True Crime

A central figure in Netflix's "A Toxic Love Story" told a federal judge Ian Diaz was still "a good man, with an even greater heart" after his conviction ... and revealed she had been barred from contacting him for nearly two years ... TMZ has learned.

In an April 2023 letter obtained by TMZ, Leslie Carlson said bond restrictions cut her off from Ian, his son and his immediate family, calling the separation "devastatingly difficult." The letter was filed with his sentencing materials.

Leslie said she had known Ian for 23 years and considered him one of her closest friends and confidants.

Luigi Mangione is not happy with prosecutors in his state trial ... he says they're doing too much to limit the number of people in court ... and he wants the proceedings broadcast live on air.

Luigi's lawyers sent a letter to Judge Carro on Friday ... and it's clear Luigi is mad that the state plans to partially exclude the public and the press from his trial.

A source close to the case … “The DA’s office never chooses which journalists attend the trial — and they won’t do that in this case either.”

According to the letter, Luigi has a big issue with the fact that the court and the District Attorney plan to hand-pick the reporters who are allowed to attend the trial.

The Michigan murder-suicide not only saw the shooting deaths of two parents and six children, but also the gruesome deaths of a bunch of pets who were found inside the family's "house of horror" ... TMZ has learned.

Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Captain Jake Sparks tells TMZ ... after police and firefighters responded to the Karolkiewicz house on July 24, they found at least 3 dead dogs and one dead cat inside the home. The pets all died from smoke or fire, and there may have been more pets who perished.

Sparks also said the bodies of Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, and his wife, Amanda “Mandy” Karolkiewicz, 39, were discovered in their bedroom. The couple's 4 sons and twin daughters -- ranging in age from 5 to 11 -- were found in their bedrooms as well.

Ian Diaz from "A Toxic Love Story" has remarried since framing his ex in a cyberstalking hoax ... tying the knot with an old girlfriend, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Ian tell TMZ ... Ian had dated a woman named Amy before he dated Michelle Hadley and married Angela Connell Diaz, and they got hitched before the cyber scandal unfolded.

Our sources tell us Ian and Amy secretly married in 2020 ... before he was sentenced to prison. We're also told Ian's fathered children with Amy ... although it's unclear if that happened when they dated initially or since they got married.

Newsmax TV personality Greta Van Susteren claims to have bombshell evidence about how the FBI allegedly bungled the Natalee Holloway case, which resulted in another high-profile murder.

In her Substack on Wednesday, Greta says she obtained more than 1,000 Holloway case documents that allegedly show how Stephany Flores' murder was connected to the Holloway case.

Essentially, Greta argues the feds bungled the arrest of then-suspect Joran van der Sloot in 2010 during a sting operation in Alabama after he collected $25,000 from the Holloway family to tell them where Natalee's remains were.

Ian Diaz may be locked out of Netflix in prison ... but he's heard all about "A Toxic Love Story" ... and TMZ has learned he thinks the doc got him all wrong.

Sources connected to Ian tell TMZ ... he doesn't have access to the electronics needed to watch it, though people have filled him in, and he's disappointed but hardly shocked the film didn't take his side.

Ian maintains he had nothing to do with the emails used to frame his ex-fiancée, Michelle Hadley ... and believes his then-wife, Angela Diaz, acted alone. Sources note Angela pleaded guilty and never implicated him.

Ian Diaz from Netflix's "A Toxic Love Story" is making moves to try and get out of prison ... and he's throwing his former lawyer under the bus in the process.

TMZ obtained a petition Ian filed, in which he argues his 10-year prison sentence should be vacated due to ineffective counsel at his trial. 

Ian claims his former attorney failed to file appropriate paperwork to challenge the government's claims, failed to gather evidence, accept evidence provided to them, and various other things. 

Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband is making an unusual plea to the judge in her upcoming murder case ... he doesn't want pictures of his murdered children shown during her trial.

Patrick Clancy -- who discovered their 3 children dead in their Massachusetts home in January 2023 -- reportedly filed a motion this week begging the judge to not show crime scene pics or allow his 911 call to be played in court.

The trial is going to be televised ... and Patrick doesn't want those graphic details being blasted out into the ether.

7/24/2026 10:09 AM PT -- TMZ obtained audio from an emergency call where one of Nolan's friends claimed their boat was sinking ... and they sounded panicked.

One of the guys who was with Nolan Wells on Horn Island is going back to the Mississippi beach where he was last seen alive -- and where his body washed up -- and video sets the scene.

YouTuber Brandon Tatum headed out to Horn Island with one of Nolan's best friends, Warren Hudson ... and they anchored their boat and waded ashore in the exact spot where Nolan was hanging out on Fourth of July.

They pan the camera around and show the island -- there are a few other boats there on a Monday afternoon -- and Tatum and Hudson push back on folks who think this was some "secluded" island where Nolan went to party with his friends and no one else.

Mackenzie Shirilla is trying to breathe new life into her latest appeal ... but Ohio prosecutors say she's merely recycling arguments the court already rejected.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office urges the Supreme Court of Ohio to deny Shirilla's motion for reconsideration ... arguing she has not raised a single new issue warranting another look at her case.

Prosecutors acknowledge reconsideration can be used to correct a decision later deemed erroneous ... but say it is not available when someone simply reargues their case.

Nancy Grace is diving into the Nolan Wells death investigation ... and she's not convinced this is a drowning ... raising concerns about some suspicious allegations involving his cell phone.

Nancy had her first segment on Nolan on her 'Crime Stories' show ... and she was particularly focused on his mother, Christine Wonsley, going on national TV and claiming his messages were deleted.

Nancy and her guest -- New York Post correspondent Caitlyn Becker -- said the alleged phone tampering was strange.

An Idaho woman charged with killing her 18-month-old twins and then blaming their deaths on vaccinations had a medical professional in her corner for a bond hearing ... but it didn't end up working.

Here's the deal ... Andrea Shaw faces two counts of first-degree murder after she allegedly suffocated her kids in May 2025 and then claimed they died due to adverse reactions to routine vaccinations.

According to reports, Shaw's bond was initially set at $2 million ... and her lawyer argued for a drastic reduction to $100K on Wednesday -- but the judge ended up revoking her bond entirely.

The Nolan Wells police probe will not be rushed, as investigators are now working with prosecutors to figure out what exactly happened in the mysterious death of the teen ... this according to the Mississippi sheriff in charge of the case.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter told ABC News on Monday that it's essential for his investigators not to be put on a timetable and rushed by people who are clamoring for answers.

Ledbetter also called for anyone with information to provide it to his investigators so they can get to the bottom of the puzzling case.

The parents of Nolan Wells want a thorough investigation after their teenage son was found dead following a boating trip to a Fourth of July party spot.

Christine and Elmore Wonsley went on "Good Morning America" Friday and told host Michael Strahan they have a lot of questions and are demanding answers in a case that has captivated the nation.

As TMZ reported, Nolan's body was found Monday after he disappeared during a Fourth of July trip to Horn Island in Mississippi.

Mackenzie Shirilla was under review by Ohio prison authorities after a glammed-up picture of the convicted killer in prison recently appeared on Instagram, but she won't face any punishment, TMZ has learned.

Shirilla, who shot to infamy with her Netflix documentary "The Crash," apparently sent the dolled-up photo of herself from Ohio Reformatory for Women to a family member through a tablet called ViaPeth, which is used by inmates to stay connected to loved ones, according to JoEllen Smith, chief spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. 

Smith said the Office of Victim Services and the Office of the Chief Inspector reviewed the matter and determined that Shirilla did not post the pic herself because "Incarcerated individuals do not have access to social media platforms on the ViaPath tablets."

Courtney Clenney says she wasn't staying silent after allegedly catching beatings from boyfriend Christian Obumseli ... she was texting him about them ... and now she wants to use the messages in her criminal trial, in which she's accused of murdering him.

New court documents, obtained by TMZ, reveal the OnlyFans model wants to introduce a string of text messages backing up her claims she endured repeated abuse before fatally stabbing Obumseli in their Miami high-rise apartment in 2022.

According to the filing, one exchange came after Clenney claimed Obumseli punched her in the face in April 2021. Her attorneys say she immediately fired off a text accusing him of hitting her "in my face as hard as you could" ... while Obumseli allegedly brushed it off, responding he was only trying to move her hand and "really didn't mean to."

Clenney argues the messages show a pattern of him minimizing what allegedly happened.