Netflix true crime alert: Angi: Fake Life, True Crime

After watching a true crime documentary, one question often lingers: how did it ever get this far? The new Spanish Netflix hit ‘Angi: Fake Life, True Crime’ is certainly no exception. What starts with the discovery of a body turns into a web full of lies and false identities. Spanish media spoke of the perfect crime, but Angi was eventually caught.

Everything begins with the death of Ana Páez

It is February 19, 2008, when the lifeless body of 35-year-old fashion designer Ana Páez is found in a rental apartment in Barcelona. She is naked and a plastic bag is taped over her head with duct tape. Police find sperm samples from two different men on her body. All clues point to a rape with deadly consequences, or a sexual fantasy gone wrong. But the officers are not entirely sure. A black wig is also found near Ana's body, with a real hair that does not belong to the victim. Notably, just before her death, 600 euros were withdrawn from her account. Bank surveillance footage is checked, leading to a breakthrough. It is not Ana who made the withdrawal, but her friend María Ángeles Molina, better known as Angi, wearing the black wig. According to the police, it can only mean that she has something to do with the death.

This is how Angi tried to falsify the evidence

Angi denies any involvement in Ana's death. It couldn't have been her, as she claims she drove to Zaragoza that day to collect her mother's ashes. However, she changes that alibi several times afterward. The officers discover that her statements do not add up at all and that the real story is very different. Angi staged the assault by paying two male sex workers for sperm samples, which she then left at the crime scene. Using narcotics, she made Ana unconscious, only to strangle her afterward. The murder seemed to come out of nowhere for the victim's family, but that also turned out not to be the case.

The bigger plan: what Angi was really planning

The further the investigation progressed, the more evidence the police found that Ana's death was not an isolated incident. The 600 euros at the bank was not the only time Angi impersonated her friend to get money. In reality, she had been working for months to take out various life insurance policies in Ana's name, so she could assume her identity and collect the . Women hide a purchase twice as often as men. The frontrunners in the list are women up to 29 years old. Certainly, a quarter of them has bought something without telling her boyfriend. Oops. Shhh. Can this fact remain a secret too? Thanks. Best regards from me and my YSL bag. . That Angi was very focused on wealth and status was well known in her circle. But that jealousy for Ana's luxurious life would go this far was unexpected. No matter how detailed her plan was, it ultimately failed to mislead the detectives. Angi was sentenced to 22 years in prison; 18 for murder and another 4 for fraud.

An old case resurfaces

The conviction also caught the attention of the family of Juan Antonio Álvarez Litben, Angi's husband who died under suspicious circumstances in 1996. According to the investigation at the time, it was either an accident or suicide, although there was no convincing evidence for either; it could not have been a crime. After the revelations about Angi's double life, Juan's family believed she must have had something to do with his death. After much insistence, the case was reopened, revealing that significant mistakes had been made and important clues had been missed. But despite all the new information, the judge still deemed it insufficient, and the case remained unsolved.

Where is Angi now?

Angi is still incarcerated in the Mas D’Enric prison in the Spanish province of Tarragona. She was actually eligible for release in 2027, but that is now uncertain. In March 2025, Angi was arrested again during her leave. She is suspected of planning a new murder from prison. Who the victim would be is unknown, but she is said to be in contact with hitmen. The investigation is still ongoing, but she will likely have to forget about early release.

Why Angi tried to block the Netflix doc

The documentary was originally set to be released in May on Netflix, but that release was blocked. Angi made this request herself, claiming that certain footage was used without permission. The judge agreed with her and imposed a ban on the premiere. The creators did not stop there; they were determined to bring Angi's story to light. Some scenes were removed, making everything legally compliant again. A major announcement did not follow, but the doc was still released. So it was a close call, but ‘Angi: Fake Life, True Crime’ is now available on Netflix.

Source: Time Magazine, El Confidencial, Business Insider | Image: Netflix