A Toxic Love Story

- -

911. What's your emergency?

Somebody came from behind me and shoved me against my wall

and started to choke me…

…and were telling me that I'm going to fucking get it.

I tried to move and he grabbed me.

He had me pinned back by the hair at the neck.

My husband's ex has been threatening to rape, kill my child.

…the strange and violent stalking case.

Police say a woman used an online ad to terrorize another woman.

I got another email from her.

She's been at my work.

She knows what I look like.

How do we combat this woman?

What do we do?

I have two wishes.

First wish is I wish none of this happened.

And my second wish is…

…I wish that everyone would just tell the truth

about the events of this story.

In 2016, Ian and I had been friends for almost 20 years.

We worked together at Disneyland.

His mom had moved to another state,

so I became his means of support.

I just remember laughing

and having so much fun any time I was with him.

He's just that guy.

When the opportunity came

for him to apply to be a deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service,

Ian was thrilled.

The U.S. Marshals represent the Department of Justice.

He would transport inmates from prison to prison,

and he was responsible for protecting federal judges.

So it was an important job.

Ian was, without a doubt, a person I'd trust with my entire life.

Most people question

the relationship that Ian and I had,

but our friendship was just a friendship

and not a romantic relationship.

So when he met Angela,

nothing made me happier.

Ian always wanted to be married, and he wanted to have kids.

And he was really excited that Angela wanted the same things.

We met at the Starbucks in Anaheim.

We just hit it off.

And so she moved into my condo.

Daphne, do you want to look at the camera?

Oh! Can you look at the camera?

The smile alone… The smile was killer.

She was just a sweetheart.

Two, three weeks go by,

I proposed to her.

Because she was everything I ever wanted in a woman.

So within a few months of meeting,

Ian and Angela are living together,

married, and expecting twins.

And Ian's thrilled because he's always wanted to be a dad.

- -

During this time, we sit down for dinner,

and Ian tells me that Angela's been receiving these emails…

…from someone called "Lilithistruth."

They have this biblical undertone.

The nature of them are super threatening.

We had no clue what Lilith was.

Ian and I both had to google it.

There are legends that Adam had a wife before Eve who was named Lilith.

She was banished from the Garden of Eden

because she did not want to submit to Adam.

Lilith was an evil, wicked woman

who committed adultery with Satan and produced a race of evil creatures.

Lilith transformed into an evil demon,

out for revenge to kidnap and kill newborn children in the night.

Ian was really freaked out.

Scared the hell out of me. I had no idea where that came from.

Angela was really upset.

- -

Sometime later, Angela says

she thinks someone has been lurking outside of the condo.

She couldn't see who it was,

but she felt really uneasy about it.

- -

Who is doing this?

- -

Four months before meeting Angela, Ian had broken up with his ex, Michelle…

and it was anything but simple of a breakup

because he was still living in the condo that they owned together.

I do not hate Michelle. I have never hated Michelle.

I just wanted her out of my life.

And, unfortunately, we were tied together by that condo.

And I did want to resolve it.

We were both thinking the exact same thing, which is…

Holy shit.

It's Michelle sending the emails.

-Going to the police seemed necessary. -

I have the report from yesterday.

-I'm wondering what happened today. -Today I got another email from her.

She's been at my work. She knows what I look like.

She's described what I dressed in detail last night.

And I'm either safer in my home,

where at least I know that I'm okay, or I go to work and risk it.

I don't even know her capabilities. I've never met her.

So I'm dealing with this unknown.

The gal at the sheriff's office said,

"You need to call them out again, request an emergency protective order."

So, yeah.

You understand that

the Emergency Protective Order, they're typically for domestic violence.

Somebody got arrested, and the problem is she's not served yet.

It's a criminal threat, but you can't do anything until you get her.

Awesome. Well, thank you guys so much.

You're welcome. Hopefully, you can…

Ian and Angela were worried

because Anaheim PD don't have enough probable cause to arrest Michelle.

This is still a very new relationship between Ian and Angela,

and to be going through something so abnormal,

it's not natural.

-And I felt for them. - I was scared.

I was definitely scared because I didn't know what she was up to.

So we went to the police department, and Angela filed a restraining order.

I offered to serve the restraining order to Michelle.

I was nervous.

You've been served.

But I was really, really hoping that that would put an end to it

and everything can quiet down.

- -But nothing stopped.

The emails kept coming.

The threats kept coming.

So Ian and Angela call the police again.

Anaheim Police Department dispatch.

Hi, um, I have several reports with you guys

over a temporary restraining order.

It was served upon the person that I need protection from.

She has continued to send her crazy, threatening, violent,

I'm-gonna-kill-you emails.

She actually did it

right after the cops went to her house in Ontario, served her.

An hour later, I got another one, and it's insane,

including really graphic photographs.

I was advised by my attorney to contact you guys once again

to see if she could get arrested because this has gone on far too long,

and she's obviously violated the no-contact order.

Your name is?

Angela, and the last name's Diaz, D-I-A-Z.

Okay, I'll get them to call out.

Come on in, guys.

My name's Ian. This is Angela.

Um…

These emails have pictures of decapitated people,

aborted fetuses, decapitated fetuses.

You guys are the third group of officers to come here.

- Tonight? -This last week, just this week.

So, restraining order, and then this is the proof of service.

Okay.

How long have you known her for?

Uh…

Two years we were together, um,

and that ended in August, so…

I mean, do I know her now? No.

In the time you've known her,

have you ever seen her be violent or anything like that?

She took a knife into that bathroom right there…

She's crazy.

…and told me that she had a moment where she wanted to kill herself.

And she threatened to burn this motherfucker down with both of them in it.

When… A week before she left, she was very emotional…

This is August of last year?

Yeah, August of last year, a week before she left.

Last week of August, she told me, in a crying fit of rage,

with her eyes wide open but tears streaming down her face,

it was freaky,

um, that she wished she could burn…

this whole motherfucker down with me, you, and the dog in it.

Or the-- I have a Yorkie.

I haven't seen my friends or anybody. My mom has to come out here.

Everybody's lives have to be halted for a minute because she's crazy.

Every single day,

every time I would see Ian's name pop up on my phone,

I thought, "Oh my God, what now?"

And then something unbelievable happened.

Michelle responded to an ad on Craigslist for fantasy rape

with photographs of Angela,

inviting the guy to show up at the condo to rape Angela,

saying, "Come to my house, and even if I scream, don't stop."