Netflix’s A Toxic Love Story turns a romance into a true-crime maze
The new documentary revisits the Orange County case involving Michelle Hadley, Ian Diaz and Angela Connell Diaz, with twists around emails, fake claims and a frame-up.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Netflix’s new true-crime documentary A Toxic Love Story opens on a frightening 2016 case in Anaheim, California, then keeps changing shape.
The film, directed by Alexandra Lacey, follows the case involving Michelle Hadley, her ex-boyfriend Ian Diaz and his wife, Angela Connell Diaz. According to the documentary, the early version looked like a familiar nightmare: a former girlfriend accused of terrorizing a newly married couple through threatening messages.
In the film’s account, Ian, a U.S. deputy marshal, and Angela were living near Disneyland and said they were expecting twins when Angela began receiving emails from an account called “Lilithistruth.” The messages, according to the documentary, threatened Angela, her home and her unborn children.
The situation escalated when someone responded to a Craigslist post suggesting Angela was interested in a “rape fantasy” encounter at the couple’s condo. After a stranger arrived, the couple called 911, and police arrested Hadley, the documentary says.
Police interview audio featured in the film shows Hadley appearing to acknowledge writing some Lilith messages. The documentary says she was jailed for 88 days on a $1 million bond before investigators identified another suspect.
The film shifts to Angela Connell Diaz
A Toxic Love Story then rewinds to Angela’s life before Ian. Former friend Mary Bukovskis tells the filmmakers that Angela, then known as Angie, had faked having cancer in 2013 in Huntington Beach.
The documentary says Angela used images of chemotherapy treatments taken from Google and wore a knit cap while keeping her long hair. It also includes cellphone footage of friends confronting her over the alleged lie.
The film later says Angela also faked her pregnancy, using an online sonogram image as proof. Ian’s longtime friend Leslie says in the documentary that Ian was shaken when he learned Angela was not pregnant and then learned she was connected to the Lilith emails.
According to a title card in the documentary, Angela pleaded guilty to fraud, false imprisonment and falsely reporting a crime.
Michelle Hadley gives her account
Hadley is the only member of the central trio who appears in a new interview in the documentary, according to the film. Ian is heard through law enforcement recordings, while Angela appears through bodycam footage and older cellphone video.
Hadley tells the filmmakers she and Ian dated for two years and bought the Anaheim condo together. She says she paid the down payment and that he helped with mortgage payments.
Hadley also alleges in the documentary that Ian became controlling after they moved in together. She says he dictated how she dressed, put security cameras in the home and appeared to know where she was even when they were apart.
DOJ special agent Jason Higley, who reviewed the case because of Ian’s work with the U.S. Marshals, points in the documentary to what he calls major warning signs. Higley says later Lilith messages and emails tied to the Craigslist encounter were connected to Ian and his laptop.
Hadley tells the filmmakers that she wrote the first two Lilith letters but says she did not understand why she wrote them. The documentary presents those initial letters as material Ian later used against her.
By the end, A Toxic Love Story has moved from an alleged harassment case to Angela’s admitted crimes and then to the DOJ’s focus on Ian. The documentary is now streaming on Netflix.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.