Dateline NBC - A grandmother's trial is set to start. An international fugitive faces a jury. And digital go bags.

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

After more than a decade, Donna Adelson, the matriarch of a prominent Florida family, is about to go on trial for murder. International fugitive Nicholas Rossi stands trial in a Utah courtroom after allegedly faking his death to avoid prosecution for rape charges. In Dateline Round Up, we've got a verdict, a surprise guilty plea, and the latest on Alex Murdaugh's appeal. And 2025 has been a year of natural disasters — do you have your digital go bag packed? We break down what you need to know.Find out more about the cases covered each week here: www.datelinetruecrimeweekly.comTo learn more about Dateline LIVE in Nashville on Sept. 28, and to get tickets, go here: https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline-eventTo listen to Andrea’s episode on Nicholas Rossi, “The Man of Many Faces,” go here: https://apple.co/3VDNusv

Hey, good morning. It's the start of another workday here at 30 Rockefeller Center. A few new updates in the investigation here. The Dateline team is catching up on breaking crime news. Her other husband was accused of killing his first wife. There's another trial too, right? He's been communicating with us sporadically from the jail. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly.

I'm Andrea Canning. It's August 14th, and here's what's on our docket. In Utah, a verdict in the trial of a man prosecutors say faked his own death and fled across the Atlantic Ocean to escape justice. He was in Scotland when I interviewed him in one of the more unusual interviews of my time here at Dateline. Andrea, I am not Nicholas Allen Farrony, and I do not know how to make this clear. In Dateline Roundup, the latest on Alec Murdoch's fight to overturn his conviction.

and dramatic endings for trials we've been following in Wisconsin and Iowa. The reading of any verdict, everyone is on pins and needles, and this courtroom was no different. Plus, staying safe in a natural disaster. We've got tips on how to make a digital go-bag with everything you'd need in an emergency. Should something, let's say, happen to your home and you can never go back, you want to have these documents with you. But before all that, we're taking you to a courthouse in Tallahassee, where after more than a decade, the matriarch of a family of Florida dentists is about to go on trial for murder. In July 2014, respected FSU law professor Dan Markell was shot twice in the head as he pulled his car into the garage of his house. A years-long investigation by police

and the FBI uncovered a sprawling murder-for-hire plot, which they say was orchestrated in part by none other than Dan's former mother-in-law, Donna Adelson. Next week, after several courtroom delays, Donna will finally face a jury. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation. Dateline producer Brad Davis, who has been covering this case from the beginning, is here to tell us what to watch out for in the weeks ahead. Brad, thanks so much for joining us. Glad to be here. Okay, so, Brad, tell us about the Adelson family. Who are they? And how did Dan Markell fit into the family? Yeah, the Adelson's were a wealthy family based in South Florida in the Miami area. The dad and the family, Harvey, was a successful

dentist. He's married to Donna and she ran his office. And then they had three kids, two sons, Charlie and Rob and a daughter, Wendy, who was a lawyer. Dan Markell was married to Wendy and the couple had two children together. And they were living in Tallahassee, Florida, where he taught at FSU as a law professor. They got a divorce and it turned into a really awful, gruesome custody battle. And so according to prosecutors, Brad, Donna firmly took her daughter's side in this divorce, this custody battle. Yeah. There are a number of emails between Donna and her daughter, Wendy, where Donna was saying, you know, you've got to fight this guy. Donna was determined to get those kids to live down there in Miami close to her. But Dan needed to stay in Tallahassee. So that was, you know, some of the court was not going to allow. And she just kept on hammering Wendy that she's got to fight him and do everything. can and use very harsh language to do that.

Is the custody battle, then, what prosecutors are alleging was the motive behind this murder plot? Yeah, it really revolves around that, and there are some other characters in this who are really key to it all. What we know from the investigation is that Charlie, the brother, enlisted the help of his girlfriend at the time, this woman named Catherine McBanowa, recruited two other men to do the hit. One was the father for children, this man named Sigrado Garcia, and another man who was

alleged to be a member of the Latin Kings, the gang. His name was Lewis Rivera. They're all in prison now. McBanwa and one of the hitmen, Garcia, were both convicted of first-degree murder trial, and Rivera took a plea deal. And then the most recent trial was Charlie Adelson himself, who was convicted of murder along with solicitation and conspiracy to commit murder. Wow, this is so convoluted and unbelievable that all these people, you know, would be involved in this. And now it's Donna's turn. What evidence does the prosecution have, again, against her. The case is largely circumstantial. You know, she wasn't a hit person, but the real key to their case, or at least one of them, is this conversation that Donna had that was caught

on tape. The prosecutors say this proves that she was involved and that there's consciousness of guilt here on her part. Brad, you mentioned the audio. Yeah. The FBI, they set up this sting operation. They call it a bump where the undercover agent comes in. He's like, you know, just in disguise. and he is posing as a blackmailer who claims to sort of know Luis Rivera, one of the guys who's in prison by that point for this crime. And he confronts Donna on the street and threatens to expose her and Charlie as being involved in the murder. And the FBI, by this point, we're tapping Donna and Charlie's phones. And so immediately after this bump, Donna calls Charlie Edelson, her son.

I've got some paperwork hand delivered to me. You're being sued? No, that's what I thought it was, but I'm going to need to talk to you. Okay. Does it involve me or other people? Well, probably the two of us. So you probably have a general idea what I'm talking about. The prosecution says that, you know, her saying that, it's like, okay, then you were involved.

You were implicating yourself, you know. Yeah, that's tough, though, you know, because to prove that, yes, they were absolutely talking about a murder. I mean, that's difficult. It is, it is tough. And, yeah, the jury has to weigh that and decide. Investigators say there was another call between Donna and Charlie after Charlie's conviction that got their attention? Yeah. One of the interesting things of this case is that Donna and Charlie Edelson speak a lot together on the phone.

And when he was convicted, she got on the phone with him. She says, you know, that she and her husband had been looking to fleeing to a country without an extra. Tradition Treaty, that they would be leaving the country. It's 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. So the prosecution looks at this and they say, hey, they're seriously talking about fleeing the country. And this could be our last opportunity to arrest Don Adelson.

And so they go to the Miami airport, the FBI, and arrest her as her husband is standing there, while they're right about to get on a plane flying to initially Dubai. and then eventually to Vietnam. They had one-way tickets. And she has said that they were going, this was a vacation and so forth. And it's like, well, maybe so, but that's going to be a big hurdle for the defense.

And Donna's lawyer asked the judge to exclude it from the evidence the jury will hear at the trial. How did the judge rule on that? On Friday, they had a final pretrial hearing in the case where a number of logistical issues were settled. And he said, no, the jury can hear it and decide for themselves. Another piece of big news out of that hearing, the defense seems to be leaning toward Donna taking the stand, just like her son Charlie did.

Yeah, I mean, that was certainly news. It looks like, I mean, unless something changes, which it could, that she will be testifying in her own defense, which will be really interesting to watch. So Donna's lawyer says that she's planning to testify about her fear of the Latin Kings gang. Yeah, that's one of the things that she talks about. Her defense makes the case that her demeanor on the phone calls, and especially after the bump, the FBI sting operation, that this is showing that she was very afraid because she knows that this man is connected to the Latin Kings. And that's been a big issue. The prosecution doesn't want the Latin Kings to be mentioned because they don't want it to be prejudicial against their witness, Luis Rivera, who's going to testify. Okay, so broad jury selection is scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Yeah. The judge is saying, he said in this last hearing, that there are about 300 prospective jurors could take two or three days. That's about how long it's taken for these previous trials. Brad, anything you expect to be different this time? I mean, this is now the fourth trial in this case. Yeah. What's interesting, this will be the first time we hear from Rob Adelson, who is the other son, who is basically estranged from the family, from his parents and his sister Wendy. Charlie is on the witness list, too. may testify for the prosecution, which will be interesting if it happens. I'm skeptical, if he will, just because he's got an appeal pending still. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. Quite the saga, Brad. Thank you for bringing us this story. And we'll look forward to more updates once you get into the courtroom. Yep, you'll be hearing from me. coming up after an international manhunt nicholas rossi aka nicholas alaverdian aka arthur knight stands trial in a utah courtroom

in a utah court room in december 2021 scottish authorities swarmed the intensive care unit of a glasgow hospital They were looking for a patient they suspected of being an American fugitive, Nicholas Rossi, also known as Nicholas Alivertian, was wanted back in the United States on rape and fraud charges. The patient told authorities they had the wrong man. He spoke in a British accent and said he was an Irish citizen, a law-abiding businessman, named Arthur Knight. And that's what he told me in one of the most memorable interviews of my career. I asked if he wouldn't mind removing the oxygen mask. was wearing so I could see his face for myself. He refused. What do you say to someone who believes that you are Nicholas Aliberdi? I am not, Andrea. I am not Nicholas Alavirdi. And I do not know how to make this clear. Did you sexually assault anyone? Did you kidnap anyone? Did you defraud anyone? What? No, no, no, no. And no, no.

Investigators didn't buy it and neither did a Scottish judge. In January 2024, he was extradited back to the U.S. And this week, he appeared in court in Salt Lake City for the first of two sexual assault trials he's scheduled to face this year. Dateline producer Lynn Keller and I have been tracking Nicholas Rossi for years. She joins us now to Phyllisand. Hey, Lynn. Hi, Andrea. So what is Nicholas Rossi going by for this trial as far as names go? Well, he tried to get the court.

court to allow him to go by Arthur Knight, but the judge rules know you're going to have to go by Nicholas Rossi because that's how you were charged. Nicholas Rossi pleaded not guilty to all the criminal charges against him. And before we get into the case, remind everyone about Rossi's backstory land. Who is he and what we've uncovered, you know, reporting on him for the last five years? He was born Nicholas Alvaridian in a town outside of Providence, Rhode Island. his mom remarried, and that man adopted Nicholas, and that's how he became Nicholas Rossi. His mom ended up putting him in foster care when he was 12. And when he was in foster care, he claimed that he had been assaulted and abused. But also, he got a job as a page at the

Rhode Island State House, and he was really good at it. Like, people thought he was super smart. He spent a lot of time. He knew the laws. And he then took it upon. himself to start advocating for change in the foster care system. People were really impressed by him, but by the time Rossi was 21, he was getting into trouble with the law. Right. He moved to Ohio and he was going to college and he met a woman. He met her on the college campus. And then he said, well, can I just walk you to class? And she's like, okay, her classroom was in the basement. And she said as they got to the bottom of the stairs, he sexually assaulted her. And this was back in 2008, and Nicholas ended up getting convicted of public indecency and sexual imposition.

He got a fine and was put on a sex offender registry. A few months after that, according to prosecutors, they allege that Rossi raped two women in Utah. And those rape accusations are why he's currently facing criminal charges in Utah. Yes. Both women claim he raped them and both say that he took more. money from that. This has taken a really long time to go to trial, and we could talk for days on why it's taken so long to get to trial, but try to break it down for us as best you can, Lynn. Both rape charges were filed recently, fairly recently. The alleged victim in the trial that's happening right now, she says she recognized Rossi as her attacker from a post on Facebook

that a news outlet had put up in January of 2022. And the other victim, she did complete a rape kit the day after the assault in 2008. However, that rape kit wasn't tested until 2017 because of a backlog of testing rape kits. And then when they did that test, they got a match. Rossi's DNA from the sexual assault in Ohio at the college matched the woman in Utah. And by then, he was living in the UK. Let's not forget he also faked his own death in 2020. Prosecutors say that was an attempt to throw investigators off his trail.

But Rossi says he did it because someone was threatening his life. So, Lynn, take us into the courtroom this week. How did he appear? He's always been a very dapper dresser, very fancy. He had on a black suit. It seemed understated. He was in a wheelchair. And instead of an oxygen mask, he had,

the oxygen that just goes into your nostrils. And we heard him ask his defense attorney if she thought he had lost weight. From all the people that we spoke to, he's always been concerned about his appearance. What were the main points of the prosecution's opening statement? They put it out there right from the start to let the jury know that, yes, we know that this is an old case. But this woman, she's never forgotten. What did the defense focus on in their opening statement. The defense opening was that, you know, you get an old puzzle, they're going to be pieces missing. And she was saying that that's the same with this case, that there are pieces missing. She says that what really happened is that this woman, she sees Nick on the news,

and she's like, oh, that's that guy who ripped me off, who was terrible to me. And then she adds on the part about the rape. Lynn, the alleged victim, she testified. Yes. And she was sick. And so her voice was very hoarse, but she was very clear in all her answers. She talked about how she decided to go on Craigslist, and that's how she met Nicholas Rossi. His ad said, a cultured, artistic, scarf-wearing bibliophile seeks female counterpart. They'd only been dating for two weeks before he asked her to marry him, which, Andrea, you know, when we interviewed his wife, remember the same thing? He's racing down the aisle to get married, yes. And she said he was constantly borrowing money from her. She said he made her fill out a credit application to buy the

wedding rings, one for each of them, which, of course, put her in debt. And then his behavior changed. She said he became controlling and critical. So two weeks after they got engaged, she told him she wanted to break up, he got angry, and she says, raped her at his apartment on his twin bed. She said she didn't file a police report. She tried to, in her words on the stand, wean Nick off talking to her. But then she filed a claim in small claims court over the ring debt. Lynn, what's so interesting is that the other alleged victim whose trial has not started, the second trial, she actually testified in this alleged victim's trial. Yes. And what I find the most telling is how incredibly similar the cases are, where they say, he's taking money from them,

they're going to break up. He gets very angry, and that's when they say he rapes them. We didn't get to hear from Nicholas Rossi himself in this trial. He decided not to testify. And the jury came back with a verdict after less than a day of deliberation. They found him guilty of rape. And we expect to see Rossi back in court, Lynn, for his second rape trial? He is scheduled to begin in September, so we will be watching. Thank you, Lynn. Yes, and it continues. If you want to check out our episode on this story, The Man of Many Faces, you can stream it on Peacock or listen to it at the link in our episode description. Up next, it's time for Dateline Roundup, a verdict in the trial of the Wisconsin man accused of killing his neighbors and their dog 30 years ago.

Plus, you've probably heard what to pack in a physical go bag when disaster strikes, but what about a digital go bag? Welcome back. Joining us for this week's roundup is Dateline producer Marissa Meyer. Thanks for coming back on the show, Marissa. Thank you for having me, Andrea. To kick off, we're headed to Wisconsin, where we've got a huge update in a trial we first talked about a few weeks ago. Marissa, this is the case of Tony Hayes, who was on trial for an alleged 30-year-old double murder. Give us first a quick recap.

So Hayes was accused of killing Tanna Togsted and her boyfriend Tim Mumbru, as well as Tanna's dog, by stabbing them in the middle of the night at Tana's house in 1992. This case went cold for decades. What led police to make an arrest all these years later? Well, when investigators picked the case back up, they zeroed in on Hayes as a possible suspect. They obtained his DNA to traffic stop in 2022. that DNA sample ended up being a match to DNA found on Tanna's body. When police eventually questioned Hayes about the crime, he confessed.

The defense pushed back hard on Hayes' alleged confession saying it was false. They also questioned the reliability of the DNA evidence. Marissa, what else did they have to tell the jury to bolster their case? They suggested an alternate suspect, and they pointed to Hayes' uncle, who was investigated as part of the case. case but was never charged with the crime. And he died by suicide in 1995. The jury deliberated for four days. Here is the judge reading what the jury decided. We, the jury, find the defendant, Tony Garrett Hayes, not guilty. Describe the moment in court for us, Marissa. The gallery was full of supporters for both victims, but Hayes had a lot of family sitting on his

side of the aisle, too. And when the judge read the verdict, the victim side, it felt like they were struck with disbelief. Some of them were even sobbing. But on Hayes' side, his family was, of course, embracing over this verdict. And Hayes' attorney spoke with our NBC affiliate, WGBA, after the verdict. From the very moment that I met him and Nicole met him and our team did, we were 100% convinced of his innocence. And that has never wavered. Our next story takes us to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where another murder trial we've been watching came to an abrupt end this week.

Marissa, bring us up to speed on that. So, Andrea, this is the case of Iowa farmer Ryan Cooper, who was shot at his house in 2021. Prosecutors accused his wife, Karina, and her then lover, Houston Danker, of plotting to murder him. Both of them were charged with first-degree murder. Karina was found guilty at her trial last month, and then this week, Danker, was set to go on trial. Okay, but that came to an abrupt halt? Yes, it did.

Danker decided to plead guilty. And according to a statement, his defense attorney gave the local paper, he wanted to spare his family, the Cooper family, and the community, the ordeal of a trial. Danker and Karina haven't been sentenced yet, but the judge won't have much discretion because first-degree murder has a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. in this date. Okay, for our final story, we've got an update in a case we haven't talked about in a while, the Alec Murdoch case. He is the former lawyer who was convicted of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul at a blockbuster trial in South Carolina two years ago. So what is new there, Marissa? Everyone always seems to be following this case. Murdoch filed an appeal with the South Carolina Supreme Court in December 24. This week, the Attorney General final submitted his response, and Murdoch is claiming that he did not get a fair trial, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, because he believes the judge made a mistake by allowing prosecutors to present evidence of his financial crimes. And secondly, that improper comments were made by the

clerk of court, Becky Hill, which might have swayed jurors to convict him. Hill is facing her own criminal charges for perjury and misconduct for those allegations. We should say Hill has denied having any improper contact with the jury, but at least one juror told the judge during a fact-checking hearing that Hill's alleged behavior did impact her. Did you hear Ms. Becky Hill make any comment about this case before your verdict? Yes, ma'am. Was your verdict influenced in any way by the communications of the clerk of court in this case?

Yes, ma'am. So, Marissa, what is the Attorney General saying in his response to Murdoch's appeal? The Attorney General is really doubling down. They said that Murdoch is obviously guilty and that all of the evidence, including information about Murdoch's financial crimes, were properly admitted. As for Hill's comments to the jury, the AG says they were foolish and fleeting, but comments aren't the same as jury tampering. Now we just wait on the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision. Thank you for all this news, Marissa. Thank you, Andrea. We talk a lot about staying safe on the podcast and what you can do to protect yourself

from scammers or other kinds of criminals. But what can you do when you're at risk from mother nature? You've probably heard tips about packing food, water, medicine if you're forced to flee your home. But what about things that aren't so easy to grab, like documents, IDs, and personal information? My next guest, Evie Pompuris is a former secret service agent and personal safety expert. She's here to help us put together a digital go bag. Welcome back, Evie. Hello.

So, Evie, when we're thinking about preparing for an emergency, what kinds of documents should people be including to make sure that they are truly prepared? There are certain things that you want to carry with you because they're vital documents should something, let's say, happen to your home and you can never go back. You want to have these documents with you. Birth certificate, driver's license. Passport, a marriage license, or marriage certificate, your social security card, wills, or deeds.

Now, you can't keep these documents in your go bag. So there's two things you can do. You can scan them, make a copy, and keep physical copies. But the next best thing, you can store this on some type of flash drive, USB, USBC, any type of drive. That way, you can take it with you wherever you go. And should you need those documents? Because, again, if you're in emergency, it's very likely. you might need these documents as proof of who you are, your identity, if you're trying to access

something, you have these with you. And even if you need to replace them, it's easier. And Evie, some people may not like this idea, but you can also take photos on your phone if you don't want to have that drive. You know, it's interesting. When it's on your phone, sometimes it gets stored into a cloud or then it appears on other devices. Having things on a cloud, you just have to be extremely careful that you've got really strong passwords and security systems because loud get hacked. So that's why I like this physical thing. You're also making an assumption that you'll have access to Wi-Fi or internet when you need this stuff. Meanwhile, you can just plug this in and it's there. Another great thing people can do is take video of things in

your house. Because if you're doing an insurance claim later, one of the things you have to deal with is, well, how do we know you had that big screen TV? How do we know you had that stereo system? You could show them as proof because it's got the date and timestamp on it, right? It's got that metadata on it. I actually had to do that on 9-11 and I actually had an office in the World Trade Center. So I had to make a list of all the items that I lost. I remember sitting trying to remember what did I have? What was it worth? So this is another great thing for you to have should the unthinkable happen. Yeah, absolutely. And something that is really critical is having a list of emergency contacts. You know, this is where you go old school. You should write phone numbers down. Let's say you leave and you don't have your cell phone, right? How many of us memorize phone numbers right now?

No. And it's really especially important for little kids, too. Have them memorize phone numbers. You know, we always presume we will always be there with our family and loved ones. but what if we're not there? We're just being proactive. I have to tell you, being a former U.S. Secret Service agent, the majority of what we did, it was all proactive. Security and protection, it's what you do before. Evie, this has been so incredibly helpful.

Thank you so much for coming back on the podcast. Thank you for having me. And for anyone who's ever wondered what they do in the event of a natural disaster or catastrophe, check out the new docu series Survival Mode from our colleagues at NBC. D.C. News Studios. Everything I did was to stay alive. This is a dangerous situation. Our house was gone. We got to run. I'd love to say thank you for saving my life. The series shares harrowing stories from the perspective of those who took extreme measures to survive. Survival mode airs on Monday nights at 10-9 Central and begins streaming on Peacock the next day.

That's it for this episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly. To get ad-free listening for all of our Podcasts, subscribe to Dateline premium. Coming up this Friday on Dateline, Josh has a classic episode. When Cal Poly freshman Kristen's smart vanished during Memorial Day weekend in 1996, her friends and family were left without answers or justice for over 25 years, until a podcast brought Kristen's case back into the national spotlight. You don't give up? You don't give up? No. You can't. Watch Justice for Kristen Smart this Friday at 9-8 Central. And one last thing we want to mention before we go, Dateline is hitting the road next month,

and we want you to join us. On Sunday, September 28th, the whole team will be in Nashville for Dateline live. It's a first-of-a-kind event featuring on-stage panels, audience Q&As, and a VIP reception. Tickets are on sale now at Datelinenbc.com slash event. You can also find a link in the description of this episode. Thanks for listening. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Frannie Kelly and Katie Ferguson.

Our associate producers are Carson Cummins and Caroline Casey. Our senior producer is Liz Brown-Korloff. Production and fact-checking help by Georgina DiNardo, Terry Dickerson, and Mackenzie Matwick. Veronica Mizaka is our digital producer. Rick Kwan is our sound designer. Original music by Jesse McGinty. Bryson Barnes is head of audio production. Paul Ryan is executive producer and Liz Cole is senior executive producer.

producer of Dateline. Anything else? Okay, see you soon.