Dateline NBC - What's next for the Adelsons? A family murder plot in Utah. Plus, should defendants testify?

Episode Date: September 11, 2025

After just over three hours of deliberations, a Florida jury finds Donna Adelson guilty on all counts — but could more charges be coming in the case? In Utah, a woman is charged with killing her husband. Now, she's admitted to her role in the plot — and says her mother and brother were involved, too. Updates on the Burning Man murder and the Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own death. Plus, when should a defendant take the stand in their own defense?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-event

Hey, good morning. You're listening in to Dateline's morning meeting. That was quite the reaction in court. Our editorial team is catching up on breaking crime news. I find this case really very interesting. I spoke to the federal prosecutor yesterday. She actually called me to alert me to the plea deal. If we ever want to do a series on devilish dentists,

we're reaching critical masters this month, practically. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. September 11th, and here's what's on our docket. Family drama in a Utah courtroom as a woman who says she plotted with her mother and brother to murder her husband, learns her fate. She said that she was so very deeply sorry. She was fighting tears and said if she had the power to bring him back, she would. In Dateline Roundup, an update on the investigation into the recent mysterious murder at the Burning Man Arts Festival.

And the Wisconsin kayaker who faked his death, why he did it, In his own words, The amount of hours that I spent in trying to disappear would blow your mind. Plus, we ask a defense attorney about one of the most important decisions a murder defendant can make,

whether or not to testify. You're primarily focused on the strategy of risk versus reward. But before all that, we're heading back to Tallahassee, where the trial of the Florida grandmother accused of plotting to murder her former son-in-law

has come to a dramatic conclusion. After nine days of testimony, it took the jury just over three hours to decide Donna Adelson's fate. We, the jury, find as follows, as the count one of the indictment, first-degree murder. The defendant is guilty of first-degree murder. Mrs. Adelson, control yourself. Adelson sobbed as the judge read out the rest of the verdict. She was found guilty on all charges, including conspiracy and solicitation to commit first degree murder. She is the fifth person to be convicted in the murder for hire of Dan Markell,

the FSU law professor, who was embroiled in a contentious custody battle with her daughter, Wendy. And she is the second member of the Adelson family to face prison time for the crime. Her son, Charlie, was convicted in 2023. But although the trial is over, there's one big question still lingering over the case. Could more charges be coming? Dateline producer Brad Davis is here to tell us what he knows. Brad, welcome back. Glad to be here. And thanks for all your coverage on the story, Brad. I know you've been on it for such a long time. Before we get into what happened with the verdict, you were in the courtroom for the closing arguments. Let's start with what the prosecution had to say.

Yeah, the prosecutor, Georgia Kaplanman reiterated the prosecution's theory of the case that Donna Adelson basically orchestrated this hit in order for her grandkids to be taken to live down with her and her family down in South Florida. And then Kaplanman also pointed out, that every defendant in this case has basically pointed the finger at another one. But in reality, they were all guilty. Despite their efforts to insulate themselves and to distance themselves from their co-conspirators, they made enough mistakes to get themselves caught and held accountable for their respective roles in this conspiracy.

And today is Donna Adelson's turn. Donald Adelson's defense attorneys really push back on this idea. of the custody battle, which the prosecution has said has been the motive all this time. But they say not so. Yeah, they insisted that the custody battle was not a bitter, contentious battle. And they said that Donna Adelson, you know, she may have sent offensive emails and called Dan Markell offensive names, but that didn't mean that she wanted to have him kill or wish him any harm.

The defense attorney Jackie Fulford called Donna a meddler, but not a murderer, which was a big line that resonated in the courtroom. There's not a single piece of evidence that connects my client to that murder. Not a single piece of evidence. Brad, the prosecution gave a rebuttal and then the jury went to deliberate. We know they were not out for long, as we said, just a quick few hours. Later, you were all back in the court for the reading of the verdict. And Donna took it hard.

Yeah, it was like the flip of a switch. She was extremely emotional. I was sitting a few rows behind her in court. and her outbursts really resonated throughout the courtroom. And Judge Everett, the judge in the case, actually admonished Donna. There will not be any further outbursts in front of the jury. If you cannot control yourself, I am going to have to determine if you'll be removed from the remainder of this process.

Do you understand what I'm saying to you? So the verdict marked an end to Donna's trial, but in closing arguments, the prosecution mentioned another name, and it was Donna's daughter, Wendy. Wendy's name certainly came up a lot in the closings because the prosecutor made comments that made it look like they might be targeting Wendy. They really did sort of double down on Wendy's behavior that she was on the phone with her brother that morning before the murder took place, and she actually went by the crime scene after the murder had taken place, and they made the point that was very suspicious. She would have been able to clearly see the police activity at her former residence. The residents, where her children currently lived half the time and where they woke up that morning.

Yet she abruptly turns around and leaves. She does not make contact with the officer to ask what's going on. She does not call Dan Markell to say, are you okay? There's a bunch of cops at the house. she does not call the daycare to make sure her children arrive that morning and are okay. We should remind listeners, Brad, Wendy, has never been charged with a crime in this case, and she was given limited immunity for her testimony. What exactly did that limited immunity entail for her? Yeah, it basically was called use immunity. And it said that whatever she says on the

stand cannot be used again in a future court of law. But that does not mean that she could not be charged in this case. If they find other evidence that points to her guilt in any sort of way, they could charge her. And it's looking more likely that could happen. Brad, reporters got the chance to ask the prosecutor about Wendy at a press conference after the verdict, including you. Let's take a listen and a listen for your voice in here. Does Wendy have reason to be worried tonight? You said that word. That's a bad word. A bad word. No W questions.

We're a bad word. Well, last talk, you should we say? Stay tuned. Do we need to stay tuned? Stay tuned. I mean, you can stay tuned. Yeah, as you heard, she was pretty tight-lipped about what might happen in the future. In fact, I was the person who asked that a stay-tuned question because the last time around when Charlie was convicted after his trial, she said, well, you can all stay tuned. And so it just does make you wonder what the future might hold for other people in the Adelson family. Brad, we've talked a lot about Donna Adelson and her family these past few weeks. But there is, of course, another family caught up in all of this, Dan Markell's family.

After the verdict, his mother, Ruth, she gave a powerful victim impact statement. At its core, this was a murder of convenience so that one grandmother could live closer to her grandchildren. She killed their father and ripped the children from the other grandparents' lives. It was very quiet in the courtroom as Ruth Markell was speaking. she really was very thankful to all of the law enforcement in Tallahassee and the prosecutor. She said, you know, that FSU and Tallahassee are known for their football team, but they really should be known for law enforcement and the amazing job that they did. That's nice. It's such a long time coming for her and her family.

And she, of course, she concluded her statement by asking the court to impose the maximum sentence, which first-degree murder carries an automatic sentence anyway of life in prison. It's an automatic life sentence. So there's not really, that's not really a lot of suspense here. But she is 75 years old, Donna Adelson. So, you know, she's going to, in all likelihood, you know, be in prison for the rest of her life. Yeah. Okay. Well, we will wait for word from you on the sentencing and any future developments in this case if there are more charges to come. Thank you so much for joining us again and again all of your good work on this case, Brad. Sure. Well, stay tuned. coming up another family accused of murder this time in Utah a woman admit she plotted to kill her husband but will she now testify against her co-defendants her own mother and brother

on the night of July 12th 2024 34 34 year old matthew ristelli was fatally shot at his mother-in-law's house in Utah She told police officers Matthew had entered her home unannounced, brandishing a knife, and that her son fired his gun in self-defense, killing him. But her story didn't add up for investigators, and neither, they say, did the evidence. Within days, the death investigation had become something else, a murder investigation, focused on three of the people closest to Matthew, his wife, Catherine, her mother Tracy Grist, and Catherine's brother, Kevin Ellis. Kevin was the first of the three to be charged with Matthew's murder, and then three months later, Catherine and Tracy were charged too.

Here's Lieutenant Stewart Four with the American Fork Police Department talking to our affiliate, KSL News. The more our investigators looked into it, the more we were able to show that Catherine and Tracy had conspired to lure Matthew here to Utah in order to kill him. All three family members pleaded not guilty. Then earlier this summer, there was a big twist in the case. Matthew's wife, Catherine, changed her story and her plea, turning on her mother and brother. In her plea agreement, she revealed what she said were the details of their complicated plot. Dateline producer Rosio Zamora was in the courtroom this week when Catherine went before a judge to hear her sentence. She's here to tell us now what happened. But first off, Rosio, give us the backstory on Catherine and Matthew's

relationship. Well, Catherine and Matthews' relationship, according to testimony, and her own plea deal was pretty rocky. And at some point, in the summer of 2024, she decided to take the kids and go to her moms in Utah without telling him. When police searched her phone and when they talked to some friends of hers, they realized that she had actually spoken to a divorce attorney. And we should say Matthew and Catherine's children are young, both under the age of 10.

Prosecutors allege that the motive behind the murder plot was to help Catherine avoid a messy divorce. But did Matthew even know about his wife's intentions of leaving him, Rosio? No, and again, this comes from the evidence, but they have phone conversations that Catherine herself recorded, where she is actually being very nice to Matthew, very loving. And they had a plan, according to those conversations, where Matthew was going to go pick his family up in Utah and bring them back home to California with him. She told him she was ready, packed, gave him the gate code to her mom's house, told him the doors unlocked, you don't even have to knock, just come on in. So what happened when Matthew got to the house? So police think he was shot three times in the back, shot once in the front and then once in one of his hands. According to the Ellis family, they said that Matthew entered, armed with a knife, and that he was unexpected.

So Kevin Ellis shot in self-defense. And Utah does have a law allowing people to use deadly force if they feel they need to. Why were investigators so suspicious of the brother's story out of the gate? When they saw the body, Matt was faced down. He was left-handed. He had the knife in his right hand. So he had it in his non-dominant hand. The blade was not facing where you would think if he was pointing it at somebody, it was facing his own body.

Also, the gunshot they didn't mention was to his wrist area of that right hand, making it very difficult for him to grip anything. So that, coupled with everything else, made police suspicious that the knife was planted in Matt's hand. We've talked about Catherine and her brother's alleged role in the murder. What evidence do investigators say they found against Tracy the mom? So Tracy, by all accounts, seems to be the ringleader behind all of this. Catherine and her plea mentioned that she was the one that came up with the idea. Investigators were also able to tie the knife back to Tracy. A friend's husband had a subscription to a tactical company, and they knew that that subscription

in one of the months gave that exact knife to its subscribers. So they think that that's how Tracy got a hold of that knife. So, Rosey, investigators say Tracy made some suspicious Google searches as prep work for the murder, including one involving date line. In fact, she was looking up an episode about a case we were just talking about on this podcast. She looked at the Edelson murder. That was one of her searches. Unreal. So tell us what happened this week at Catherine Ristelli's sentencing. You were there in the courtroom. The hearing began with several victim impact statements from those close to Matthew. His mother, Diane Ristelli, said his death created a massive hole in her heart and talked about how betrayed she felt by her daughter-in-law. You had betrayed Matt, me, my family, and most of all your children. Matthew's younger brother, Mark, also spoke.

She took her children's father. She destroyed the children's future. Did Catherine say anything in court on her behalf? Catherine spoke very briefly. She was fighting tears. I'm so very deeply sorry for the pain that I've caused. I understand that my apology will never be enough. You heard that Matt's done is a cause.

And continues to cause. And doesn't right. If I had the power to bring him back, I would. Sometimes, Rosia, we know judges, they have the final say, and their words can be extremely powerful. And that was certainly the case and the end of this case. Yeah, the judge was very harsh with Catherine. The judge said he received a lot of letters from supporters of Catherine, saying, you know, to be lenient on her because she loved her kids. the judge ultimately did not buy that and said if she loved her kids she would have never murdered their father

and he went as far as to put a protective order against Catherine where she is not able to contact her kids directly or indirectly let me be clear your children are victims of your actions there'll be lifetime victims of your actions and they deserve to grow up without you and your life in their lives And the judge gave her the maximum amount of years for three counts. The first one was murder, and she got a maximum of one to 15 years. The second count was conspiracy to commit murder, which was the same one to 15 years. And then the third count was using a gun. So that was five to life.

But the judge ultimately said that the parole board would be the ultimate deciders on how long she stays in jail. All right. So Catherine Ristelli, her guilty plea, that is the end of her chapter as far as her criminal charges. But this isn't over, as we mentioned. So what is next? Kevin's trial is supposed to start in January. Tracy's trial would probably be soon after. And I think Catherine is expected to testify in those trials. But we'll wait and see. We will certainly be watching as this all unfolds in the coming months. Rosio, thank you so much for joining us. You're welcome. Next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. We've got new details about the investigation into the recent homicide at Burning Man.

Plus, weighing the risks and benefits of taking the stand in your own defense. An attorney gives us her take. Welcome back. Joining me for this week's roundup is Dateline field producer Brittany Morris. Hey, Brittany. Hi, Andrea. So, Brittany, up first, we are heading back to Black Rock Desert in Nevada with an update on the murder of a man at the popular music and arts festival Burning Man. Brittany, just remind us about this story. Sure. So on August 30th, a festival goer alerted authorities of a man, quote, lying in a pool of blood. As the festival's culminating event, the burning of a wooden effigy was taken.

place. He was identified by the medical examiner through his fingerprints. His name is Vadim Kruglov. He was 37. So, Brittany, I would imagine that theories of the crime are circulating on social media. This week, we do know more about the victim after talking to one of his friends. That's right. Kruglov, he was originally from Russia, but lived in Washington State at the time of his death. I spoke to one of Kruglov's friends that attended the festival with him. She told me that Kruglov was a true hero of Burning Man and that he poured his soul into the community. He helped build the camp. This same friend also told me that she is assisting investigators by helping them build a timeline of Kruglov's last moments at Burning Man.

According to her, Kruglov was found with a single and fatal stab wound to the next. The Pershing County Sheriff's Office, who is tasked with investigating Kruglov's death, has not confirmed this information to me as of now. His family has said some things, not a lot, but they have been out there in the public. Sure. We have heard from the family, including the family he has in Russia. A video of Kruglov's father, Igor Kruglov, was posted online. He speaks in Russian, but demanded, quote, consequences for something. suspects in his son's death. Wow. Well, hopefully we'll hear some more soon on that story. For our next story, we are off to Wisconsin for an update in the case of Ryan Borgward, the man who faked his own death last year by pretending to drown while kayaking at a local lake. Police later found Borgward alive and well in Eastern Europe, where they say he went to meet a woman he'd met online.

And just a few weeks ago, he was sentenced to 89 days in county jail for obstructing an officer. So, Brittany, what? is the latest there. So what's new is that a local news station, CBS 58, obtained some never-before-seen footage from Borgwart's interview with police when he got back to the U.S. And it shined some light on his state of mind when he left. I'd like that some other places to potentially die, a place closer to home. The amount of hours that I spent in trying to disappear would blow your mind. The sheriff even told Borgwart this story sounds like it's straight out of a movie. Yes. In an email obtained by CBS 58, a sheriff's deputy told Borgort his story could make a decent book or movie. And Borgort, in response to that, said the only way he'd consider it is if 100% of the proceeds went to repaying the people who spent time and money searching for him. Thanks for the updates, Brittany. Thank you so much, Andrea.

It can be one of the most anticipated moments in a murder trial. The moment. The moment. a defendant decides whether or not to take the stand. Last week, Donna Adelson seemed to agonize over the decision. Have you made a decision concerning this matter? I haven't. I'm not prepared to make that decision. This decision affects the rest of my life. This is Adelson, you're in the same position as every other criminal defendant who faces trial. Ultimately, you must decide whether you will testify or whether you will not. Edelson decided not to testify. and a jury convicted her in less than four hours. But a few weeks ago, we told you about Iowa mom, Karina Cooper,

accused of plotting with her lover to murder her husband. She did choose to talk to the jury. Did you want your husband dead? No. Did you participate in the death of your husband? No. The jury convicted Cooper in less than four hours. It made us wonder, is it ever a good time for a defendant to take the stand?

And what goes into making that call? Here to break it down for us is trial attorney and NBC legal analyst Misty Maris. Welcome, Misty. Thank you so much for having me, Andrea. I love this topic. Great. I love this topic as a defense attorney. So interesting, right? I mean, I always thought to myself, you know, if I was innocent and I didn't do it, I should get on that stand and scream from the rooftops that I'm innocent. But what decision making goes into that process of should you or shouldn't you? It is probably the most consequential decision in any trial. And it's the type of thing that gives the defense attorney a little bit of heartburn and angst. So you advise them as far as the good, the bad, and the ugly about what could happen if they take the stand, make a recommendation. But ultimately, it's up to them. Yeah. And Misty, what is your recommendation if someone is in fact innocent of a crime and you really believe it? you know, this person comes across is really genuine. Then would you say, you know, maybe this is the time to take the stand? So whether or not there's the belief that the client is guilty or innocent isn't really the factor that you're primarily focused on. You're focused on the strategy of risk versus reward. It is always a last minute call after the prosecution has put on their case and you're able from the defense side to assess whether or not there are. are open holes that you really need to fill in. Is there any other way to do it other than the

testimony of the defendant? Right, because once it gets to the prosecutor who has a shot at cross-examining you, now you're out there for whatever they want to ask you. Prosecutors are generally going to really attack credibility. They're going to try and catch inconsistencies. like in Karina's case, a lot of electronic footprint text messages, Snapchat, and all of that that's not consistent with the story she told on direct. And now credibility becomes the primary focus. I would imagine if you're like in a scenario where you really feel like you're losing. Maybe this is the Hail Mary. Let's put the defendant on. But if you feel like things are going pretty well, why rock the boat and put them up there, right?

Right. So if you feel like there really is just a tremendous amount of evidence against the client and the only way to refute it is the defendant's story. You got to put it up there. And you know where you see testimony more often than in other cases are cases of self-defense? Because there's really a difficult issue with establishing that imminent fear that somebody is experiencing and why they acted and why there was. force that crosses that line. Is it frustrating for you when a defendant says, you know, I thank you for your advice, but I really do want to take the stand? Yes, it is frustrating because your job as a defense lawyer is to protect the interests of your clients. But if my client's taking the stand, I am prepping them, I'm recording them, I'm showing them how they're responding, showing them minor things that become major when a jury is actually observing testimony. Anytime you get a jury trial, anything can happen. Well, that's what makes it so interesting, Misty.

Thank you so much for being on the podcast. Thank you. That's it for this episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly. Make sure to check out Josh's brand new original podcast series, Deadly Engagement, about the murder of a grad student in North Carolina. Did a Love Triangle lead to murder? If we can ever prove who was stalking whom, I think we have our case all. You can subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Datelinepremium.com to hear the first two episodes now,

or start listening for free on Tuesday, September 16th. And coming up this Friday on Dateline, Keith's got an all-new episode. When an aspiring actress vanishes after an audition, investigators take a closer look at her open marriage, and one man in particular. I knocked on the door, knocked on the door, no answer. we could hear a movement, so we knew someone was inside. Watch the night of the audition this Friday at 10-9 Central on NBC. And a reminder, I'll be in Nashville with the rest of the Dateline crew on September 28th for the first ever Dateline live event. There will be on-stage panels, audience Q&As, and VIP reception.

We'd love to see you there. You can still get tickets at DatelinenBC.com forward slash event. You can also find a link in the episode description. Thanks for listening. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins and Katie Ferguson. Our associate producer is Caroline Casey. Our senior producer is Liz Brown-Krolloff. Production and fact-checking helped by Kim Flores Gainer.

Veronica Masekha is our digital producer. Rick Juan 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 of Dateline. Anybody else have anything? No. Okay.

Thank you.