Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Donna Adelson Murder for Hire Trial Day 6 | Crime Alert 6AM 08.27.25

Episode Date: August 27, 2025

Donna Adelson murder for hire trial day 6 recap. Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre's tell-all memoir. New York fashion model's face permanently disfigured after Germany train stabbing. Drew Nelson reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Drew Nelson. Donna Adelson's trial continues in Florida for planning the 2014 murder of her former son-in-law, Daniel Markle, a case that has already led to four convictions, including her son Charlie. Donna's trial continued Tuesday with key testimony from Catherine Magbanua, the woman already convicted as the go-between in the murder for hire plot. Magbanua told jurors, quote, Charlie would consult his mother and then come back and speak to you. Magbenua described Charlie as frantic and holding a gun after the shooting. She said she passed the money from Charlie to the hitman, who were paid in cash. She also confirmed Donna signed all her paychecks from the Adelson Institute after the murder. Assistant State Attorney Georgia Kaplanman walked the jury through text messages between Charlie and Magbenua and emails from Donna to Wendy. Minnie came from the shared email account Donna Harvey at gmail.com.

Sergeant Chris Corbett of TPD testified he believed Markle was under surveillance the day he was killed. Cell Tower and call frequency reports helped link the family to the hitman, Siegfriede Garcia, and Luis Rivera. Forensic accountant Mary Hull testified that Magbenua deposited over $26,000 in cash the year of the murder. She also noted that Garcia's banking information changed after the shooting, and both hitmen bought new cars. Donna signed Magbenua's paychecks, even though. though she never worked at the Adelson's dental clinic.

Donna's daughter, Wendy Adelson, testified under subpoena. She admitted calling Markle, quote, an emotional terrorist. She said Donna, quote, unquote, micromanaged her life. Wendy also confirmed Charlie joked about hiring a hitman, saying it was cheaper than a divorce. She denied knowing about the murder plot but said, quote, My mom thought my life in Tallahassee wasn't good. On the day of the killing, she drove near the crime scene but didn't stop or call Markle. Robert Adelson, Donna's estranged oldest son, says his mother, quote, ran the show and became angry and gleeful during Wendy's divorce. He said, quote, she had a complete lack of curiosity about who killed Markle. When he brought up the arrests of the hitman, Donna said, quote, I've got to go and hung up. That was their last conversation. Wendy's ex-boyfriend Jeffrey LaCasse said Wendy once told him, quote, the only way she'd ever be able to relocate is if something happened to Danny. He also testified, quote, last

summer, my brother looked into all options to take care of the Danny Markle problem, including hiring a hitman. He called the comment, quote, chilling. Former girlfriend of Charlie, Julie Umcinda, said Donna looked upset after the murder and once told her it felt like Markle was, quote, haunting her from the grave. Mchinda said Charlie became erratic during the investigation and believed his phone was being tapped. She also said she saw Charlie keep money in stapled bundles the same way the hitmen were paid. Former Adelson employee, Clarissa Spoltori, said Donna had access to patient records and that Magbanua was a patient before the murder. She said Donna never spoke badly of Markle to her. Tuesday ended with testimony from officers who outlined surveillance and photo records linking

the family to the plot. Court resumes this morning at 9 a.m. More crime and justice news after this. Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Joufrey has a posthumous memoir coming out this fall that promises to share disturbing new details of her abuse. Joufrey, who was once known as one of Epstein's most outspoken victims, was reported to have died by suicide in April at the age of 41. Family, friends, and her publishers said she had already finished the 400-page manuscript titled Nobody's Girl, a memoir of surviving abuse and fighting for justice. The book will be released on October 21st. She worked on it with journalist Amy Wallace and left

instructions that it was her, quote, heartfelt wish for the memoir to be published, quote, regardless of her circumstances. In an email, weeks before her death, she wrote, quote, it is imperative that the truth is understood and that the issues surrounding this topic are addressed, both for the sake of justice and awareness. The memoir describes her years as a teenager being trafficked by Epstein and Galane Maxwell, and it includes clear accusations against Great Britain's Prince Andrew. She sued Andrew in 2021. and reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022. Publisher Knopf says the book contains, quote,

intimate, disturbing, and heartbreaking new details about her time with Epstein, Maxwell, and their powerful friends. Publisher Jordan Pavlin called it, quote, the story of a fierce spirit struggling to break free. Joufrey first came to public attention in 2001 when a photo showed her as a teenager with Prince Andrew. She later described being recruited at Mara Lago by Maxwell, who hired her as a masseuse for Epstein. President Trump has recently said that Epstein had, quote, unquote, stolen Jufre from Mara Lago.

Maxwell has denied her claims. Jufre once said she made mistakes recalling some events, and in 2022, she dropped allegations against Attorney Alan Dershowitz. Jufre's book deal was reported in 2023 as being worth millions. The publisher says the memoir was fact-checked and legally vetted. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019, in what a officials called a suicide. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year prison term currently in minimum security. A New York model is left permanently disfigured after a horrifying stabbing on a tram in Germany while trying to protect two women from attackers. John Rudat, a paramedic and part-time model from Colony, New York, was in Dresden on Sunday

when two men began harassing women on the tram. Police say Rudat stepped in and one of the men slashed him across the face with a six-inch knife. The wound left him hospitalized with what they describe as deep facial injuries. The doctors say will scar him for life. The New York Post reports police arrested a 21-year-old Syrian migrant, released him within hours for lack of evidence, then re-arrested him today after new findings, after new evidence tied him to the stabbing. Dresden police said in a statement, quote, now that further investigation results are available, the 21-year-old Syrian who was briefly in police custody on August 24, 2025, is also under strong suspicion of having been involved in the knife attack on the American

and of having injured the victim with a dangerous object. Rudat posted on social from his hospital bed with his face wrapped in heavy bandages. Quote, if y'all didn't think Europe had an immigration problem, especially Germany, let me drop some knowledge on you. He added that one of his attackers was a known drug dealer and, quote, very popularly known here, especially by the police, and was righteously upset that he was released within 12 hours before being re-arrested. His brother Logan told the newspaper he was not surprised by his siblings' actions, quote, I would have been surprised if he hadn't stepped in. It's part of

his character. That's just the way we were raised. The U.S. Embassy in Berlin condemned the attack, quote, while courageously intervening to protect a fellow passenger, he was viciously attacked. We urge German authorities to swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice and punish them to the fullest extent permitted by law. Pictures showed blood and debris covering the floor of the tram after the attack. They showed the tissues used by passengers trying to help root at as he was bleeding. His modeling manager Taylor Kelsoe writes, quote, he tried to help two young women and one of the assailants slashed his face. This is a most heinous act of crime. John had just begun his career with us. We are devastated, but thankful he wasn't killed.

For the latest crime and justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With this crime alert, I'm Drew Nelson. This is an I-Heart podcast.