Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Donna Adelson Faces Trial in Twisted Murder of Law Professor Dan Markel

Episode Date: September 16, 2024

The trial for Donna Adelson, the grandmother accused of being part of the plot to murder her ex-son-in-law, Dan Markel, will begin in Tallahassee this week. Markel was a professor of law at Florida State University. Prosecutors say Donna Adelson and her son, Charlie Adelson, planned to murder Markel so Donna's grandchildren could move closer to her in Miami. Many questions remain including whether Markel's ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, knew about the plot. She denies any involvement. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy looks at the case and what to expect at trial in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime. PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/LCSidebarHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Ten months after her arrest at an airport as she tried to board a plane for Vietnam, Donna Adelson's trial for the murder of her ex-son-in-law, Dan Markell, is set to begin. It's the thing I'm the most proudest of. He was a great father. I look at what we can expect as the Adelson family matriarch prepares for the fight of her life. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Donna Adelson is a woman who's not used to sitting in jail. And you can tell when you watch her in court, she doesn't like it one bit. Who would?

She wants a speedy trial and she's getting one for her alleged role in the plot to murder her ex-son-in-law, Florida State University law professor Dan Markell. Now this trial for prosecutors and Dan Markell's family has been more than 10 years in the making. Markell was called Danny by his friends and family and he was loved. First of all, he's Canadian, and nobody really knows that he's Canadian. But he always wanted to go to Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. And he ended up, he went to Harvard undergrad. And later on, he went and he took a year off and he went to Cambridge, England. And one year he studied also in Israel. And then he came back, he did Harvard Law School, and then he clerked, and then he worked in Washington. So that was his first job. But of all his accomplishments, the thing I'm the most proudest of, he was a great father.

And he always attended his children's day center and would go there early in the morning and have breakfast with them on many occasions. He had very strong interest in Jewish life and the Jewish community. He was very, very family oriented and always planned a long visit back to Canada or Israel for that matter, every year, several times. This case has had a lot of twists and turns. So let's go back to the beginning. On July 19th, 2014, Dan Markell dropped his two young sons off at preschool in Tallahassee, and he went to the gym as he usually did. When he pulled into his driveway after working out, he was executed. This was unusual. A law professor gunned down in his driveway at his home? Who would do such a thing?

Well, police started investigating and immediately spoke to Dan Markell's ex-wife, Wendy Adelson. Your husband, your ex-husband, excuse me, Daniel, has been taken to the hospital. He's not going to survive. We cover a lot of terrible stories here on Crime Fix, like the murder of Dan Markell, but we're able to cover these and tell you about them because of sponsors like Morgan & Morgan. Morgan & Morgan is a law firm that can help you if you're ever hurt in an accident. Morgan & Morgan has more than a thousand lawyers

working for the firm who are ready to fight for you and to stand up for your rights. Starting a claim is easy and it can be done in eight clicks or less using your smartphone. And you only pay Morgan & Morgan if you win. You can't beat that. So give it a try. Log on to forthepeople.com slash lccrimefix to start your claim in eight clicks or less. It turned out Dan Markell and Wendy Adelson were in a bitter custody battle. Wendy wanted to move to Miami with their two sons, and Dan was not having it. Prosecutors would later say that Wendy's family, particularly her mother, Donna Adelson, hated Dan Markell. Do you think someone would do this for your benefit without asking you?

No. What good does it deserve? I made my brother, his name is Charlie, the one I'm really close to, he makes a lot of jokes in that taste. And it was a joke he made. He bought the TV for me this morning that got broken. And I was talking to him about whether it made sense to pay to fix it or whether I should get a new one. And it was always his joke that, like, he knew Danny treated me badly.

And it was always his joke. He said, I, you know, I looked into hiring a hitman and it was cheaper to get you this TV. So instead I got you this TV. I mean, he would never. Fast forward to 2016. In May, two Miami gang members, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, they were lifelong friends. They were charged with murdering Dan Markell. But why?

What did these two have against Dan Markell? Five months later, Katie Magbanwa, the mother of Sigfredo Garcia's children, was also arrested and charged for her part in the conspiracy to murder Dan Markell. Prosecutors would say that Katie Magbanwa was the connection between the two hitmen, Garcia and Rivera, and the Adelson family. Katie was dating Wendy Adelson's brother, Charlie Adelson, a successful periodontist. Luis Rivera pleaded guilty and testified against Garcia and Meg Banwa at their trial in 2019. Was money discussed as far as how you'd be compensated for this job? Yeah. Tell us about that. He was going to give me some money. He said, take a ride with me to Tallahassee and I'll give you some money. Did he say how much? At that moment, yeah, he did.

$35,000. All right. $35,000 what? $35,000. You were going to get $35,000 for this job? Yes, ma'am. All right. And did you have another conversation in the car on the way to Tallahassee? Yes, ma'am. How many trips did you make to Tallahassee? Like twice. All right, and were both trips with Mr. Garcia? Yes, ma'am. Was anybody else in the car on either of those trips? Not at all. All right, tell us about the conversation on the way to Tallahassee.

Was this the first trip or the second trip? This was the first trip. All right, tell us about that. We were just taking a ride up there. My concern, I thought we were going to go robbing. Say that again? My concern, I thought we were going to go robbing. You thought you were coming to Tallahassee to do a robbery?

Yes, ma'am. Did you assume that or did somebody tell you that? No, I assumed them like, you know, it was just a job. All right. So you knew it was a job in Tallahassee, and you assumed it was a robbery. Did you learn something additional about what it was on the way to Tallahassee? Yeah, on the way coming up, like halfway there, we just, he said we're going to have to kill the man. So you were going to have to kill the man?

Yeah. And what was the second part of what you said? For some kids. For some kids. All right. Anything else? What did that mean to you, kill the man for some kids? That's for a lady.

I guess the lady wanted her kids back. All right. So is this Garcia telling you this? Yeah. Sigfredo Garcia was found guilty, and the jury came back hung on Katie Magbanwa. She was convicted at a second trial in 2022. Then came the arrest of Charlie Adelson for his role in the conspiracy later that year, also in 2022. Charlie Adelson pleaded not guilty and went to trial in October of last year.

A review of Wendy Adelson's emails revealed that her mother, Donna Adelson, hated Dan Markell and was desperate to find a way for Wendy and her children, who were Donna Adelson's grandchildren, to be able to move to Miami. Donna Adelson suggests in these emails that y'all will hear about several ways that Wendy Adelson could threaten or bully Dan Markell into submission, into getting what she wanted him to do. Donna Adelson even suggested offering Dan Markell a $1 million bribe to allow the relocation and even said that this defendant, Charlie Adelson, would pay a third of that million dollar bribe to Dan Markell to make that happen. The evidence in this case will show that Donna Adelson's closest confidant was her son, the defendant. She and the defendant talked multiple times a day, every day. He was the person with whom she would constantly vent

and complain to about Wendy's situation. The defendant was also the person that Donna Adelson relied on to solve her problems. And this was a big, big problem for Donna Adelson. And she made it the defendant's problem to solve. Charlie Adelson's lawyer said he had nothing to do with this. The murder of Professor Markell was a tragedy. The world lost a brilliant legal mind. His family lost a son and a brother.

This community lost its sense of security and lost a good citizen. And his two boys, the nephews of Charlie Adelson, lost a loving father. You will see that Charlie Adelson

had nothing to do with the murder of Professor Markell. You will see that the state cannot come close to meeting its burden. Why? Because Charlie Adelson is innocent. Throughout Charlie Adelson's trial, evidence came out showing just how much Donna Adelson hated Dan Markell. Emails from Donna Adelson to Wendy Adelson showed that Donna called Dan gibbers and gave Wendy a plan of action to get under his skin. It included Wendy telling Dan she was going to have their sons baptized in the Catholic church. Dan Markell was a devout Jew. Now, as I told you

earlier, Wendy Adelson wanted to move those two sons that she shared with Dan Markell to Miami and Donna Adelson. She wanted that too. She wanted her grandsons near her, but Dan Markell was not allowing it at all. Wendy testified under an immunity agreement at Charlie's trial. What about the idea that you could try to threaten Dan to convert the kids to Christianity so that they can fit into the Bible Belt here in Tallahassee? Is that something your mom suggested in these emails? My mom did suggest that. Okay.

And specifically, this is on page 7 of the exhibit. Let gibbers know that your children will be baptized in the Catholic Church. Have a picture made of them in front of the church, all that kind of thing. That's what your mom suggested at one time? She did, yes. Okay, and did you do any of those things? No, I don't even think I responded to it.

Do you know whether the defendant, your brother Charlie, was supportive of the plan to convert them or pose as converting them to Christianity? I have no idea. I don't think he was particularly involved in this round of my mom's emails. On page 11 of the exhibit, there's an indication from your mom that Charlie at least has discussed this with her and maybe is somewhat supportive. Charlie brought up a good point when he said that Americans were dropped behind enemy lines during World War II wearing Nazi uniforms to get what they wanted. They had a job to get done and they did what they needed to do to accomplish it. You have a job to get done in a very short time frame to accomplish it. If you dressed your kids up in Hitler youth uniforms and brought them down here, I could care less if it was an act of defiance that would show Gibbers

that he's, all caps and bold, not in control. So it just seems like your mom was pretty extreme about this situation of getting you relocated. Can you agree with that? Yeah. All right. And Charlie was at least consulted on it or had offered some information about it. Well, that was my mom's rendition. So I don't know if that's what actually happened or that was her perception.

Also testifying at Charlie's trial, Catherine Magbenois, who changed her tune on her role in the plot to murder Dan Markell. Did you have a trial in your case? Yes, ma'am. Did you testify? Yes, ma'am. You testified on your own behalf? Yes, ma'am. All right. And when you testified, were you truthful with the jury? No, ma'am. I was not. Did you take the same oath that you just took today in your own trial? Yes, ma'am. What was your defense when you were tried? That I had nothing to do with it. All right. That we got it right in reference to Charlie Adelson,

and we got it right in reference to the killers, but you weren't in the middle. Yes, ma'am. Was that true? No, ma'am. It was not. Were you in the middle. Yes, ma'am. Was that true? No, ma'am, it was not. Were you in the middle? Yes, ma'am, I was. And didn't you also testify in the trial in which Sigfredo Garcia was convicted of murder? Yes, ma'am, I was. And what was his defense? That he had nothing to do with it. That we got it right in reference to Charlie Adelson,

and we got it right in reference to the killers, but he had nothing to do with it, right? Yes, ma'am. In objection, Your Honor, be overruled. Ms. Cavanaugh, make sure you use that in any questions. And was that defense truthful? No, ma'am, it was not. So, Sigfredo Garcia was involved. Yes, ma'am, it was not. So, Sigfredo Garcia was involved?

Yes, ma'am, he was. So why tell the truth now? I believe that the truth needed to come out now so that the family can get some type of closure. Why didn't the truth need to come out last year or the year before or the year before that? I was trying to defend myself. You were trying to get off? Yes, ma'am. Did you think you'd be successful in your trial with that defense?

I thought so. Prosecutors even played the encounter between undercover agents and Donna Adelson called the bump. It was all a setup. Excuse me, Mrs. Adelson? How you doing? Just wanted to give you this. Donna Adelson called the bump. It was all a setup. I want to let you know that my brother, he's incarcerated. He helped your family with this problem you guys had up north. And we want to make sure that he's going through some rough times. We want to make sure that you take care of what he's going through, the way you're taking care of Katie and Tudor.

Well, this will explain it. Thank you. The bump worked, according to law enforcement, and it led to a lot of phone calls between Donna Adelson and Charlie Adelson. They spoke in code a lot and police were listening. Charlie Adelson would claim they were discussing a double extortion plot. I want to go through some of that. You claim that you were extorted on July 18th, 2014 by Catherine Magbanua and also in the background, some Latin kings, probably Garcia and Rivera, right? Is that accurate? No, I wasn't extorted by Catherine Magbanua. You weren't? That's not what I believed in 2014. Okay, I'm sorry. I understood you to say you believe that today.

Today I do, yes. All right, so who extorted you? I believe that it was Catherine Magbanya's friend that she ran her mouth to. There was also a recording at the Dolce Vita restaurant where Katie Magbanwa and Charlie Adelson discussed the man in the bump who claimed to be a friend of Rivera's approaching Donna Adelson. In the end, the jury did not believe Charlie Adelson. In the circuit court of the Second Judicial Circuit in and for Leon County, Florida, the state of Florida versus Charles Adelson, case number 2016 CF 3036B verdict. Count one. We the jury find as follows as to count one of the indictments first degree murder. The defendant is guilty of first degree

murder. Jail phone calls following the verdict in Charlie's trial captured the shock from both Donna and Harvey Adelson. You can do breath control, please. But honestly, I was like, I don't know if I'm in shock. Yeah, you're in shock. We're all in shock. Yeah. Now, Donna Adelson on those calls is concerned that prosecutors are coming for her next. And they did. They moved quickly after Donna was caught

on a hot mic jail call. We've been looking it up over and over. If things change, if there is extradition from Vietnam. Because we've looked at all the places. I mean, I could go to Korea and China, but there's no extradition. But we're looking for places where there's no extradition. In the United States.

Who? Really? Good. Maybe she knows about, maybe she can look up the extradition issue before we waste our time. Donna Adelson was taken into custody as she and Harvey tried to board a plane for Vietnam just days after Charlie's trial. Donna Adelson has pleaded not guilty to the charges, alleging she was the mastermind in her son-in-law's murder. She's been in jail in Tallahassee since last November. Now, before she was arrested in Miami, she also had a phone call with her son, who's obviously in jail here. 25-minute phone call.. I personally listened to it. She very clearly spoke about a

plan to kill herself using sleeping pills. One moment, Ms. Adelson, please keep your comments to yourself. Let your lawyer argue on your behalf. Donna Adelson made references to suicide on jail calls, but whether or not she was serious is anyone's guess. But what is serious? Her trial is beginning in Tallahassee. Will she go with the double extortion plot as her defense? And will she testify? We're just going to have to wait and see. But she is being represented by Daniel Rashbaum, the same lawyer who represented Charlie Adelson, and Alex Morris, a local Tallahassee lawyer. And the same cast of characters will also testify. Luis Rivera, Catherine Magbanwa, Wendy Adelson, and Charlie Adelson

are all expected to take the stand. Now, a lot of people have wondered whether Wendy Adelson will ever face charges. Prosecutors won't say, but she's been given immunity in each trial in which she has testified, and she maintains she had nothing to do with this and neither did her family. Dan Markell's family will be watching and waiting for the outcome. We're moving at a pace that's fast considering we're waiting for nine years. And here's our real score here. I hate to put it that way. Well, I've done three trials, four convictions, and an arrest in this last little while. So it's been a very busy journey. The sad part of all this, of course, is there's two adolescent boys, Danny's boys, Benjamin and Lincoln, who are now 14 and 13, and probably really just learning about

most of the horrific situation. And Law and Crime will have Donna Adelson's trial covered for you. That's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.