Strange plot twist in ‘rape fantasy’
Wife of U.S. marshal used an ad to frame his ex, authorities say.
When officers arrived at Angela Diaz’s condo last June in response to her 911 call, police say, they found her in tears, with a ripped shirt and red marks on her neck. A man had just tried to rape her in her garage, she said.
Anaheim police believed this was the gruesome result of a recent Craigslist ad, in which someone had posed as Diaz and invited men to visit her condo to participate in her “rape fantasy” encounters, even if she screamed and fought back.
Detectives became convinced the electronic trail led to her husband’s former fiancee, Michelle Hadley, who later faced 10 felony
charges and the possibility of life in prison.
A bizarre case turned stranger Monday: Authorities say they were fooled.
Hadley was exonerated, and Diaz — accused of posing as a victim to frame Hadley — is behind bars.
“Ms. Hadley is an innocent victim of a diabolical scheme,” Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said.
Diaz, 31, who is married to a U.S. marshal, faces charges that include kidnapping, false imprisonment and falsely reporting crimes. She was arrested last week in Phoenix, where she now lives, and is awaiting extradition to Orange County.
Rackauckas said he was not certain of Diaz’s motive but speculated that it involved a “love triangle,” and that the attempted frameup may have been meant to “put the dagger into the older relationship.”
Prosecutors dropped the charges against Hadley at a brief hearing Monday at the Fullerton courthouse.
Hadley wept, smiled and embraced family members.
“This has been a huge nightmare for me — probably the most traumatic experience of my life,” Hadley, 30, told reporters on the courthouse steps.
She said she had been close to earning her MBA at Chapman University, and “this put a little wrinkle in the plan,” though she still hoped to graduate soon.
Prosecutors said Diaz sent emails to herself using specialized software to make it appear that Hadley had sent them, and made false claims that Hadley had threatened her life and that of her unborn child.
Along with attempting to frame Hadley, Diaz is accused of faking a pregnancy and cervical cancer, forging a check, posing as an attorney and two of her husband’s former girlfriends, and forging doctors’ notes.
Hadley was first arrested in June 2016 when Diaz reported the attempted rape. She posted bail, but was rearrested three weeks later after a 17-year-old boy appeared in Diaz’s courtyard in response to the ad.
Hadley was held on $1million bail on charges including attempted rape and spent 88 days in jail before she was released on her own recognizance in October.
Hadley’s attorney, Michael Guisti, described his client as a “wide-eyed, very bubbly” young woman whose family had to borrow money for her defense.
He would not comment on whether his client intended to pursue a civil claim for being arrested.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Zimmer said there was no evidence that Diaz’s husband was involved.
Zimmer said the breakthrough came when investigators uncovered the real Internet Protocol addresses behind the Craigslist ads and the harassing emails. He said some had originated at Diaz’s condo and her father’s home.
Zimmer said he was sickened that an innocent person had been arrested: “I’ve had more sleepless nights these last six months than I’ve had in 40 years.”