weird.
It doesn't make any sense to me. That's so gross.
It's beyond gross. It's deeply evil. So Mary also found a diary with entries about how in love Angela and Jason were and how Angela knew that if she died, he would be crushed.
Wow. And it was like, so did she believe, like...
That she had cancer? Like, you know how sometimes people lie so much that they start to believe their own lies?
True. I also wonder if it's her just loving how rapt she had these people and was like, if I died, they would be like, done.
Oh, yeah. Like just her writing down how in power she felt.
Yeah, that's a good point. And also, like, I mean, people find people's diaries all the time, so it's kind of just another way for her to, like...
To keep the whole thing going. Keep it going.
Now, around the same time, another California woman's relationship was ending.
Totally different girl. Michelle Hadley was raised by her parents in Ontario.
She had a younger sister and all together they made like a picture perfect family.
You see them all together and you're like, wow, you guys are so cute.
Michelle was a track star. She'd been offered a scholarship to Dickinson College.
Damn. She was doing really well. and she'd been dating the same guy all throughout high school and they ended up getting married.
But all wasn't super perfect behind closed doors, and they ended up divorcing each other after four years together.
Okay. So... That wasn't the only breakup that she had.
She was upset, but eventually she was like ready to get back out there again.
And she made herself like a profile on a dating site hoping to meet Mr. Prince Charming.
Uh-oh. And in August 2013. she met a man named Ian Diaz for coffee.
Okay. All right. So he was charming and he was handsome.
He was a U.S. Marshal. Oh. Obviously, like she assumed he was a good guy.
Absolutely. They fell for each other just like Angela and Jason, like really quickly.
Yeah. And he told her he loved her on the second date.
Wow. To me, I'd be like... I'm going to be real to me.
That would be my cue to like soft shoe right out of like dirt or dirt or dirt.
Like the gays say, I love you quick, but not second date quick.
Not for me anyways. But Michelle said she didn't think it was weird or anything or she didn't think it was too soon.
It was just like Ian was older than her a little bit and she was like, you know, maybe he's more experienced and, you know, maybe he genuinely loves me.
I mean, it can happen. It can happen, you know.
In December 2014, this will sound super familiar to you, they went to New York City.
And Anne took Michelle to go see the tree and all the lights that make up Rockefeller Center. around the holidays, and then he got down on one knee in Rockefeller and proposed to her.
Guys. That's what happened to Elena. That's how John proposed.
And I remember before John proposed to you, he came to Ma and Papa's house and I was there just like wildin'. and I got to say that he could propose to you.
Yeah, because he asked your permission too.
Imagine if I was like, no. No, sorry, you can't.
Guys, it was the best proposal ever. It was perfect.
I had to gush for a second. It was perfect.
It truly was. So was Michelle and Ian. Yeah, obviously.
So perfect right now. When they got back to...
They got back home. They started looking for condos together because they're like, let's do the damn thing.
Yeah. And they found one that they loved in Anaheim.
Now Michelle paid the down payment in full and it was a little over $14,000.
Wow. Wow. Good for Michelle. I know. She's young and getting it.
And they waited. It wasn't like totally ready to move in yet.
So they had to wait a little bit. Now they moved in the condo together around June and they were ready to start the next chapter of their life.
I don't know what's going to happen. I'm trying to figure out how this is ending.
And I'm like, what is... happening I know that's why I didn't want to tell you anything because this is so much fun so As soon as they moved in together, Michelle saw a very big change in Ian.
Also, put your phone down and don't fucking Google any of this.
I was about to and I stopped. Did you see I put it down?
I did. I was like, I'm not going to ruin it for me.
No, don't. Because it's so much better if you just hear this first hand.
I put it down. He wanted her to leave her job.
So like I said, she saw a big change in him.
He wanted her to leave her job that she loved And so she did.
She kind of just like did whatever he said.
She's a very like meek girl. Like a passive person.
Yes. Yeah. And she got a marketing job with Disney.
I guess she loved Disney. But Disney was one of Ian's favorite places.
And he had actually worked there before.
And Michelle later, like reflecting, looked back and was like, I wonder if that's why he wanted me to take that position because then he could have his friends keep tabs on me yeah and he loves disney i was gonna say because he just wanted to go to disney all the damn long day I was going to make a joke, but I feel like Disney people will yell at me.
Oh my, can you just do it? You have to. I was just going to be like, that's your red flag right there.
Annie's a Disney person. It was a joke. No, I used to joke about Disney people too until I started dating one.
Yeah, exactly. I get it. And my kids are Disney people, so I can't really.
Yeah, we've changed. Yeah, we have. But anyways, I mean, Frozen's a great movie.
It really is. So this position made $20,000 less a year than she was making, but he like pressured her to take this.
So that's another red flag. Yeah, I mean, I'm very concerned.
Yeah, so that's cool. But I definitely think it's because he wanted to keep tabs on her.
Oh, yeah. As we'll see. He also said that he wanted Michelle to dress sexier.
Nope. That's immediately. And I'd be like, but like you proposed to me and who I am.
That's a problem. And that's not who I am.
So why are you trying to change me? No, as soon as the person you're with is like, I would like you to dress like this, you say...
Goodbye. Fuck off. And then you leave. Do it like a Disney princess if you want.
It'll make them happy. You burst into a pit of flames.
So you go to do it like a Disney princess and then like into Maleficent.
And then just like immediately start hailing Satan right in front of them.
Just be like... And they'll be like, okay.
And they'll be like, wow, you've changed.
Guess that's a no. Guess not. But he wanted Michelle to wear crop tops, which I just, I think that's really funny.
Can you, for one, I just want a picture right now.
John looking at me and being like, I'd really like for you to wear more crop tops.
I would... I would laugh so hard. I'd still be laughing.
That my great grandchildren would hear me laughing.
Like they would be like, what is that sound?
Oh, that's just great, great grandma Elena laughing at great, great grandpa John.
If I was like getting married to a dude and he told me he wanted me to wear more crop tops, I'd be like, yeah, I want you to as well.
So let's get it. Let's be a crop top couple.
Let's get it. Fuck you. He also wanted her to get her nails done, but she couldn't just get them done.
She had to have acrylics. I'm out. Which is weird because I feel like most dudes don't like acrylics because they're sharp and painful. if you know what i mean and they just don't understand them no and they're just like what the fuck is that it's gross it's gonna fall off So, I don't know.
He also asked her to pierce her belly button?
What the fuck? Which I was like, do you want to date a 17 year old?
Cause like, go ahead. Are you seriously trying to date a 17-year-old from the late...
90s, early 2000s? I think so. I mean, I had my belly button pierced when I was like 18.
So like not like the late 90s. A lot of people had them.
I had it pierced when I was like, whatever it was, like 16 or 17.
Yeah. But 16 or 17. Right, you don't pierce your belly button in your 20s.
I'm sorry if you did. I disagree. And you definitely don't do it when a dude is telling you to do it.
No, if you want to do it, Go ahead. But like, you know what I mean?
But not when a guy's telling you. No. So she started to wonder also.
She started to wonder. Period. She started to wonder.
She stroked her chin a little bit on this period at the end of that sentence.
No, but she started to wonder also if he was following her or having her watched She was.
Absolutely. If she wasn't home from a night class that she was taking, like right on time.
He wanted to know who she had been with, if she was supposed to be home, but like ran an errand.
And, like, if she was supposed to be at home when he wasn't there but ran in her end, he would call her and be like, where are you?
Oh no. And she'd be like, why the fuck do you know that I'm not home?
You don't want to live this way. But it's like, how did he know that she wasn't home?
Because he's keeping tabs. And he trapped her, too.
He waited until after he got her engaged in this beautiful way.
Because that's what they do. Abuse her.
And she's like this meek, like, cute girl.
Like, she's not going to stand up for herself.
Yeah, she seems like a people pleaser. She said she literally is like in any article that I read, like I would give one article like a like. boost for saying this, but literally every single article calls her a self-proclaimed goody two-shoes.
Yeah, she seems like a people pleaser and she was just trying to avoid conflict.
And she had just gotten out of a four year marriage.
Like, I think she just wants to find love.
Yeah. You know? Of course. But it was enough for her.
She was like, I'm not going to live under your microscope and do all these weird things that you want me to do.
Like, I'm good with the crop tops. Yeah.
So she packed her bags and she moved in with her parents for a little bit while she was looking for her next move.
Okay. So she even had Ian barred from her school's campus because she was afraid that of him like that's how afraid of him she was she had him barred from the campus um But remember, she paid the down payment in full, totally, but both of their names were on the mortgage.
Oh no. So we've got legal trouble, baby.
Oh, you gotta be careful with that. As far as the law was concerned, the condo is 50-50.
If both your names are on that, you're fucked.
So they started a legal battle over the condo that became super, super heated.
Usually does. So Michelle would send Ian these like really long tirades via email that were like really heavy with religious connections.
Now, we're going to start to see, like, she definitely broke a little bit.
Oh. So here's a couple. One is, quote, Please explain to your real estate attorney that God's law is above all laws, including the law of man.
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.
And the next one said, you're in your body, but your mind is somewhere else.
Your sins are many, including defiling me and my family with your wicked and evil sexual acts. your financial coercion and irresponsibility, your gluttony, your greed, your lust, your sloth, your wrath, your envy, and most of all, your pride.
Yikes. Yeah, so, whoa. Yikes. Now, the emails were actually scaring Ian.
You don't say. And me. He was like, count me among them.
Right, so he tried to file a restraining order against Michelle.
But his attempt was dismissed because they were like, I don't think your life is in danger.
I think she's just having a moment. Sending you some...
Right, exactly. Now, they finally settled in court in November 2015. under the conditions that Ian got to stay in the condo, but he had six months to put the mortgage... in his own name, like get his own mortgage or sell the condo.
And if he sold it, they would split the profits 50-50.
Okay. Now, at this point, Michelle was like, cool, we're done with this.
Ian was like, cool, we're done with this.
Let's move on. move on and that's it how did you guys like the episode that was a great story yeah all right i'm glad they resolved it at the end no So they both start seeing other people.
They're ready to start their lives again.
Well, wouldn't you know it? Ian went back on those dating apps and he met a woman named Angela.
And doesn't don't they have the same last name?
So her name is Angela Connell, like Connell.
That's her maiden name. But I started it because I just started it like that.
Because I was like, wait a second. I was like, whoa, are they brother and sister?
No. I was literally this entire time trying to figure out the connection between the two.
I was like, I don't understand, are they cousins? just said angela diaz in the beginning because like she's still angela diaz yeah no that makes or is she or is she or is she even alive I don't know.
No, you don't. Because I haven't Googled it.
Don't, don't. I won't. I'm watching you.
Okay, so he met Angela. And they hit it off really quickly.
Now, they met in January and they were married by February.
Whoa. So very quickly, she was Angela Diaz.
Wow. All right. So she wasn't lying about cancer anymore.
And, you know, it doesn't sound like Ian knew that she had in the past, but, like, it's okay.
Now, by the middle... It's not something you bring up on the first date.
My last relationship broke up because I lied about having cervical cancer.
You want to go to like El Mariachi after this?
Yeah, let's do this. Cool. Up for a second date?
Now by the middle of May, Angela was pregnant with twins.
Uh oh. And she was like showing off her sonogram to Ian's parents and Ian. and the couple were excited and they were like ready to be parents.
No, they weren't. Yeah, I don't know. But something more sinister was lurking around that corner.
You don't say. No. Right around the time that Angela announced she was pregnant, she started getting strange emails from Michelle Hadley.
Now we know Michelle loves a strange email.
I was just going to say, a strange email?
From Michelle? Michelle Hadley? You know what I'm thinking?
It's like Michelle Tanner when she has the evil twin.
Oh my God. I just thought of that. Wow. Wow.
Okay. There she is. Now, these emails were very obviously from Michelle because they mirrored that, like, weird religious speak.
She has a style. She does. Everybody has a writing style.
Now, it appeared Michelle was a little jealous.
She was. A little bit. Okay. Word had gotten to her that Ian had moved on and was happy, expecting his first children.
And she was living at home right now. Yeah.
And she was dating, but she hadn't met Mr. Wright.
It happened fast. It did, exactly. So one of these emails said, you might be beautiful.
You might be the one he married, but you're still a sinner and must be punished.
I will make sure you are reminded of your place by force.
Wow. Okay, so another one read, die. I hope you are scared tomorrow.
We will steal your child and watch as it dies.
Holy shit. Now, others referred to Michelle as Ian's Eve and Angela as his Lilith.
You got to stop, Michelle. Yeah, it's time to stop, sister.
So the emails were coming with attachments of pretty graphic and like horrific things.
And trigger warning, if you don't want to hear this, I would skip ahead a few seconds, like a few 15 segments of seconds.
I'll give you a second. Aborted fetuses, decapitated women, dead women. women who were like being sexually abused by like men.
And we all thought we had crazy, there's some crazy exes out there.
You know what? Like the most annoying email I get or like the most fucked up is when they're like, Oh, claim your money from like overseas.
Yeah. I'm like, yeah, fuck off. Wow. Yeah.
No, all these emails were signed. Signed.
Michelle Hadley. Michelle Hadley was signed, sealing and delivering these via email.
Oh, bye. So she's just like, yeah, I did it.
She's got happy fingers. Yeah. She's got very happy fingers.
Send Michelle a Gmail. Don't. Don't. Don't do it.
No. So when Angela told Ian what was going on, they went down to the Anaheim police right away.
Am I saying that right so people don't yell at me?
Anaheim? Anaheim? Yeah. Okay. Okay. So with all the copies of the emails and they quickly received a restraining order again.
I was going to say someone do something here.
That's way over the top. Oh, yeah, because there weren't only emails going to Angela from Michelle.
They had also provided police with emails written to Angela from different men. claiming that they were responding to her ads on Craigslist.
What? No, she was like, I didn't put any ads on Craigslist.
Oh, no. They told police Angela hadn't written any of these ads.
Oh, I feel like I know. what these ads are for.
Yep. They provided her home address, the kind of dog that she had. when she would be walking that dog and what time she was home. and went into explicit detail about rape fantasies.
I knew it. That she had always had and she was ready to fulfill.
Oh my gosh. So someone else is writing these. claiming to be her they have her home address so they're like waiting for like people to show up like ready to try to act out this rape fantasy.
Holy shit. My entire body is like shutting down right now.
It's like, nope. And she's pregnant with twins.
So it's like, oh my god. OK. So the temporary order was put into place on June 1, which is your anniversary.
A lot of weird things here. Love all of this.
2016. Michelle was absolutely floored when she was served with this restraining order.
She told police that she didn't know who Angela was and had never met her before.
And like this was like the first she was hearing of her.
And she also said these emails weren't coming from her email. address she was like that's not my email address like No.
She also told them that she was concerned.
I know. Shut up. She also told them that she was concerned someone was pretending to be her. using her main email address to make new accounts. she was getting like Google alerts saying like, oh, your new account has been created and like now this is your backup account.
And she was getting like locked out of her accounts all the time.
Oh no. She also told them that she had been contacted by Craigslist as well. about a rape fantasy that she had written, like the ad that she put out with her email attached to it.
And she was like, no, I reported the ad and like I never heard back from them.
But I told them I didn't write that. I knew it.
But the police didn't believe her. And they were like, really, because...
These things are horrible things. And Angela is being like, I'm so scared.
Like, what the fuck? Yeah. It's terrifying.
Of course. Michelle's, of course, going to say she didn't do it of course so the police are like listen you little doe-eyed girl we don't believe you like fuck off here's your restraining order all right bambi bitch we don't believe you i love that So just a couple of weeks after the restraining order was served, Angela was attacked in the garage of her condo.
Oh my God. Yep. which technically is not her condo.
She called 911 and she told the dispatcher that someone tried to rape her.
Oh no. She was able to fend them off, luckily.
When the police arrived, it was clear that something had happened.
Both of her eyes like underneath her eyes were bruised.
There were abrasions to her neck and chest where her shirt had been torn.
And there appeared to be... They showed a picture I got.
I'm going to link it in the show notes. It's like a police... like presentation and the picture is it looks like it's of blood but i also am like is that of makeup from because her head was slammed against the wall oh Oh.
So I don't know. Yeah, so that all happened.
Now... Michelle was arrested that night because they were like, obviously this is connecting back to her.
Yeah. So that was June 24th, 2016. But she posted the $10,000 bail the next morning and she was out. i i'm i have i have so many thoughts right now i can't even i know don't say them though I won't.
That's why I'm like. So the police went to check in with Angela the next morning and they're like, are you OK?
How are you feeling? remember, she's fucking pregnant.
Like, oh my goodness. I'm upset. And they're telling her, you know, Michelle was held last night, but she did post bail and she's out now. just to let you know.
Now, Angela told them now she felt even stronger about the fact that this person was Michelle. because in the time that Michelle was being detained, she didn't receive a single email.
Oh, so that's weird. Now, an hour after she told them that. she called the police to tell them that not only had she received another email, that the email was now signed by a man called Jason Ray.
Oh, this is all very convenient. It really is.
It's all just lining up. Like totally weird.
Very nice. Now, if you if you forgot from like 20 minutes ago, if that her boyfriend, her ex's name is Jason Reber.
Yes. And now this person is emailing her Jason Ray.
Wow. Look at that. But not only did that happen.
She also had found another Craigslist ad that claimed to be her asking for a man to please come attack her while she was walking her dog.
And no matter how hard she fought back, don't stop.
Holy shit. Ew. The fact that that's like a thing.
I know. Like, I don't think shame, but. No, but.
Yeah. That's a lot to wrap my head around.
So the emails just kept coming. Some were even from Michelle's personal address that she had confirmed with the police was hers.
So they're like, okay, you're sending these we know you are what the fuck the emails provided michelle's parents phone numbers her own phone number and demanded that Angela call her, leave Anne, get out of the picture, etc., etc.
Have they looked at an IP address at all?
We're going to get to that. Because this is all well and fine, but it's like, you can steal anybody's email address.
Exactly. If you hack into it, look at her fucking IP address.
I know. I'm saying. We'll get there. We'll get there.
I'm getting mad. I know. So the emails from Jason Ray kept coming and Angela knew that they weren't from like the real Jason. and that somehow Michelle was behind this.
Jason Ray sent one email saying... Anne doesn't love you.
Get out of the picture. Michelle is his one true love.
Like, why would Jason be saying that? I don't know.
It's so fucking weird. It's convoluted, okay?
The police were again called to the condo on July 13th.
Angela said that there was a man lurking outside her condo, like watching her house. gross aka michelle's house yeah um when the police arrived there was indeed a man out there except it was a 17 year old kid who was, he told the police like openly that he was responding to that Craigslist ad and,
And he showed the police the ad that showed him the address to come to, which was Angela's house.
And- the ad said she wanted to fulfill like this wild rape fantasy 17 year old just showed I know picture a 17 year old fulfilling a rape fantasy there was nothing to say that he got in trouble for that but it isn't Like, soliciting sex is illegal, yeah?
I don't know how. I honestly do not know how, like, all that works on Craigslist.
I don't either. If you know anything about that, email us.
The dark web and shit, I'm sure, is all into that.
But I have no idea what the legal... I don't need qualifications for that.
But I also wonder, especially because he was 17.
I think that's what made him. Well, that's the thing.
There's a lot of weird. Like you're underage, bro.
To me, that seems illegal. I would think so.
But I don't know. I don't know. And I think that they probably had bigger fish to fry.
So they were like, you know what? Go home. yeah just go go play like minecraft oh my god yeah this is fucked up anyways just go So Michelle was arrested the next day, July 14th, because the police believed that she posed a threat to public safety.
And especially the safety of Angela, a freaking pregnant lady, you know?
Yeah. Yeah, I know. You know, so all of her devices were seized through a search warrant.
They did it the right way. and she was charged with stalking with a restraining order, stalking with criminal threats, six counts of attempted rape, a violation of PC 220B, which says that it's any person who assaults another with intent to commit mayhem, rape, sodomy, or oral copulation. also charged with violation of a protective order and crime.
Oh, excuse me. And crime. And she was just charged with crime.
She was charged with crime. All the crime.
And crime bail enhancement. okay i still like crime and crime we charge you with crime crime If you have the right to remain silent, you've been charged with crime.
We hope to end this with justice. Law and order.
So if she were to be found guilty on all of these charges, she faced the possibility of life in prison.
I got thoughts. I don't think that's right.
We can wild out at the end. I just don't think it's right, guys.
It's not right. I don't know, but I don't think it's right.
I want an IP address. Now, due to the severity of all these crimes and the belief that Angela was in great danger.
Michelle's bail was set at $1 million. Now, if this was all true, I'd be like, yeah, well, it is Elena.
I don't think it is. It is. This is just me.
I have no idea about this case. It's true. crime it's true crime here we are it's morbid a true crime I think the true crime is occurring on another part of it I don't know it's just me Now Michelle thought so too.
She maintained her innocence. And her parents knew that there was no way that their daughter was behind this she was intelligent, but like never in a malicious way.
Like I said 85 times already, she was a very meek girl.
She was not into mayhem. No, and 90% of the time, she had a view of the world that was looked at through rose-colored glasses.
She was not... Also, she worked at Disneyland.
She wasn't... I mean... And her initial emails to Ian when they were together...
Sure, they were like laden with some like interesting language and like writing style.
They did not seem aggressive. They didn't say she was going to harm him in any way.
It just didn't come off as a violent person.
You're gonna have to face God. And all it seems to me is that she never showed any violent tendencies.
No. Until now. It seems like they, you know, stopped dating each other and were like, this is pretty okay.
Like we don't want to be together. I just like my money for my condo.
Usually you're pretty okay. If someone's a shithead, you're like, you can go ahead and date someone else.
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Not this time. No.
So like her parents were like, this is just not her character.
And they were really desperate to help her out in any way they could.
The entire time Michelle was in prison, she wrote letters and was constantly corresponding with her family.
They didn't have the money to bail her out and get her an attorney, so they gave her a choice.
They said, we can bail you out. Or we can get you an attorney, but we can't do both.
Yeah. Now, jail was... terrifying for her.
She received a death threat like right off the bat because all the papers were circulating about what she had done and why she was in there.
Threatening to kill babies, too. Exactly.
And rape and all that. Like, that's putting you way on the bottom of the pool.
Right, exactly. So she's... She's not having a good time in jail.
And she knew she needed a good attorney, though.
So she was like, you know what? And I'm going to tell you to please get me an attorney and I'm going to stick it out in here for hopefully and hopefully I'll get out soon.
Now, she also became really close with her cellmate, who was an elderly woman.
And she really took care of Michelle. She told her, you walk like a church mouse and you need to walk tough if you're going to make it around here. bad bitch i love it i wonder what she did full circle uh she was being held on charges of kidnapping Okay.
But you know, like sometimes that happens when like you pick your grandkid up from school and like your daughter-in-law doesn't like you.
You know, kidnapping happens. But, like, look at Michelle.
Like, she didn't do it. And I read a statistic.
That said, one in 25 people on death row, which like nobody here is on death row, but I read this statistic anyway, are innocent.
Oh, yeah. One in 25. Yeah, that's fully believable.
Diane Sawyer told me. There you go. Put that on a shirt immediately.
Innocence Project. Go look it up. I know.
It's really cool. Now, Michelle's dad started looking through all the emails and bought a software, Elena, to trace the IP addresses.
OK, thank you. fuck weren't the police like they were i'm gonna get to it okay because i'm like dear police you Do your job.
Well, I think at the beginning they weren't going to do that because it costs a lot of money, I'm sure, to get the warrants and send it out.
It costs a lot of money. to get the actual truth it's pretty tough when you can just sit here and look at it and go you know what we're gonna paint it this way right It's a lot cheaper to do that.
Don't worry. They get there. I'm annoyed.
Now, so her dad, he told Dateline... This was something any 15-year-old web sleuth could do.
Exactly. Which is what Elena's telling us as well.
Exactly. So he would do that like all day.
Michelle's mom would file away the addresses and keep them organized. hoping that somehow they could prove it wasn't their daughter who sent these emails.
They also went as far as pulling her school records to prove that she was sitting in class, like, working on her MBA when some of these were said.
Yeah. And they also she I guess she had been in the hospital when one of them was sent and it just like wouldn't have been possible.
No, of course not. Which is like, are you kidding me?
So now the police are also working with like... big internet names like Google and Microsoft to do the same thing.
I guess they needed a little more time to back them up than like your everyday software like IP search.
But I guess things like that can take months even if you have a search warrant. dealing with companies like Google and Microsoft and everything.
It takes a long time. Now, in the world's most shocking twist, are you ready?
I'm ready. It wasn't just her parents or Google and Microsoft that granted Michelle her, like, get out of jail, not really free card.
Ian Diaz also helped. Wow. Right? On September 30th, he went to the Anaheim Police Department and and he told authorities that he believed Michelle was being framed. by none other than his wife, Angela Diaz.
I mean... Because they were together for a while.
They were engaged. And it's like... you know somebody exactly you know you know like if this is jives with their character or not and it's like this is very far out of how her character was.
But this was like a totally... He flip-flopped because in the beginning he was like...
Well, because you're going to support your new wife, you know, like whoever you're with.
Your new pregnant wife. Can I say one more prediction?
No. No. Because I immediately. No. Okay, because I'm going to tell you in like two seconds.
Let me just say, I won't say what it is, but like, let me just say I know.
I know you know. I know you know. I know you know.
My name's Elena. It's the 18th of November and I know.
I know. So he told the police about a long string of lies that he had finally come, uncovered.
Angela had lied to the police about a miscarriage that she suffered in the beginning of this all.
Fuck right off with that, by the way. Fuck you.
Yep. In a big way. And I think a lot of people listening are also saying fuck you.
Yep. She said that it was due to all the stress that she was experiencing in the beginning of this case.
Literally, go fuck yourself. That wasn't the truth.
Now, the twins pregnancy was just a complete lie.
Oh, yeah. I knew that. It's November 18th in Atlanta.
And I knew Angela had never been pregnant with twins.
Of course she wasn't. Ian found out that the sonogram that she had been showing off to him and his family was a fake that she had bought off of Etsy. for $7.50.
Okay, I got a couple things. Why do those exist?
Why the fuck can you buy that on Etsy? I don't know.
I guess it's like. for a prank but I don't know why you're pranking anyone that you're pregnant here's the other thing and I'm gonna go on a quick Quick little rant here.
Do it. For a prank. That's what I was going to ask.
Was that like a prank thing? If you are one of those people who on April Fools thinks it's fucking funny to do that I'm pregnancy prank.
You're an actual dick if you do that. So if you've done that, question your choices and don't ever do it again.
I would never fake... like even as like an April Fool's joke obviously just because I wouldn't but also I would never be like oh like I'm pregnant like get so excited and then be like No, I'm like April Fool's.
What a weird ass joke. I feel like that'd be very disappointing for someone.
Yeah, it's just very strange. It's strange to me.
It's just weird. I think Annie would literally be, like, not talk to me if I did that for her.
No, John would be furious. It's just a weird thing to do.
And it's like, you know, it's just shitty.
But we're also talking about a girl that faked cancer.
So she doesn't really have a lot of morals.
Honestly, fuck this girl. Oh, you're going to be so mad at the end. hate her now ian and her separated when he found out that everything was a lie and actually he was eventually able to annul their marriage Good for him.
I don't even think they've been married a full year.
I was going to say, it seems like it was quick.
I was a little distracted with all the emails.
Yeah. So all of this new information with the police to look even more into Angela's life. and they found out that she had lied about past employers, she had faked checks to add money that she just hadn't earned,
I guess she added like two thousand dollars to one check.
So she's just a literal asshole. Just had never earned.
Yep. She lied about having a law degree, not just about being an attorney, but having a law degree.
If you want a law degree, fucking study.
Go get one. You're pathetic. You're pathetic.
They even met with the real Jason Rayburn and Angela's old friend, Mary. who told them all about the fake cancer.
They were like, oh yeah, sit down. Now to take things even further, the police obtained a search warrant for all of Angela's devices. and found out that she had been sending the emails to herself, as we all know at this point, using a VPN.
So that's why it was so hard to track these IPs.
And if you don't know what a virtual or what a VPN is, it's a virtual private network.
And you can you can hide your IP address.
The amount of like the effort she put into this.
Oh, I know. Wow. What a sad life. Sick. And here's the thing.
You can use a VPN. Go right ahead. If somebody wants to find out what you have done on your computer, they will find out.
Yeah. Nothing is safe. No. the emails had not uh the emails had not been sent only from like just the condo also they were sent also they were also sent when she was visiting her dad in Arizona.
What the fuck? It's like you're supposed to be on vacation.
Just sitting on his couch sending horrible hate emails to yourself.
And pictures of dead fetuses to yourself.
Holy shit. And also, how sick are you to just look at that and send it to yourself?
And send it to yourself and then act upset about it?
Fuck off. What? While you're pretending to be pregnant with twins.
So sick. Most of them were actually sent from her cell phone or in the condo, like 9 out of 10.
Just super casually. Officers found way more than they bargained for, though, and more proof that this was a case of like At the very least, a pathological liar.
At the very least. I think she was a lot more than that.
They found word documents on her computer titled A Darkness Within, The Angela Diaz Story.
And Daughters of God, the Angela Diaz story.
Both. Which one's the end of the Angela Diaz story?
Both of these were pitches to the Lifetime TV network. telling the story of her life.
Yes. You mean the, so she was literally creating her own Lifetime movie.
Yes. By doing all this. With her life. So she was falsifying all this and just being like, well, I'm creating fiction.
Yep. With my life. Just a... just fiction in real time you're all just pawns of yeah you're all just your actors in my movie Now, if you're confused about like the Daughters of God one, one of the emails that she had sent herself referenced the daughters of God.
And it was like Michelle telling her that they were both daughters of God or something.
It was weird. Okay. They also found multiple searches for the movie in the book Gone Girl, which this case is very similar to.
I was going to say, very similar. And looking over the surveillance cameras in the area, it became clear that there was no attacker lurking in the area that night when she was like supposedly attacked in the garage.
It just didn't fully add up that an attacker sent by Michelle would even know where the garage was. because the garage wasn't connected to the condo.
You had to walk through an alley to get to the garage.
So even if they had her address, like they would just be attacking a random woman who like was actually looking for this.
Yeah. And this wasn't just like a crazy person, like... Yeah.
A crazy rapist. This was somebody... that was like kind like it was consensual it was some weird yeah like kind of it was a loophole yeah it was a loophole So that didn't make any sense.
Angela was arrested finally. Thank goodness.
Oh, goodbye. On January 6th. 2017 and she pled guilty to nine or nine months later to 10 felony charges Holy shit.
But always falling on her feet, that Ange.
She struck a deal because she pled guilty and and was only sentenced to five years in prison.
What? Ten felony counts. She almost had this woman thrown in prison for the rest of her life.
Yeah. And committed 10 fucking felonies.
That's. Unreal. She struck a deal and she was only sentenced to five years.
So like in five years, who else's life is she about to ruin to get her life? time story now michelle herself spent 88 days in jail so just just shy of three months.
Just for have dated and being engaged to the guy that happens to be married to this person.
She ended up getting out of jail on October 7th in 2016, but she still had to wear a GPS tracking ankle bracelet, While the police worked out all the details of, like, finding everything on... Like, clearing her completely.
Exactly. Holy shit. She was completely exonerated three months after getting out of jail, but she is not like. for giving to law enforcement and I think it's so justified.
I'd be furious. And she's not done with Angela or Ian either.
In fact, she thinks that Ian knew a lot more than he let on.
And he should be in jail too. She said justice won't be served until he's in jail.
You know what? I will say that makes a lot of sense because it seems like he flipped the script when it seemed conveniently.
Exactly. When he got backed into a corner and he didn't see any other way out, he was like... Well, and it was like when Angela started lying to him.
Exactly. Like, it's like... No, he had nothing else to to, you know, cover for her.
Now, are you ready? Another trigger warning coming up.
For rape. A lot more details of their relationship came out during this whole email debacle.
Ian and Michelle's? Ian and Michelle's relationship, yes. but no one would listen to her and asked why she hadn't reported the abuse that she experienced beforehand.
My favorite question. That's good. And they acted like it was just a convenient thing for her to make up now.
So in all reality, Ian was a fucking monster to Michelle.
It turns out that he had been forcing her to have sex with strangers while he filmed it from another room.
What the fuck? Yep. But honestly, those red flags you were throwing at me with all that shit made so much sense.
It's so sad. The first man that she agreed to do this with because he had just broken her down, it was on Valentine's Day.
And, um... Michelle says that she believes that he found this specific like man on Craigslist. oh 100% so it's like I think it's all full circle and so yeah I'm gonna say everything that I think at the end She felt so shameful about what happened and regretted doing this, but he had, like, people get broken down oh 100 you can go ahead and say that like well she did it like she or like I wouldn't do that like you don't you don't literally no idea like she's being abused are masters at their craft.
Exactly. They are masters at it. And they are also in it for the long con.
And they will stick around to make sure that they get you where they want you.
And then you have nowhere else. And just like push you further and further into the ground.
Absolutely. So she went to him and she was like, I feel disgusting about that.
I don't ever want to do that again. I don't want that to be part of our relationship. relationship.
I know that's something that you want, but I'm not okay with it.
And he looked at her and he said, no one was holding a gun to your head.
And it's like, well, you kind of were like you figuratively you were.
Exactly. And it's also like she's coming to you and telling you like.
You know, we tried that. And I don't want to do that.
Like, you should be like, you know what?
If that's your thing... And you both consented to it.
And like one of you decided, you know what, that's not for me anymore.
Then that's allowed. Right. You decide you tried it.
You decided no. Because if you're in a healthy relationship, that's what would have happened.
Communication is. Michelle also remembered trying to leave Ian on one occasion where he restrained her and pushed her down onto a bed and did not allow her to get away.
Bye. That's horrifying. So she said the initial emails that she sent to him were sent while she was suffering PTSD from their relationship.
Yeah. And she won't comment on like the religious language or anything.
It seems as though she's just a little bit embarrassed by that.
And honestly, she doesn't I'm not a religious person.
I think everybody knows that. I've stated that before.
Neither of us are. But I'm not going to judge other people for it.
And it's also like... She doesn't have to explain that.
No, she doesn't have to. If that's what she was believing at the time, it wasn't It wasn't violent rhetoric.
It wasn't threatening. It was just... It was using...
You know, and like you said, she was going through a PTSD moment at the time too, which is going to heighten any kind of... belief system you have i assume would that might be part of it is like absolutely making it more of something to hold on to And this, I mean, we all know what he did to her now.
Yeah. She has a right to feel exactly how she wants to feel.
Even what you need. to believe in girlfriend to get through it exactly And you and I both are big proponents of it's really, I think it's gross when personal things like that come out.
Yeah. I just, I don't love that. Like when text messages come out in fights between people.
Exactly. When people use text messages against each other in like public fights.
It's like, no, you had that conversation like personally.
Right. It's just not cool. So she ended up suing the city of Anaheim and both Angela and Ian for false imprisonment. among 15 other violations.
Damn. Isn't that nuts? Holy shit. There's also some interesting evidence against Ian.
Now, all of it's like very circumstantial, but if the circumstance fits, wear it.
Yeah. So his work records do show that he was working and he wasn't home when a lot of the emails were sent.
But that's not an airtight alibi for him because he self-reports his hours.
Oh. So that doesn't make any sense. So there's that.
And he easily could have doctored them or asked Angela for a little help in doctoring anything.
Surveillance cameras that could have shown him at work were never checked.
Oh, so that's cool. Convenient. Detective Michael Cunha, I think is how you say it, testified that Ian had actually sent him an email during a time that he was working and was not supposed to have had access to a computer.
Oh, so there you go. Now, I don't know about his cell phone, because obviously...
He could have used a cell phone, but like maybe technically they're not supposed to use it at work.
Yeah, and sometimes you have to have like an encryption on your cell phone for work email.
Yeah, especially I know my work does that.
He's like a law enforcement officer. Yeah.
The same detective also testified that Ian admitted to keeping copies of all of Michelle's computer files.
Huh. weird. And on top of that, this is like a kicker and cell phone was never checked in this investigation.
And when investigators did ask about it, he told them that he gave his mother his cell phone and that she had moved to Idaho.
Yeah, that'll get law enforcement off your back.
I gave it to my mom and she moved to Idaho with it.
It's now a potato. Sorry. My cell phone is now a potato.
You're stupid, Ian. So I guess nobody did anything about that.
Now, Michelle's lawyers argue that Ian ripped repeatedly enforced fellow officers to put her behind bars.
And he would ask, is there a way to put her in cuffs tonight?
Can we get this done right now? It was weird.
He was like, calm down. He was pushing it.
He also lied to the police about Michelle's character. and led them to believe that she had quote criminal tendencies.
Meanwhile, she didn't have a single spot on her record at all.
And according to OCWeekly.com, the judge sympathized with her and recognized Ian's rape fantasies and controlling behavior. and like did recognize that. and obviously agreed that she was a victim of false imprisonment, but also seemed to side with Ian a little bit and said,
Diaz's arrest-inducing communications with police were unquestionably protected from civil liability.
Wow. Because of his like rank as a police or a U.S.
Marshal. Wow. Now, according to BuzzFeed News, Michelle moved to New York City with her sister to get the fuck out of California.
Yeah. And... She never saw a dime from Ian after he ended up selling the condo. for $499,000.
What the fuck? She never saw a dime. No justice.
And she could use the money because while she was in jail for three months, she wasn't able to pay her bills and her parents paid a million dollars for her like defense attorney.
And so she got into a ton of debt that she's still paying off.
Oh, my God. I know. What a terrible ending.
I know. She has a new job and she didn't say anything to BuzzFeed about being awarded money in this lawsuit that she has against them.
And it seems like her final goal is just to use her experience to do – or quote – use her experience to do something about the blue wall of silence.
Yeah. So BuzzFeed News also reports that Michelle's family, I wanted to leave you like with something happy. was able to pay for an attorney for her elderly cellmate who was so kind to her.
Oh my god, I died. Because I didn't find anything that said that she, like, didn't do her crime, but I'm sure they grew close and Michelle, like, knows the ins and outs.
Yeah, like, knows what the... I thought that was so cute.
She was like, can we help her? I thought that was like the sweetest thing.
Now, Michelle finished her Buzzfeed interview by telling them.
The girl with the optimistic view is still in there somewhere, but now there's another part of her that says, quote, careful. careful because people are dangerous.
Yeah. The world is dangerous. Yes. The end.
We are here to agree with you. Is that not banana?
Holy shit. Like, what? That's truly outrageous.
That is true crime! That's true crime. And nobody died, but I was like, I have to tell this one because it's so strange.
A lot of people's credibility died, so. that whole thing.
Yeah, seriously. And she said, she was like, I used to see, like, and her parents said, like, she used to see the world through rose-colored glasses, but...
Holy shit, that'll change it real fast. And she said like her and her family's. trust in law enforcement unfortunately is very skewed now.
Of course. I mean, she was falsely imprisoned.
Yeah, of course. 88 days in prison for something you literally had nothing to do with.
So almost three months, and then after that, she had to wear that GPS tracker.
Just so they could clear everything. And she went to them because they like weren't taking it off for like a while.
And she went to them because. they told her while she was out and had that tracker on like don't talk to any publications or anybody and she was like I am going to go to every big publication that you can think of if you don't take this off of me.
Like I'm clearly not guilty. Absolutely.
Holy shit. So nuts. That was a doozy. And I feel like. they were doing that to distract from the fact that they only had so much time to either like, get a different mortgage for the condo or split the profits with her.
Yeah. That makes sense. And like I said, she never saw a dime.
That's awful. So I feel like that was the... part of the motive but i also think that angela is just a very sick person oh yeah No, there's something very off there.
So strange. Holy shit. To like write down that you want to have like your lifetime story. be told like but then you're all you're just like creating it right by ruining people's lives It's just, it's so bizarre.
She was going to put that woman in jail for the rest of her life just so she could have a Lifetime movie about it and be like, look, I'm a survivor.
Look what I did. It's like, fuck you, you're not a survivor.
I know. I wish there could be a Lifetime movie about what actually happened, but I feel like it'd be so rude because she would love it.
Oh yeah, she would absolutely love it. And it's like, hello, what is she going to do when she gets out?
Five years. That's it. That's horrifying.
That's real scary. So she must be getting out like now.
Yeah, I think she was sentenced in 2017.
Don't quote me. So, like, next year or the year after.
I just closed my notes. But she's getting out soon.
Holy shit. Yeah, and she has a plea deal, so like... Wow, Angela, you're the worst.
Yeah, you suck. The absolute worst. Don't email me.
And so is your... like deadbeat husband Ian yeah he's disgusting and I think there's a lot more to that story Oh, they're gross.
So nasty. Wow, guys. So yeah, keep it weird.
Totally. Definitely not that weird. Do not keep it that weird.
If you want to see some pictures, we could post some on our Instagram at... morbid podcast hit us up on twitter at a morbid podcast send us a gmail morbid podcast at gmail.com We'll know what IP address it comes from.
Yeah, we will. And we hope you keep listening.
And we hope you. Keep. It. Weird. But not somewhere that you try to destroy everybody's life around you by pretending to have cancer and then breaking up with your boyfriend because, like, he doesn't believe that you have cancer and then doing everything wrong. in the world.
Bye. Thank you. If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
