- 5 minutes ago
20/20 - Season 49 - Episode 01: Meddler or Murderer?
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:00:06It's another busy bustling Monday evening at Miami International Airport but on this night
00:00:11you're a fly on the wall. The way we're gonna handle it is I only need her driver's license
00:00:15and her cell phone. As both police and FBI agents are moments from a major bust and their target
00:00:24is an unlikely suspect. A 73-year-old grandmother who's accused of being the mastermind of a murder.
00:00:35Authorities believe she's just moments from making her escape.
00:00:39Her one-way trip to Vietnam stopped cold right there on the jetway as police body cameras roll.
00:00:46Incriminating evidence says former prosecutor Matt Murphy who breaks it down for us.
00:00:50By effectuating the arrest at the gate they eliminate that as a defense. Like oh I wasn't
00:00:55actually gonna leave. She was leaving. I mean that's her husband. Bags packed. Tickets bought.
00:01:06Cell phones generate so much evidence in murder cases. They're trained. You never let a criminal
00:01:11suspect have an opportunity to delete anything.
00:01:27Everyone can be seated.
00:01:31Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. The state of Florida versus Donna Adelson.
00:01:35Now that same Florida grandmother is on trial for that murder.
00:01:41Prosecutors alleging Donna Adelson is the architect behind a criminal conspiracy.
00:01:46A conspiracy. To hire a hit man to kill her former son-in-law Dan Markell.
00:01:53So how is it that Donna finds herself there in that courtroom? The jury hears what begins
00:01:58as a great American success story. This was a family who had it all.
00:02:02You'll hear during this trial that the Adelson family is a very tight-knit family.
00:02:08The defendant, her son Charlie Adelson, and her husband Harvey Adelson actually all
00:02:13worked together at their family's dental practice. She was the details person. And she managed much more.
00:02:22She was the matriarch. And a domineering one at that.
00:02:29If you lived in South Florida long before Dan Markell was murdered, you would have known
00:02:34the Adelsons for their dental practice, the Adelson Institute.
00:02:39Harvey was extremely successful dentist. He runs the Adelson Institute of Dentistry.
00:02:45Harvey Adelson is someone I've known my entire life. He's a dentist and he was married to Donna and
00:02:51he had three kids, Robert, Charlie, and Wendy. Charlie went to dentist school, got his degree,
00:02:59came back, and then he was helping Harvey in his practice. The Adelson family dental practice did not
00:03:06include older son Robert. He's a New York-based physician who, for years, has been estranged from
00:03:10the family. Wendy was always an all-star. She was incredibly bright as a child. She did phenomenally
00:03:17well in high school and incredibly smart and gregarious and well-loved by everybody. Wendy Adelson
00:03:25does something a little different than everyone in her family. She goes into law. Wendy has an
00:03:31internship in Washington, D.C., where another young lawyer is also just starting out.
00:03:39Danny was a very warm person to start with with everybody. He never greeted people with a handshake.
00:03:46It was always a hug. Dan is the only son of Ruth and Phil Markell who raised him in a
00:03:51conservative
00:03:51Jewish home in Toronto, Canada. A young woman named Wendy Adelson searched him on J-Date.
00:04:00The Jewish dating service. And she was sitting with her mother, Donna, searching for a candidate for
00:04:08her to meet. And so they're looking up Dan Markell. She was a very warm, she's a very attractive person.
00:04:17And it was a beautiful thing to see Danny in love. Wendy and Dan's relationship moves quickly,
00:04:24and in less than a year they're engaged. But as soon as they tie the knot, it becomes clear who's
00:04:29calling the shots in this family. It's not Dan or even Wendy. It's Wendy's mother, Donna.
00:04:36She was extremely controlling. She had very strong opinions about all the decisions in Wendy Adelson's
00:04:44life, whether it be about her career, her relationships, or even purchasing a home.
00:04:53After their wedding, Wendy Adelson and Dan Markell moved to Tallahassee, the capital of Florida.
00:04:59Dan and Wendy did both get jobs at Florida State University Law School.
00:05:04They lived in Betton Hills, which is a neighborhood in the center of Tallahassee. It's quite an affluent
00:05:10community. I know they owned a house and they both lived there together with their two boys.
00:05:16Danny was a great father. With all his accomplishments, to me, I'm the proudest of him as a father.
00:05:24His boys were the entire world to him. While Dan is thriving in Tallahassee,
00:05:31Wendy is lamenting the state of her marriage. She reveals her feelings in this 2015 episode of the
00:05:36podcast Writing Class Radio. Our marriage dissolved after the children arrived, as the loneliness of
00:05:42being married to someone that didn't view me as an equal crept in. By 2012, it's during one of his
00:05:48trips to a conference in New York City that Wendy calls Dan to deliver devastating news. She says,
00:05:54I'm leaving. It's over. Dan says, please don't do this. We can still work this out.
00:06:02He gets on a flight to come back to Tallahassee. He walks into the bedroom and there was divorce papers
00:06:11on the bed. Less than seven years after exchanging wedding vows, Wendy Adelson and Dan Markell
00:06:18are exchanging accusations in divorce court. The divorce got really nasty. I think the boiling point
00:06:24was when Wendy couldn't leave Tallahassee, couldn't relocate to South Florida. Dan wouldn't agree to it.
00:06:31Which means Donna's grandchildren will remain almost 500 miles away from her.
00:06:36With Wendy and Dan's divorce now finalized, the focus for the Adelson family becomes custody of the
00:06:42two boys and where they will live. So Donna Adelson, being the doting grandma that she says she is,
00:06:50was upset. Donna began this campaign that she wrote these lengthy emails to Wendy.
00:06:58Donna refers to Dan Markell as jibbers, which is clearly a derogatory term.
00:07:05It's time to take control of your life and not let jibbers think he's won anything by having you remain
00:07:14in Tallahassee. A month before their next court appearance, Donna sends Wendy a long email suggesting
00:07:21ways to needle her ex-husband. Let's show this what will make him absolutely miserable.
00:07:29You know his weak points, money, religion, control.
00:07:35Then Donna suggests to Wendy that they baptize their grandsons and dress them in Nazi uniforms.
00:07:41A stunning proposition from someone of the Jewish faith.
00:07:45Let jibbers know that your children will be baptized in the Catholic church.
00:07:51That's when, in at least one of those emails, Donna puts her money where her mouth is.
00:07:56We plan to make a financial offer to him to allow this relocation.
00:08:01She suggested to Wendy that they should go three ways to pay Danny a million dollars.
00:08:08Her and Harvey, Charlie and Wendy.
00:08:11Jibbers hasn't beaten the Adelson family yet. You have a very strong family behind you. Just remember that.
00:08:19I don't think at this point money, threats of Catholic school, you name it,
00:08:24we're going to convince Dan to be separated from his kids.
00:08:27During Wendy and Dan's nasty custody fight, Dan says he discovered Donna Adelson was telling her
00:08:32grandchildren their father was stupid. In fact, things appear to be coming to a head when Dan goes
00:08:39as far as filing a motion to prevent Donna from having unsupervised visits with her grandchildren.
00:08:45It would be the last motion that Dan would ever file.
00:09:03Dan Markell was known as Danny to his friends and family.
00:09:07The last day of his life began like any other day of his that summer.
00:09:13Hey Wendy, it's Danny. Good morning. It's 9 o'clock on Friday.
00:09:17He woke up, he took his two young sons to preschool, and then he went to the gym to work
00:09:23out.
00:09:26After finishing his workout, he returned home.
00:09:29As he pulls into his driveway around 11 a.m., shots ring out. He's shot in his face and head,
00:09:35and a neighbor finds him slumped over in the front seat, but still breathing.
00:09:42As I looked inside, I saw a bloody head, and I hollered immediately, Danny, what happened?
00:09:51And at that point, I knew that I had to get the emergency medical team there as quickly as I
00:09:58could.
00:10:019-1-1, what's the address of your emergency?
00:10:04It's right next door to my house.
00:10:08Okay, what's going on with him?
00:10:11He's not responding to me.
00:10:15Once the paramedics arrive, he's quickly rushed to the hospital.
00:10:20Police track down his ex-wife, Wendy, who's out to lunch with friends, and they bring her into the police
00:10:24station.
00:10:25There was a shooting at your ex-husband's home.
00:10:30Oh my God.
00:10:31Okay.
00:10:34What happened?
00:10:35Well, before we get into everything, I have to establish where you were, and who you were with, and so
00:10:43forth.
00:10:44Okay. I just don't understand.
00:10:47How could this happen?
00:10:52She sits down for hours, and then during that time, the police look at her phone.
00:10:56They look at her ID.
00:10:57They swab her for fingerprints.
00:11:00Everything that you would do with a potential suspect.
00:11:03My ex-husband caused me a lot of grief, but I would never do something like that.
00:11:09I don't.
00:11:12I want to figure out who this is.
00:11:14Talking with police, Wendy drops a hint.
00:11:17She tells them she just had another bad breakup.
00:11:20This one with her new boyfriend.
00:11:22So police bring him in for an interview as well.
00:11:24Did he have a motive?
00:11:26Jeffrey LeCasse comes in to talk to police willingly three times.
00:11:31He keeps coming back because it seems that he has a story to tell.
00:11:39Your name did come up because you were associated at some point with Wendy.
00:11:44Of course.
00:11:45I spent a lot of time with Wendy.
00:11:47I was in love with this girl, man.
00:11:50I was surprised you guys didn't call me earlier though,
00:11:51because I probably said a hundred times in public that I like to kick his ass.
00:11:55He's right up front about saying that he didn't like this guy.
00:11:58He also has an ironclad alibi. He was out of town.
00:12:03You know, right away something clicks in his head.
00:12:07And he seems to say, I think I know what happened.
00:12:11I'm concerned about my safety with what I'm going to tell you, to be honest.
00:12:14So, Danny Markel just got killed and I don't want to be next.
00:12:17I'm sorry if that sounds paranoid, but I do have some ideas.
00:12:21In his police interview, LeCasse points to Wendy's family, her parents,
00:12:26and specifically her brother Charlie, the dentist.
00:12:29The family desperately wants her back in South Florida.
00:12:35They hate Danny in a way.
00:12:37I've never seen this kind of obsession.
00:12:41Like their hobby is hating Danny.
00:12:43As police are learning about all this bad blood between the Adelsons and their former in-law,
00:12:48Dan Markel, there's this very telling moment in Wendy's police interview,
00:12:52when she calls her mother to break the news that Dan had been shot.
00:12:57Hi, Mom. How's it going? I need you to sit down.
00:13:00So, during this police interview, Wendy tells Donna that Dan has been shot. He's not expected to live.
00:13:09Danny has been shot.
00:13:12There was a point where she was just kind of saying she was relieved to find that her mom
00:13:17was surprised at the news.
00:13:20Well, my parents sounded really surprised, so it's at least a relief.
00:13:25My parents would be angry, but they're not capable of this.
00:13:29And that's not all.
00:13:30Wendy makes this startling comment about something her brother Charlie once said to her.
00:13:34My brother, the one whose name is Charlie, the one I'm really close to,
00:13:40he makes a lot of jokes and bad taste, and it was a joke he made.
00:13:43You know, I looked into hiring a hitman, and it was cheaper to get you this TV,
00:13:47so instead I got you this TV.
00:13:49It was my divorce present.
00:13:51Okay.
00:13:52It's such a horrible thing to say.
00:13:57Would you think that this guy Charlie would even be capable of doing something like this?
00:14:01No.
00:14:02No.
00:14:02Let's just talk.
00:14:03He's the Joker.
00:14:04Okay.
00:14:06But Wendy's former boyfriend, Jeff Lacoste,
00:14:08told police that when she related the account to him, there was nothing funny about her.
00:14:13She told me that Charlie had looked into having Danny killed in the summer of 2013.
00:14:18She meant a dead serious.
00:14:21They could just say, I would be investigating Charlie Adelson.
00:14:26I don't know if he did this, but if you're looking at somebody,
00:14:30don't miss him.
00:14:35Meanwhile, Dan's parents rush to Tallahassee, but they're too late.
00:14:40He dies less than 24 hours after being shot.
00:14:46I had wished that I could at least hold his hand before he passed away.
00:14:53I regret that very much.
00:14:57Dan's death was felt by so many.
00:15:00There were headlines all across Florida that covered his death, his murder, and the memorial
00:15:07for him because he touched so many lives.
00:15:10I was unbelievably moved. Just the outpouring of love for him.
00:15:21After Dan was murdered, the children went back to South Florida with Wendy.
00:15:29They're all living their lives down there. The children are growing up.
00:15:32They have adamantly denied any connection to the homicide or any involvement.
00:15:39It appears that the Adelsons get what they wanted after all.
00:15:42Wendy finds a new job in Miami and she enrolls her sons in school there.
00:15:47All this leaving Tallahassee police with just one single lead on the crime scene.
00:15:53You said there was another vehicle that you called driving away?
00:15:57Yes, and it left the scene rapidly. It looked sort of like a Prius.
00:16:13The scene there, the crime scene, left no trace of the killers. There was no fingerprints,
00:16:18no DNA, no bullet casing, nothing was stolen. And so police began to suspect that this may be
00:16:26a professional killing. One path is to track down that light-colored Prius that the neighbor saw
00:16:34fleeing from the scene. And it left the scene rapidly. It looked sort of like a Prius.
00:16:41Police take a particular interest in a green Toyota Prius seen at the gym Dan worked out at
00:16:46the morning he was shot. He exercises, comes back out, goes to his car and the same vehicle,
00:16:53which hasn't left the parking lot, is then seen pulling out of the parking lot,
00:16:57following behind the victim. We also find that car on video on a bus camera pulling
00:17:04into the victim's neighborhood or thereabouts shortly before the murder.
00:17:09And they notice there's a sun pass. It's the toll road pass. When police pulled those tolled records,
00:17:16it led them to a hole in the wall rental agency in Miami that rents mostly hybrids.
00:17:20They find a contract was signed and that leads police to the men who rented that green Prius.
00:17:26Investigators are able to figure out who rented this green Prius. They track it back to the rental
00:17:31application and on it they see both names, Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia, who is listed as Luis's brother.
00:17:40Sigfredo Garcia was a low-level criminal, had some drug arrests down in Miami. Luis Rivera, however,
00:17:46more of a hardened criminal. More hardened criminal involved in a lot of gang activity.
00:17:52They rented it in their names, with their phone numbers, with a sun pass. They had their phones
00:17:58on while they were driving up there. Essentially they just wrote a map for the cops.
00:18:06After tracking the two men from Miami all the way to Dan Markell's neighborhood in Tallahassee,
00:18:10investigators are convinced Garcia and Rivera committed the murder.
00:18:15We also have the ATM video where on the day of the homicide, the two killers are seen driving
00:18:22through an ATM in that Pine Micah Prius. The police, they had a substantial amount of information
00:18:30to begin collecting a warrant to arrest these guys. But the question's still not answered, is why?
00:18:38How did these two people, Sigfredo and Luis, have any connection to Dan Markell?
00:18:50They discover that there is a link and there's a mysterious woman who will be connected to this case.
00:18:57That link is Katie McBanawa. She shares a child with Sigfredo Garcia. And get this,
00:19:02she's the former girlfriend of Charlie Adelson. Katie becomes this conduit, this connection point
00:19:09between the Adelsons and Dan Markell's murder. Absent her, you have nothing that links
00:19:15any of these people directly. Investigators form a picture of a complicated web involving two accused
00:19:22hitmen, a female go-between and the Adelson family. So investigators set out to follow the money.
00:19:30Investigators discovered that in the months after the murder, Katie McBanawa received some checks from
00:19:36the Adelson Institute. And she made some rather large cash deposits. And those checks were signed
00:19:41by none other than Donna Adelson. With the Adelsons now firmly on their radar, investigators in South
00:19:49Florida put the family under surveillance. Because it was Donna who signed those checks to Katie,
00:19:55investigators are now wondering if she's the mastermind behind this alleged plot.
00:19:59So they come up with an audacious plan to confront the family matriarch outside her luxury condo building
00:20:04in Miami Beach. She's got sunglasses on, she's got a black crossbody bag, and her hair is pulled back
00:20:10to the ponytail. Donna Adelson is approached on the street by a man she's never seen before.
00:20:17This person turns out to be an undercover FBI agent. Excuse me, Mrs. Adelson? How you doing? Just
00:20:24want to give you this. Um, listen. No, don't be scared. And he says that he was the brother of
00:20:32one of
00:20:33the assailants, and that he needed something a little extra to take care of. He helped your family
00:20:39with this problem you guys had up north. He's going through some rough times. The undercover detective
00:20:43says that I want $5,000 for you to help my family. Well, this will explain it.
00:20:54Thank you. He hands her a piece of paper that has a press release of Dan's murder on it,
00:21:00and it has a phone number for her to call to make that transaction with the money.
00:21:06When Donna calls her son Charlie to tell him what happened, it's a cryptic conversation.
00:21:31She doesn't use the words murder or Dan Markell. She just refers to it as you know about it,
00:21:38we'll talk later. It may have to do with the two of us.
00:21:42And Donna eventually calls the undercover agent.
00:21:45Hello?
00:21:47I have to tell you, I mean, this is important. I have been so stressed out because
00:21:53I don't know your friend who is in jail. I've never met him.
00:21:58Let's stop around, okay? You know who Katie is. And you know that Katie has somebody that knows
00:22:04and they took care of a problem for you people. You talk to the right people, you talk to people,
00:22:09you make this 5K come to me. That's all I need. Just do it and get it to me.
00:22:14I'll call you back. Bye.
00:22:17Despite those suspicious sounding phone calls, prosecutors ultimately feel they don't have
00:22:21enough evidence to move forward against Katie or any of the Adelsons, but they do have more than
00:22:26enough to pull the trigger on arresting the suspected hitmen. One of the men accused of
00:22:30killing FSU law professor Dan Markell is now behind bars. On May 25th, 2016, the news breaks in Tallahassee.
00:22:38Sigfredo Garcia is arrested for the murder of Dan Markell and soon after Luis Rivera is also charged for the
00:22:44murder.
00:22:46We can provide additional information regarding this investigation.
00:22:51Just eight days later, police released the probable cause affidavit for Sigfredo Garcia.
00:22:56In it, investigators allege his involvement in this murder stemmed from the desperate desire
00:23:01of the Adelson family to relocate Wendy and the children to South Florida.
00:23:08It's all over the news. So there's some feeling of, oh wow.
00:23:13We just pray that those involved have to pay the price for what they've done.
00:23:18Then, in October 2016, there's this dramatic breakthrough.
00:23:24Prosecutors announce a plea deal with Luis Rivera.
00:23:26They say he's ready to reveal who else he says was involved in Dan Markell's murder.
00:23:31He says he's ready to reveal who else he says was involved in Dan Markell's murder.
00:23:35He says he's ready to reveal who else he says was involved in Dan Markell's murder.
00:23:42He says he's ready to reveal who else he says was involved in Dan Markell's murder.
00:23:44Before she was at the center of a murder investigation.
00:23:47And we now meet, uh, Donna Adelson from Coral Springs, Florida.
00:23:51I want to hear all about you, Donna. Let's go.
00:23:52Donna Adelson was center stage on Wheel of Fortune in October 1989.
00:23:57Donna.
00:23:58F.
00:23:59Yes.
00:24:00Mischief maker.
00:24:01Yeah, that's it.
00:24:02But now, Donna is suspected of making much more than just mischief.
00:24:10Excuse me, Mrs. Adelson?
00:24:12Investigators have targeted Donna Adelson as the alleged mastermind in a murder for hire plot
00:24:17against her own former son-in-law, Dan Markell. But to make the case against her,
00:24:21investigators have to construct a trail leading from the two alleged hitmen directly to the Adelson family.
00:24:28It's a murder case. And you can compare it, I would say, to a major drug deal. You get the
00:24:33lower
00:24:33hanging fruit, right? The people selling the drugs, they're not, they're selling it,
00:24:38but they're getting it from somewhere. They went up the ladder like you would do in a drug case.
00:24:43And in 2016, the first domino was about to fall. One of those alleged hitmen, Luis Rivera,
00:24:50decides to take a plea deal and confesses in exchange for a lesser sentence of second-degree murder.
00:24:58You solemnly swear or affirm that the evidence you are about to give me
00:25:02is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Yes, sir.
00:25:06But Donna's name never comes up when he reveals what he claims
00:25:09his friend Sigfredo Garcia told him before they killed Dan Markell together.
00:25:14And he showed you a picture of Markell.
00:25:16Oh, Markell.
00:25:17And he said y'all were gonna go kill him. Mm-hmm.
00:25:20Rivera says they've already been given $5,000 in traveling expenses
00:25:23from a mysterious person that Garcia would only refer to as the lady.
00:25:28I asked him, why are you gonna go kill him back?
00:25:30Because the lady wants your two kids back.
00:25:34The Rivera plea deal was important because although he was a gang member
00:25:38and part of this murder, everything he said was corroborated by the other evidence.
00:25:44One of Markell's house, Garcia jumps out, goes around the car,
00:25:47where he's driving, shot him twice, got in the car, we left.
00:25:51He calls Katie, thank you very much. We had dumped the gun and he said,
00:25:57everything is done. Make sure you have my money. I'm on my way.
00:26:01Once Luis Rivera starts talking and gives all of this information to police,
00:26:06they now have enough to bring down their next suspect, Catherine McBanua.
00:26:12Well, who is Catherine McBanua? Well, oh, she happened to be Charlie's ex-girlfriend.
00:26:17She was the connection between Charlie Adelson and those two hit men that actually came up to
00:26:23Tallahassee to murder Dan. Police in Florida arresting a single mom, accusing her of arranging
00:26:29the killing of a prominent Florida state law professor. Which brings us to the trial.
00:26:34Both Sigfredo Garcia and Katie McBanua stand accused of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
00:26:39Can you be seated please? It was a big deal that this was going to trial five years after Dan
00:26:45Markell's murder. Sigfredo Garcia and Catherine McBanua are tried together. It's a high profile
00:26:52case that's garnering attention across the world. We'll start with the state of Florida.
00:27:00Garcia and McBanua are on trial, but it seems like the prosecution is intent on making a case
00:27:05against Charlie too. For example, listen to Wendy Adelson herself,
00:27:10subpoenaed by the state, as she testifies about Katie and Charlie.
00:27:14Did you say how you know who's McBanua?
00:27:18She was dating my brother. Is it fair to say that your brother is very protective of you?
00:27:23I think that's fair to say. Did he ever joke about hiring a hitman? He did make that joke.
00:27:29Then, perhaps the most critical testimony about Charlie comes from his former girlfriend,
00:27:34Katie McBanua herself.
00:27:41Testifying in her own defense, Katie takes the stand and denies she had any involvement in the plot.
00:27:46Did you have anything to do with the murder of Dan Markell?
00:27:50No, ma'am.
00:27:51Did you get the father of your children, Mr. Garcia, to commit a murder on behalf of Mr. Charlie Adelson?
00:28:01No, ma'am.
00:28:02But look who she does implicate. Her former boyfriend, Charlie.
00:28:07Based on everything you've seen, do you think Charlie was involved in this?
00:28:10Yes.
00:28:12Despite her denials, eventually both McBanua and Garcia are convicted on all charges.
00:28:16But the next domino is about to fall. Prosecutors waste no time working their way up that proverbial
00:28:22ladder, alleging that Charlie Adelson hired those two hitmen to drive to Tallahassee to kill Dan Markell.
00:28:31And a big step to building that case comes in early 2022. New evidence against Charlie,
00:28:37a secretly recorded videotape of a meeting years earlier between him and Katie McBanua at a South
00:28:44Florida restaurant. Technology allowed the FBI to enhance the audio years after the recording,
00:28:49but you still have to listen carefully to make it out.
00:29:11He's saying, if I thought they had enough evidence, I'd be at the airport suggesting that he would skip town
00:29:17if he thought there was more evidence out there against him.
00:29:21A grand jury has now indicted Charlie Adelson in Markell's death.
00:29:26Charlie is arrested. Adelson is charged with first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder,
00:29:32and solicitation to commit murder. He pleads not guilty to all charges.
00:29:37From inside the Leon County Detention Facility, Charlie Adelson made his first appearance before
00:29:41Leon County Judge Tuesday. Now Charlie will go on trial himself, but before he does,
00:29:47his defense attorney drops a bombshell. Charlie's going to take the stand,
00:29:52leaving everyone to wonder, might he implicate someone else in the family to save his own skin?
00:30:06Prosecutors have long believed there was a larger conspiracy to kill Dan Markell,
00:30:10but on one October day in 2023, it's her son Charlie they put on trial for his role.
00:30:18This defendant carried out his plan to hire a hitman to kill Dan Markell. He conspired and he solicited
00:30:27Catherine McBanois to get this murder done.
00:30:30They tell jurors that everything Charlie did, including plotting and payments, involves his mother,
00:30:37Donna. Donna is the overbearing matriarch who nags everyone to death. And this defendant fancied himself
00:30:44the savior of this family. Equal parts black sheep and mama's boy. I was in courtroom 3G for Charlie
00:30:53Adelson's trial to watch the prosecution make their case against him. I don't think that Tallahassee has seen
00:30:59a bigger story than this. Many people knew Dan Markell and many people knew Wendy Adelson as well.
00:31:07And a key part of the prosecution's case, the already convicted Katie McBanois takes the stand.
00:31:13Remember, in her own trial, she had denied being part of the plot. Now she does a complete 180.
00:31:19You may take your seat. She testifies she was in on the murder all along and she claims it was
00:31:24orchestrated by Charlie starting nine months before the actual killing. He got in the car with me and he
00:31:33asked me a question. Do you know anybody that can harm someone? And did you know anybody that could harm
00:31:39someone? Yes, ma'am, I did. Who was that? Sigfredo. So you knew that the person that was going to
00:31:45be
00:31:46initially harmed was Wendy's husband? Yes, ma'am. Katie also testifies about how she says Charlie
00:31:53directed her to transfer the money to the hitmen. And where did you get the money from to do that?
00:32:00From Charlie Adelson. It's compelling testimony against Charlie, but his defense attorney, Daniel
00:32:05Rashbaum, has a shocking explanation for jurors. He tells them Charlie wasn't part of the plot to kill
00:32:11Dan Markell. Instead, he was a victim of extortion that happened after the killing. You will learn
00:32:18that Charlie Adelson was told if he didn't pay within the next 48 hours, he or one of his family
00:32:24members would be next. It was a jaw drop moment. I'm scratching my head thinking, is that going to
00:32:31work? Is that going to fly in this courtroom? Is the defense ready to call its next witness? Yes,
00:32:41this is the biggest moment of the trial. Charlie testifying in his own defense. Please raise your
00:32:47right hand. The defense attorney wanted to have him on the stand as long as possible to really show
00:32:53these jurors all of the details. How do you feel right now? I'm really nervous. My whole life depends
00:32:59on it. The whole key was going to be his testimony. It was going to be Charlie's testimony and then
00:33:06cross-examination. She's like, just come sit down. I need to talk to you. Katie denies it,
00:33:11but Adelson tells the jury about a conversation with McBanoa the night of the murder. He claims
00:33:17she said that Danny Markell's killers knew that Adelson's had money and the murder was to get at
00:33:22that cash. If he didn't agree to pay them off, he and his family would be next. And I'm like,
00:33:29Katie,
00:33:29I'm not going to be part of paying for a murder. This is insane. And she's like, look, if you
00:33:35don't
00:33:35pay in 48 hours, they will kill you. That's why Adelson testifies he paid her. That night he says
00:33:42he gave Katie $138,000 from his safe. Over the months that followed, he admits he paid Katie
00:33:48thousands more and asked his mother Donna to put Katie on the payroll at the family dental practice.
00:33:54She said, was Katie going to be coming into the office? Is she going to start working for us?
00:33:59And I said, no, she's not. According to Charlie, Donna knew about the alleged extortion,
00:34:04and that's why she signed all those checks made out to Katie. On cross, the prosecutors poke holes
00:34:10in that explanation like a pinata. You extortionists send a girlfriend of their victim
00:34:18to collect their extortion money. Is that the way it's done, doctor?
00:34:23I'm telling you what happened to me. And I was told that if I didn't pay in 48 hours, I
00:34:28would be killed.
00:34:29Georgia Kappelman asked Charlie, if he was so afraid, why did he buy Katie a series of gifts?
00:34:35Did you offer to buy Katherine Magbanoa and her mom a cruise?
00:34:39Yes. Did you pay for a meal service for Katherine Magbanoa?
00:34:42Yeah, I did.
00:34:44Did you pay for car repairs for her?
00:34:48Yeah.
00:34:48Are these gifts what it took to secure her silence for so long?
00:34:52No, absolutely not. I was never trying to get her silence. I was hoping she'd tell the truth.
00:35:01But listen to what happens when Wendy Adelson herself is asked about Charlie's extortion story.
00:35:07When did you learn that Katherine Magbanoa was blackmailing your brother
00:35:11for the murder of your ex-husband?
00:35:13Today.
00:35:15So he never told you?
00:35:17No.
00:35:18Wendy goes on to testify that despite the state never clearing her,
00:35:22she was not involved in the plot against Dan.
00:35:25Ms. Adelson, did you have anything to do with the murder of your ex-husband?
00:35:28Absolutely not.
00:35:30It's fair to say the state has it wrong?
00:35:32Absolutely.
00:35:34But now it's up to the jury. Will they buy Charlie's defense?
00:35:39If this was a murder for hire, why was payment not made before?
00:35:46See, because he had no idea it was going to happen. That's the only thing that makes sense.
00:35:52He didn't do it. He didn't conspire to do it. He didn't solicit.
00:35:58Even his own sister doesn't believe this load he's trying to sell you.
00:36:04In her closing arguments,
00:36:06Prosecutor Georgia Kappelman takes the jury back to the motive for the murder.
00:36:10So who did it appear had a motive to want Dan Markell dead?
00:36:14His own family.
00:36:17Wendy appears to be the weakling of the pack. She needs to be saved by Donna and the defendant.
00:36:23The evidence has shown that Dan Markell was a major problem for Wendy,
00:36:26and that meant he was a major problem for Donna,
00:36:30who in turn made Dan Markell a major problem for this defendant.
00:36:38And it's soon apparent the jury has little trouble deciding. After just three hours,
00:36:43they're back with the verdict.
00:36:45When the verdict was read, the tension in the courtroom, you could feel it.
00:36:59Charlie Adelson is also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder.
00:37:05He looked devastated, deflated.
00:37:12Could you just describe the moment for us?
00:37:14Unbelievable. Joy, happiness. So long.
00:37:21In the aftermath of Charlie Adelson's conviction, everyone is wondering, is this the end?
00:37:28And the reaction from the prosecution is simply, stay tuned.
00:37:33Is the investigation still going on?
00:37:35Yes, yes.
00:37:37With four convictions already in the books,
00:37:39it's clear who prosecutors now have squarely in their sights.
00:37:43And she's running scared.
00:37:44But can she outrun her own estranged son coming forward to testify against her?
00:37:49Could you tell us your name, please?
00:37:50Sure. Robert Todd Adelson. A-D-E-L-S-O-N.
00:38:07You can't make it up.
00:38:11The victim has gone down like nothing.
00:38:14That someone thinks they can do this crime and get away with it.
00:38:18I didn't know there was a warrant. Aren't they supposed to be informed?
00:38:22No. We don't alert murderers that there's a warrant out for their arrest or alleged murderers.
00:38:27Now, an all-new look inside a trial the country couldn't stop watching.
00:38:31Is this grandmother the mastermind behind murder?
00:38:35Never in a million years would I have wanted Danny to be harmed or killed.
00:38:40A key witness who's speaking for the first time.
00:38:42And how did Donna Adelson feel about Dan Markell?
00:38:46I mean, she hated him.
00:38:48You have a son testifying against his own mother.
00:38:53She's just being a parent, not a killer.
00:38:55She's a meddler, not a murderer.
00:38:57Does a typical Jewish grandmother suggest dressing her grandchildren up in Nazi uniforms?
00:39:04Not to my knowledge.
00:39:06I couldn't believe this was happening.
00:39:07If I had become aware of this plan before Danny was murdered, I would have stopped it.
00:39:13Do we need to stay tuned?
00:39:15We need to stay tuned.
00:39:18Not one single thing that said anything about wanting Danny Markell killed.
00:39:33Tallahassee has not seen a bigger story than this.
00:39:36The Dan Markell case seems like something out of a television series.
00:39:39Charlie Adelson conspired with Katherine McBanawha to hire hitmen to drive up to Tallahassee to kill Dan Markell.
00:39:48And a jury finds Charlie guilty in just a matter of hours.
00:39:52The defendant is guilty of first-degree murder.
00:39:56The biggest question on everyone's mind after that conviction was,
00:40:00who's next? Is the prosecution going to go after Donna Adelson?
00:40:23In the days after Charlie Adelson's conviction for the murder of Dan Markell,
00:40:28there's a flurry of calls between Charlie and his mom, Donna.
00:40:50They blamed the legal system. It wasn't the legal system's fault.
00:40:54The evidence was the evidence.
00:41:03But that's what happens when you commit crimes.
00:41:06People commit the crimes, but they don't want to do the time.
00:41:12Investigators in these recorded calls, they hear one that seems to take an ominous turn.
00:41:18Charlie, Charlie, can you hear me? Can you hear me?
00:41:23Donna's on the phone with her son, Charlie, and she understands that he has disconnected from the line,
00:41:29but she doesn't fully hang up the phone on her end.
00:41:32She puts the phone down, but it continues to record even as she's having conversations in her house with other
00:41:40people.
00:41:40You can trust what she's saying at that point. It's probably the most truth she's ever going to say.
00:41:45And she does. She spills. It's clear. She's ready to end her life.
00:41:49I can't. I can't push it. I'm not that strong. And I'm wondering willing to just say goodbye.
00:41:55We bought our cemetery property a couple months ago. We're good. I'm good. Leave a note.
00:42:01They'll know when to come and care. And we'll do it together.
00:42:05And then, still being recorded, Donna bears her soul, complaining the life she envisioned with her
00:42:10beloved grandchildren isn't all she'd imagined it would be.
00:42:13When they need us to babysit. So we've been really good nannies, and I guess our job is up.
00:42:19Because now the boys are older, so she doesn't need grandma and grandpa.
00:42:23Pretty hurtful. I have one son that I don't speak with. I have one son and his husband's dead.
00:42:30I don't get it. I said to Harvey, I swear to God, our family was cursed.
00:42:35It was absolutely cursed. And I don't know how to take care of it anymore.
00:42:40Sounding desperate and alone, Donna on that same recording now suggests the best thing to do
00:42:45might be to leave the country and fast.
00:42:49There's a lot of things that we have to do, and we've got a very tight time frame.
00:42:53We've been looking it up over and over. Things change if there is extradition from Vietnam.
00:43:00Because we've looked at all the places. I mean, I could go to Korea and China, but
00:43:04there's no extradition. But we're looking for places where there's no extradition.
00:43:08Before Donna makes her exit, she's heard on that recorded call,
00:43:12making plans to share important documents with her daughter, Wendy.
00:43:16We're going to be gone. I want her to have all this information. I have the cemetery property.
00:43:21I want her to steal that. I want her to have all these papers and the wills. I want her
00:43:26to steal this.
00:43:29What investigators learn is that she has this one-way ticket.
00:43:32Donna Adelson, along with her husband Harvey, they arrive at the Miami International Airport,
00:43:39planning to take this flight to Vietnam with a stop in Dubai.
00:43:44She had booked the flight one way. They hurriedly went to the judge and had the judge sign the warrant
00:43:50for arrest.
00:43:54With help from the FBI, local police converge on Miami International Airport to make that now infamous arrest.
00:44:06The final destination is Vietnam, and based on the allegations and the evidence in this case,
00:44:11it appears she was going there specifically because Vietnam is not a country with an extradition treaty
00:44:17with the United States.
00:44:19Somebody fleeing from a crime scene can be interpreted as consciousness of guilt.
00:44:24Where you flee or you do something that evidences your guilt, and the jury instruction is you can infer
00:44:30guilt from that conduct, and it's very damaging.
00:44:33And that ticket was a one-way ticket.
00:44:35Right. One of the fascinating things about murder cases, especially conspiracies,
00:44:40is it usually is their first rodeo. So they will do a series of things that are smart,
00:44:45and then everything after that is done. And this case is a perfect example.
00:44:50When did they issue a warrant?
00:44:52Donna talks with the officer about the warrant that was issued for her, both curious and also protesting.
00:44:58I didn't know there was a warrant. How would I know that? Aren't they supposed to inform that there was
00:45:04a warrant?
00:45:05And of course, the answer to that is no. We don't alert murderers that there's a warrant out for their
00:45:11arrest,
00:45:11or alleged murderers. Now, the only trip she's about to take is to the Leon County Jail,
00:45:19the polar opposite of her former luxury high-rise. And now Donna's worried if she'll even make it to trial.
00:45:27Someone came up behind me, pulled my left hand away from the sink, twisted my arm. She's a big woman,
00:45:34and I was afraid of her.
00:45:47Pancuffed to a bench, everything is gray and gray because that's the future in custody. The evidence
00:45:54against this woman is extremely powerful. Donna Adelson was booked into the Miami-Dade
00:45:59County Jail tonight on an out-of-county warrant. The arrest comes one week after a jury found
00:46:04Charlie Adelson guilty of orchestrating the fatal shooting of his former brother-in-law, Dan Markel.
00:46:12Norman, can you please state your name for the records? Make sure you speak in the microphone.
00:46:17Donna Adelson.
00:46:18More than a year passes as Donna waits for trial charged with first-degree murder,
00:46:22conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
00:46:28At a bond hearing February of 2025, the 74-year-old matriarch, whose residence
00:46:34had been a tony Miami condo, tells a judge the Leon County Detention Facility is no luxury hotel.
00:46:41Can you describe the conditions inside the annex, please?
00:46:45There are 66 women all in bunk beds, all open. You're kind of one on top of the next. There's
00:46:53no
00:46:53separation at all. And it's not just the grim living conditions. She's also apparently unhappy
00:47:00about what jail food has done to her once-trimmed figure. I've gained more than a third of my body
00:47:07weight here. The diet is all carbs, no protein. And you know, when you get you get spaghetti with
00:47:16mashed potatoes, cornbread and white bread, that's your dinner. Donna also claims she's been the target
00:47:21of intimidation and assault by fellow inmates. I do want to talk to you then about some physical
00:47:29issues that have taken place in the jail. The first one I want to talk about is an incident that
00:47:34took
00:47:34place in the shower. I was washing my hair and all of a sudden, someone came up behind me
00:47:42and pulled my left hand away from the sink and twisted my arm. I said, what are you doing? And
00:47:54she's in the
00:47:55same breath that she did that with my arm. She said, you're gonna buy me commissary. I said, I'm gonna
00:48:01what? And she said, unless you want those pretty white teeth knocked out of your mouth, you're gonna buy
00:48:08me commissary. So I said, okay, okay. And I know that you don't want to talk about who did this
00:48:16to
00:48:16you because why? There's one thing I've learned since I'm there is you don't, and the word is snitch,
00:48:24you don't snitch, you don't sell on anyone because you'll be sorry. She's a big, she's a big woman
00:48:31and I was afraid of her.
00:48:34Pleading for release five months before her trial and insisting she's not a flight risk,
00:48:39Donna now offers an explanation for the purchase of those infamous one-way tickets to Vietnam.
00:48:45Husband and I literally shocked and traumatized at what had happened to Charlie.
00:48:55And he said, we need to just get some peace. We need some, sweetheart. Let's go just get away.
00:49:02We're gonna just get away somewhere so we can have some time to think.
00:49:06Not surprisingly, the state is a bit skeptical.
00:49:10Okay. So your testimony is that you weren't
00:49:13trying to go to Vietnam because you wouldn't be able to be extradited from there.
00:49:18It's because, I don't know, maybe we watch too much TV or too many movies, but I've seen
00:49:24movies where people are stuck in like third world prisons and waiting and waiting and waiting.
00:49:32And my feeling was that this is not what we want to happen if we, if the state says they
00:49:40want us to
00:49:41come back, we'll buy a ticket, we'll come back on our own terms. We don't have to be sitting in
00:49:45a jail
00:49:46somewhere. We'll come back home and turn ourselves in.
00:49:50But jail is exactly where the judge rules Donna will have to stay until her trial,
00:49:54which begins in August of 2025, now 11 years after her former son-in-law was gunned down.
00:50:04After multiple delays and attorney changes, we are now here at the start of the Donna Adelson trial.
00:50:12Adelson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
00:50:21Everyone can be seated.
00:50:25Good morning, members of the jury.
00:50:31Day one of the trial, seeing the amount of media that was there, there was sort of this like nervous
00:50:37apprehension of what's going to happen. Who is the state going to call? Is there going to be
00:50:41a new piece of evidence we haven't seen or a new witness that we haven't seen?
00:50:45Is the state prepared to give its opening statement at this time?
00:50:49You may proceed.
00:50:51You will see that this defendant conspired with her son, Charlie Adelson, who solicited his girlfriend,
00:51:00Catherine McBanois, to get this murder done. And then this defendant paid her with cash,
00:51:05with checks for the job. And these acts make her guilty as a principle to first-degree murder,
00:51:13just as if she was the one pulling the trigger in the garage herself.
00:51:25I want to talk to you now about my client, Donna Adelson. She is a normal person. People who
00:51:35know Donna will tell you that she is not the person that the state is portraying her to be.
00:51:43She's kind, caring, loving. She cares more about people than she does about herself.
00:51:55The state has a theory, and for the past nine years, they have told the whole world
00:52:03that Mrs. Adelson was the reason that this happened.
00:52:07Without any evidence, only motive and theory, they put her at the top of this pyramid. She's the
00:52:16matriarch. She's the matriarch mastermind behind Danny being killed. And they don't have evidence of that.
00:52:24Over the next two weeks, jurors will hear testimony from a parade of witnesses,
00:52:28including many of the same ones called to testify in the previous trials. They include investigators,
00:52:35forensic examiners, the convicted hit men, Katie McVanua, and even Wendy Adelson. But there's also
00:52:42a new witness who may surprise you, one we've never heard from in this whole saga.
00:52:47Please raise your right hand to be sore. Donna's a strange son, Rob Adelson.
00:53:02Good morning, members of the jury.
00:53:05Every day, Tallahassee courtroom 3G is packed as the now 75-year-old family matriarch,
00:53:11Donna Adelson, is on trial. Everyone can be seated.
00:53:15Courtroom 3G was so busy for the entirety of the trial. The energy in the courtroom was tense,
00:53:22but also there was a kind of nervous excitement about it.
00:53:26This murder was set into motion because back in 2014, this defendant's family had a big problem.
00:53:34And the big problem was Dan Markell. Prosecutors lay out their case against Donna. Those nasty emails
00:53:40attacking Dan over the custody battle, that undercover sting video, and those payment checks
00:53:45written out to Katie and signed by Donna. But then, anticipation in the courtroom ratchets
00:53:51up to a whole new level when the prosecution calls a brand new witness.
00:53:57Please raise your right hand to be sworn.
00:54:00Donna Adelson's eldest son, Rob Adelson, walks into the courtroom.
00:54:06You have a son testifying against his own mother.
00:54:10Rob Adelson is estranged from his family. When he wanted to marry someone who wasn't Jewish,
00:54:16it was something that they didn't approve, and that created friction in the family.
00:54:20This is his first time ever testifying. We haven't heard from him before.
00:54:25Would you describe Donna Adelson's personality as being more controlling or more laid back?
00:54:32I think more on the controlling side. I think she had certain sort of rigid fixed
00:54:37ideas or impressions for what she wanted for us. And if you went along with that, things were fine.
00:54:42If you didn't, things were not fine. And Rob testifies that his mother was clearly not fine
00:54:47with her son-in-law, Dan Markell, after his divorce from Wendy.
00:54:51And how did Donna Adelson feel about Dan Markell in 2014?
00:54:58She hated him. Rob also testifies that after Dan Markell's murder,
00:55:04he got a call from Donna warning him not to talk to law enforcement.
00:55:08She had called me and said, you know, I just want to let you know, you know,
00:55:10if the police come around, um, you know, don't talk to them.
00:55:14Did you let her know that you already had talked to law enforcement?
00:55:17I said, I already did.
00:55:18What did she say to that?
00:55:19She said, oh, well, you don't know anything anyway.
00:55:21You don't, you don't know anything anyway?
00:55:22Correct.
00:55:24Rob Adelson testified that Donna Adelson had a complete lack of curiosity
00:55:30about the person behind the murder of Dan Markell.
00:55:34After the murder of Dan Markell, did Donna Adelson seem curious about who killed Dan Markell?
00:55:40No.
00:55:41Did you actually ever ask her like after the murder, like, hey, like, what do you think happened?
00:55:46Yeah. And I said, you know, what do you guys think happened?
00:55:49And she had said, you know, I don't know and I don't care. It doesn't concern me.
00:55:54Rob testifies that seemingly lack of concern about the case continued even after the two hitmen were arrested.
00:56:01So I finally broached the top and said they arrested someone who killed Danny.
00:56:05Um, you know, there's no response. And I said it, you know, at least two or three times that,
00:56:11you know, they actually, they arrested, they made an arrest. They got the guy who killed Danny.
00:56:16Yeah. And then her response was, you know, I've got to go.
00:56:20That was the last time I spoke to her.
00:56:22The prosecution then brings forward two more bombshell witnesses.
00:56:26Two of Donna Adelson's fellow inmates now turned jailhouse snitches.
00:56:32You may take your suit.
00:56:35According to these inmates, Donna promised them in exchange for positive testimony,
00:56:40everything from cash, veneers, health care, property, even prescription drugs.
00:56:47Did you ever outright ask her whether she did what she's accused of?
00:56:53I did.
00:56:54And what did she say to that?
00:56:56She said she did. It was to keep her grandkids, but it wasn't supposed to go that far.
00:57:03The reaction in the courtroom was audible. There was a gasp. There was an emotional reaction.
00:57:09But on cross-examination, the defense gets burned to admit that Donna never stated that she
00:57:13actually carried through on her plans.
00:57:27The other fellow inmate of Donna's who takes the stand is Drina Bernhardt.
00:57:32She too says she became close to Donna in jail, but went to authorities after she claims
00:57:38Donna asked her to lie on the stand for her.
00:57:41One of the key pieces of evidence during Drina Bernhardt's testimony
00:57:44was a notebook that she had while she was incarcerated.
00:57:50And inside that was Donna's handwriting with what she wanted Drina to say on the stand,
00:57:56almost like a question and answer script.
00:57:59Is this the script that was prepared for you by Miss Adelson?
00:58:02Yes, it is.
00:58:05Whose handwriting is this on this first page?
00:58:08That's Donna's Miss Adelson.
00:58:11Okay, so she wrote this in your notebook?
00:58:14Yes, ma'am.
00:58:15And what is it you're supposed to do with this information?
00:58:19I was supposed to study it and answer it correctly on the stand for her.
00:58:27Drina testifies that one of those passages was an invented conversation between Donna and Katie
00:58:33about that supposed extortion plot.
00:58:36Charlie was scared and easy to extort.
00:58:39What a stupid fool.
00:58:40He believed her that she was keeping him safe from the killers.
00:58:46Ha ha, what a joke.
00:58:48Is that the type of language that Catherine McBanawell would use?
00:58:51No.
00:58:53The defense claims that Drina had a lot to gain by testifying on the state's behalf
00:58:59to try and get a reduced sentence.
00:59:01You are facing 15 years mandatory day-for-day sentencing,
00:59:06unless you can reach an agreement with the state.
00:59:08Correct.
00:59:09And then you meet Donna Adelson.
00:59:11Correct.
00:59:12Your get-out-of-jail-free card.
00:59:14I don't have an answer to that.
00:59:16The prosecution rests their case.
00:59:25And now it's the defense's turn.
00:59:28Do they have a trick up their sleeve?
00:59:30Because it sure looks like Donna's feeling good about her chances.
00:59:36Only if you take me with you.
00:59:47It's day 10 inside of the courtroom,
00:59:49and it's the first time the defense is going to present their case.
00:59:55But before even starting, without the jury present, the defense takes a bold step.
01:00:00They asked the judge to dismiss some of the charges.
01:00:04The emails, text messages, testimony.
01:00:08No one has said that my client solicited anybody to commit murder.
01:00:13What the defense is claiming is that the prosecution hasn't presented any evidence
01:00:18that Donna was actually involved in this murder plot before it happened.
01:00:22Defending about how somebody is treating their daughter
01:00:26is not the same as asking somebody to have them killed.
01:00:29The harassment court grant judgment of acquittal on counts one and count three.
01:00:35Judges rarely grant these kinds of motions because they don't want to take the decision away from the jury.
01:00:41While there is a lot of circumstantial evidence and inferences in this case, there is also direct evidence.
01:00:47And in this case, after hearing from prosecutors, that's just what happened.
01:00:51Motion for judgment of acquittal will be denied at this time.
01:00:55So the jury returns to the courtroom and the defense starts calling witnesses.
01:00:59And these are essentially friends of Donna Adelson's.
01:01:03We're all talking about her good character and how she's a good person.
01:01:07Do you describe Donna as a typical Jewish grandmother?
01:01:11More than typical.
01:01:13And a typical Jewish mother?
01:01:15Yes.
01:01:16Have you ever heard her threaten anyone?
01:01:18Never.
01:01:19Have you ever seen her harm anyone?
01:01:21Never.
01:01:21Have you ever heard her threaten to have somebody harmed?
01:01:24No.
01:01:24The defense is trying to make Donna look as sympathetic as they can for the jury.
01:01:29But prosecutors can attack that image on cross-examination.
01:01:32Does a typical Jewish grandmother suggest dressing her grandchildren up in Nazi uniforms?
01:01:39Not to my knowledge.
01:01:41Did she talk to you about plans to threaten or to convert the children to Christianity
01:01:47in order to strong arm Mr. Markell?
01:01:49She mentioned that she had said that and she said that was so foolish of me.
01:01:55Those friends go on to testify about what they say they saw after Donna's son Charlie was convicted.
01:02:01Was she upset?
01:02:02Yes.
01:02:03She cried a lot.
01:02:05Just incredibly sad.
01:02:07She was considering taking her own life.
01:02:13Because of that, the defense is sticking to that story that Donna wanted to go to Vietnam
01:02:18to clear her head.
01:02:19A temporary vacation as those friends go on to testify.
01:02:24And I suggested, since you don't know when you're coming back until sometime in January,
01:02:29you know, book a one-way.
01:02:31So I'd be willing to bet it's cheaper to fly from Vietnam to the United States
01:02:34than it is from the United States to Vietnam.
01:02:38The one-way ticket was not them fleeing the country
01:02:41because they had to come back for a bar mitzvah that was scheduled.
01:02:45They didn't know how long they were going to be gone.
01:02:47But they were coming back for the bar mitzvah.
01:02:48Oh, definitely. They wouldn't miss it for the world.
01:02:52Once again, prosecutors pointedly challenged the testimony on cross-examination.
01:02:57And when she went to Vietnam or was trying to go to Vietnam to clear her head,
01:03:03she was going to clear her head in a non-extradition country.
01:03:06Can you agree with that?
01:03:08I wasn't aware it was non-extradition.
01:03:11Remember, the defense just needs to convince at least one juror that there's reasonable doubt
01:03:15that the story is not what the prosecutors claimed.
01:03:19For example, that whole divorce custody case,
01:03:22that supposedly highly charged fight that prosecutors claimed led to the murder,
01:03:27the defense calls Wendy's divorce lawyer.
01:03:29Would you call her divorce a bitter custody battle?
01:03:34I would not.
01:03:36A run-of-the-mill kind of parenting issue kind of case.
01:03:40And then a lawyer who was not involved, but who the defense hired to review the records of the case.
01:03:46It was settled amicably, and everybody was moving on with their lives.
01:03:52And quickly?
01:03:53Yes.
01:03:54Did it appear my client accepted that Wendy was going to be staying in Tallahassee?
01:04:00Yes. It was done.
01:04:03To you, it might not seem like a big deal.
01:04:05But to the parties, it might be the most important thing in the whole wide world.
01:04:08There was a really heated cross-examination by the prosecution,
01:04:11really focusing on the fact that it might not be contentious for her, who practices law every day,
01:04:19but it is contentious for the two people involved in this case,
01:04:22when what's at stake is the custody of their children.
01:04:25You would not say that divorce and child custody issues are emotionally charged?
01:04:30They can be. But in this case, they weren't.
01:04:33They weren't? How do you know?
01:04:36From the pleadings.
01:04:37Still, as the defense case goes on, Donna appears in good spirits.
01:04:42You got it?
01:04:43Yeah.
01:04:44I'm that foot?
01:04:45I'm good.
01:04:46Okay.
01:04:47There's actually body camera footage of an officer escorting Donna to court,
01:04:51and she's all smiles as she arrives in a wheelchair.
01:04:54Yeah.
01:04:56You got a big day.
01:04:58Yeah, you know, judge me not like that.
01:05:02There was a lot of questioning about, is Donna going to testify?
01:05:07Are we going to hear from her for the first time and hear in her own words what happened?
01:05:12That's going to require some additional conversations.
01:05:15But when the lawyers tell the judge Donna still hasn't decided if she wants to testify,
01:05:19the judge calls a halt to the proceedings. He gives the jurors a long lunch break,
01:05:23so Donna's going to have plenty of time to make up her mind.
01:05:26Everyone can be seated.
01:05:28When court resumes.
01:05:31Concerning those rights as to whether you will remain silent or whether you will testify,
01:05:36have you made a decision concerning this matter?
01:05:39I haven't. I'm not prepared to make that decision.
01:05:43This decision affects the rest of my life.
01:05:46I couldn't believe this was happening. I can't believe that we're here and
01:05:49we're still waiting for her to make a decision.
01:05:51Mrs. Abelson, you're in the same position as every other criminal defendant who faces trial.
01:05:58Ultimately, you must decide whether you will testify or whether you will not.
01:06:02I will give you exactly five additional minutes.
01:06:21Mr. Zellman, Ms. Fulford, Ms. Zadelson, the extra time that you have been provided,
01:06:27that has come to a conclusion.
01:06:28Those five minutes the judge gave Donna to decide if she's going to testify are now over.
01:06:33Her answer may be the most hotly anticipated moment of the whole trial.
01:06:38As it relates to your right to remain silent and your right to testify,
01:06:44what is your decision concerning these two rights?
01:06:47I just remember that it being seconds of silence, complete and utter silence,
01:06:53and you're seeing people craning to see what she's doing, what she's seeing,
01:06:57what she's thinking. What is she going to say?
01:07:00Then, finally, Donna answers softly.
01:07:04At this time, I don't want to testify.
01:07:07Donna is not going to tell her side, not going to subject herself to cross-examination.
01:07:13And with that, the defense rests. The state calls no rebuttal witnesses.
01:07:18And so the next day, it's on to the closing arguments.
01:07:23Well, this is Dan Markell. He's the victim in this case. A son, a brother, a colleague,
01:07:32but most of all, a father.
01:07:34The prosecutor, Georgia Kappelman, she begins her closing argument where she's telling this jury that
01:07:40Dan Markell, he's the victim here, he's the center, and that he was someone who was trying
01:07:46to fight for custody of his kids. But the more that he fought, the more that Donna Adelson got angry.
01:07:53She wasn't going to get what she wanted through the legal system, but that wasn't the only way to
01:07:57skin a cat, was it? The ends justify the means for her people.
01:08:03Kappelman says those ends, relocating her grandkids away from Tallahassee, led to Donna's plan.
01:08:10She used Charlie to get Dan killed. What was the cost of that to not only Dan Markell, but to
01:08:19those
01:08:19little boys? Those boys who lost their father. It wasn't better for them to be in South Florida. It
01:08:26was better for them to have their father. This defendant decided they didn't need their dad.
01:08:32She doesn't get to decide that. May you have the strength and the common sense to see this evidence
01:08:37for what it is? It's only one thing, only one truth, fine or guilty.
01:08:43That was a highly emotional moment. And I think for them, it was a chance to say,
01:08:48this is what you're doing it for. This is who we're seeking justice for.
01:08:51It is for these two little boys that lost their father. But then the defense came in and said
01:08:56something equally as powerful. We sat here for days listening to testimony of witness after witness
01:09:02getting on the stand. Not a single one of them connected my client to Danny Markell's murder.
01:09:08Not one. Jackie Fulford tells the jury not to get sidetracked by all that emotion.
01:09:14She says they must focus only on the evidence of what Donna did leading up to the murder.
01:09:20What? Not a single email, no phone calls that are recorded, no written documents,
01:09:26no emails, not one single thing that said anything about wanting Danny Markell killed.
01:09:34She admits Donna called Dan Markell a lot of bad names and that she may have been overly involved
01:09:39in her kids' lives. But she's just being a parent, not a killer. She's a meddler, not a murderer.
01:09:46They haven't proven that to you. You have to find her not guilty because they have failed to do their
01:09:52job.
01:09:53Prior to that closing argument, I would say that the general consensus was that she's guilty.
01:09:58I think for the first time after the defense's closing arguments, there was an element of
01:10:04maybe they will find her innocent. The defense team looked rather confident
01:10:08with their client, like they had given it their all. They had put on a great defense
01:10:13and that hopefully they had given the jury something to think about that equaled reasonable doubt.
01:10:18And in fact, trial watchers saw some legal analysts predicting a possible win for Donna.
01:10:24I don't believe the case was proven against Donna Edelson. I believe it's very, it's far from being
01:10:30proven. I think she's, she should be acquitted completely. And then only about three hours after
01:10:36the jury left. We have a verdict in the matriarch mastermind murder trial. It's about the same amount
01:10:41of time the jury took in Charlie's trial. We really weren't sure what this jury was coming back with.
01:10:47After three hours, there was a sentiment that it was possible it could go either way.
01:10:53The judge comes in.
01:10:54Please bring in the juice.
01:10:56It was so tense in that room. I've never felt tension like that.
01:11:02The jury comes in.
01:11:05Has the jury reached a unanimous verdict?
01:11:08Yeah.
01:11:09The bailiff hands the verdict to the judge. No one was moving. I don't think anyone was breathing,
01:11:14honestly. It was that tense.
01:11:18The defendant is guilty of first-degree murder. Mrs. Edelson, control yourself.
01:11:25When the verdict was read out, Donna Edelson let out a very audible gasp. A lot of like,
01:11:31no, no, no, moving around.
01:11:34While this was not the outcome I'm sure that you desired, there will not be any further outbursts in
01:11:40front of the jury. It was so emotional that Judge Everett had to ask the jury to be removed from
01:11:45the
01:11:45courtroom. Members of the jury, the bailiff will escort you to the jury room.
01:11:51So he could remind Donna Edelson to control her emotions.
01:11:55Do you need a moment to collect yourself? Please give her tissues if she needs them.
01:12:03There's part of me that thinks it was an act, that she wasn't just going to sit calmly.
01:12:07She was going to give the reaction that perhaps the public expects from someone when they are
01:12:13innocent and found guilty. Dan Markell's parents sit stoically a few feet away.
01:12:18How many times must they have wanted to speak their mind to Donna?
01:12:22In just a few minutes, they will finally get their chance.
01:12:26And Donna speaks and says something the jury never heard.
01:12:31One of them is now speaking to 2020.
01:12:34My name is Evan Higginbotham. That was jury number six in Donna Edelson's trial.
01:12:52The prosecution had a long list of evidence. And I think it was how they presented that evidence in
01:13:04the trial that laid out everything to finally land me in a guilty verdict at the end of it.
01:13:10We the jury find as follows. The defendant is guilty of first degree murder.
01:13:17Mrs. Edelson, control yourself.
01:13:21I expected it to be difficult to be in the same room as her when she was told that she
01:13:25would likely
01:13:25be spending the rest of her life in prison. But it was definitely challenging to see her come to terms
01:13:32with that.
01:13:34After the verdict comes down, Dan Markell's parents are allowed to address the court.
01:13:41Our lives will never return to normal. For those who love Danny and for those who Danny loved,
01:13:48there is no escape from the wicked effects of what Donna Edelson set in motion, carried out,
01:13:55and paid for, and for many years enjoyed the aftermath off.
01:14:01Donna's selfishness, cruelty, and complete disrespect for human life, along with that of her co-conspirators,
01:14:11have left families forever broken. I wish that every day of her remaining days,
01:14:19she thinks about the harm she has caused to so many, especially those two boys she claims to have loved
01:14:28so much.
01:14:29And my only short question to Donna, was it worth it?
01:14:38When Donna's being transported to the facility from the courthouse, she's visibly emotional.
01:14:50After the trial, prosecutor Georgia Kappelman reflects on the case and its littlest victims,
01:14:56Dan and Wendy's sons.
01:14:58Yeah, there's no justice for them, and I haven't done them any favors today, and I want to sleep over
01:15:03that fact.
01:15:04The family's just been totally destroyed, and I need that. Sometimes it feels a little bit like
01:15:09being a part of it, you know, and so I wish them nothing but the best.
01:15:15Reporters immediately want to know if there will be more prosecutions in the case.
01:15:18Do we need to stay tuned?
01:15:20You can stay tuned.
01:15:22The last time Georgia Kappelman says stay tuned is after Charlie was convicted,
01:15:27and Donna's arrested days later.
01:15:29All right, unfortunately.
01:15:39We're going to put her in the new house so that we're going to do this.
01:15:48All rise.
01:15:50at sentencing we heard from harvey for the first time on the record
01:15:57donna has always been a loving and caring wife and is innocent of the charges a biased judge
01:16:04and jury were influenced by years of one-sided news pieces
01:16:12donna radelson wanted to share some comments at her own sentencing
01:16:16if i had become aware of this plan before danny was murdered i would have stopped it
01:16:22the minute donna radelson starts speaking she's immediately emotional with not one iota of actual
01:16:30evidence the state convinced the tallahassee jury that i solicited and conspired with other people
01:16:38to have danny killed where is the evidence prior to the murder
01:16:45mrs adelson you certainly can continue however the court can take into consideration the utter
01:16:53lack of remorse that you are displaying the judge reminds her that this is her opportunity to show
01:17:00remorse to tell him why he should sentence her to less but it seems that donna isn't really interested
01:17:06in that never in a million years would i have wanted danny to be harmed or killed
01:17:12nor could i ever do something that would leave these two small boys to grow up without him
01:17:20you certainly can choose to deny your involvement and maintain innocence the court finds the evidence
01:17:27in this case is clear he will be sentenced accordingly this afternoon miss adelson please rise
01:17:36despite her pleas of innocence donna adelson is sentenced to life in prison without parole for
01:17:42the murder of dan markell with an additional 30 years for the solicitation and conspiracy charges
01:17:53this is dan as for dan markell's family their lives remain forever changed i was danny's older sister
01:18:02nothing can ever be the same again danny is gone and that's number one but number two we don't have
01:18:13the
01:18:13connection to his family to his boys so for my parents they have a gaping hole because their son
01:18:20was murdered but they also lost their grandchildren it's very difficult these boys are missing out on
01:18:30a set of grandparents that have all this warmth and desire to spoil them and be grandparents to them
01:18:38this is a great picture the two of us i try very hard to push all this to the back
01:18:47of my mind but
01:18:48needless to say every single day in one way or another it gets pushed back from the back to the
01:18:55front
01:18:56dan's mother says she remembers her son for what she considers his most meaningful achievement danny was a
01:19:03great father one of the things with all his accomplishments to me i'm the proudest of him
01:19:09as a father we should point out tonight that charlie adelson has appealed his murder conviction and his
01:19:22mother donna says she plans to as well it has now been 10 years since dan markell's murder his children
01:19:28are actually teenagers now that's our program for tonight thanks for watching i'm deborah roberts and
01:19:34i'm david muir from all of us at 2020 and abc news good night
01:19:58him
01:20:05one
Comments