GUILTY FL - FSU Law Professor Dan Markel Murdered by Hitmen #17

[opt]

In my opinion the state's best option now is to try all 3 family members together on murder and conspiracy and obstruction charges. A combined trial eliminates the game of each party blaming the others.

If Harvey and Donna want to plead out to protect Wendi, she might still be convicted of obstruction for her police interview claim that she didn't know anything.

The baby steps are done. It's time to go all in.

I bet Georgia agrees. "Stay tuned".

 

[amicuscurie]

Anybody know what’s happening with that juror motion? Sounds to me like nothing. He knew during the trial that they had exchanged numbers, but he doesn’t mention it until moments after the verdict, when he contacts the defense? To me, it sounds like he’s mad he wasn’t included on the group chat, and/or he’s mad that he wasn’t in the deliberations. Perhaps he might’ve voted not guilty. According to court observers, his behavior was notable throughout the trial. I wonder if the Jury consultant deliberately chose someone like this in order to possibly create some difficulty with deliberation, just owing to personality conflicts. I saw an interview with a jury consultant, and he said that sometimes the defense does look for difficult personalities who might make a hung jury more likely. In a case like this, with this evidence, something like that might be worth the money.

 

[Laura930]

Anybody know what’s happening with that juror motion? Sounds to me like nothing. He knew during the trial that they had exchanged numbers, but he doesn’t mention it until moments after the verdict, when he contacts the defense? To me, it sounds like he’s mad he wasn’t included on the group chat, and/or he’s mad that he wasn’t in the deliberations. Perhaps he might’ve voted not guilty. According to court observers, his behavior was notable throughout the trial. I wonder if the Jury consultant deliberately chose someone like this in order to possibly create some difficulty with deliberation, just owing to personality conflicts. I saw an interview with a jury consultant, and he said that sometimes the defense does look for difficult personalities who might make a hung jury more likely. In a case like this, with this evidence, something like that might be worth the money.

Is there a summary (or link) of what this juror did during the trial anywhere?

 

[Orange Tabby]

'This is Our Story'

Wendi Adelson's criminally lousy novel, "This is Our Story"

A former Florida State law professor named Wendi Adelson is in the public spotlight because members of her family have been implicate...

outsidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com

'she adopted the kid in her maiden name and did not want him in her or her child's lives.' & other highlights

This review of Wendi’s book is both hilarious and heart-breaking. Read this review! You will laugh and you will cry.

The writer notes,

The naming question in the novel foreshadows Adelson's real life behavior, post murder, in changing her children's surnames from Markel to Adelson and removing the middle name of one son because it referenced Markel's deceased grandmother.

I did not know about the middle name business. It seems the only things she wanted from DM were his kids and a treasured family heirloom. What a monster.

 

[scapa]

They tried that. He got a position there on a trial basis for a year. He wasn‘t invited back. According to Epstein’s book, it was because Wendi was given a job there, too, for the year, and she wasn’t good at it. They knew if they hired him, she would have to work there, too, and they didn’t want that. So, there goes their dream of living in Miami. Epstein’s book is good.

As a (clinical) prof affiliated with UK, CAN and US unis, I'm not sure about that one. Spousal hires are tricky, and in many places no longer offered as they once were. And a "trial basis" hire with a path to a tenured position sounds speculative to me.

No doubt that DM was a draw for some law schools, but WA -- from a CV perspective and scholarly interest POV at least -- should have made for an attractive spousal hire -- and would not necessarily have been full faculty at that point. WA would have had to have been spectacularly bad, IMO and IME, for a uni that wanted her husband badly to have passed on the pair, and I would not expect an ambitious young academic lawyer to have done anything other than grab the prize offered had it been within her control. I wonder whether Dan's sometime rep as a rather caustic critic and/ or their vibe as a couple was already sending up some flags.

Anyhoo, glad this one's over and that CA is behind bars for what looks like it might be forever. What a guy. What a family.

EDIT: Whoops! Looks like all this was discussed upthread. Soz!

 

[lulu212]

Any member of the bar could raise the ethical complaint though. It wouldn't have to come from Georgia.

 

[opt]

Anybody know what’s happening with that juror motion? Sounds to me like nothing. He knew during the trial that they had exchanged numbers, but he doesn’t mention it until moments after the verdict, when he contacts the defense?

On STS they said that unless there's any evidence that jurors discussed the case on group chat, there's nothing to investigate. I bet it was set up to coordinate meals and other logistics, and to allow jury members to stay in touch post-trial.

My conjecture: The oddball juror was miffed about being excluded from the group for being unfriendly. He waited until the end to object because until then he still hoped to be included. As to whether he would have had the personal fortitude to hang the jury, no one will ever know.

 

[Gypsy Road]

RSBM - if a tree had fallen, crime scene tape would not have been used.

Great point!

 

[Hiller]

She has given several different reasons in her police Interview and the three times she testified: Trescott was a shortcut to the main road. She sometimes drove by the house to come to terms with the divorce. She has a bad sense of direction so she took the route she was used to.

For purpose of further discussion/conjecture, let's agree that Wendy had to be planning either (a) to drive TO the residence or (b) to drive BY the residence. I am going with (a) and that she was planning to stage the "shock" show she ended up performing at the police interview then and there, but the roadblock upset her plans and she panicked and turned around. Plus, the way she looked at the police station is not the way you look to go to lunch with the gals.

 

[opt]

Did the people at the lunch report that she was agitated or not acting normally?

 

[Hiller]

Did the people at the lunch report that she was agitated or not acting normally?

Good question. Given the breadth of the investigation, I think evidence answering this question and others (e.g., did an inventory of her car made that day (if done) turn up anything, was there a phone call to the school after drop-off by Dan, etc., remains undisclosed by the prosecutors because it was not useful in previous prosecutions.

 

[Seattle1]

Did the people at the lunch report that she was agitated or not acting normally?

Since WA appeared at the police station fairly early, I'm not sure that WA was at lunch very long before police came by to collect her. (Pinged her phone for location??)

We know that the officer standing post near the perimeter of the crime scene when WA drove by was already aware of her identity and make/model of her vehicle. JMO

 

[Missyrocks5]

I'll just note that the kids are in their tweens/early teens now. They're entering their teenage years, a time when many kids begin thinking more independently and start to rebel against authority. Friends, classmates and others who are not tied to their family also become more influential in their lives.

These two will also eventually have unfettered access to the internet where they can access hundreds of court documents, blogs, forums, youtube videos etc all documenting the involvement of the Adelson family in their father's murder.

I couldn't guess how they'll react. Maybe they'll reject all that's out there and remain close to the family, or maybe they will start to question the received family wisdom.

edit - Also if trials of their mother and/or grandmother occur in a couple of years time then it will be much harder for the Adelson's to hide them from all the goings-on while they are in high school and old enough to understand the details of the trial testimony.

I sure hope so. And that they change their name back to Markel. I think OJ's kids with Nicole are both close to him. I wouldnt be surprised if the damage is done here. They said one of the kids contacted CA in jail. Maybe between their friends talking to them and the internet, they'll know. I hope Phil and Ruth are here to see it.

 

[Missyrocks5]

She (WA) on the witness stand said she received it as a divorce gift from CA....so some time round July 2013?
If I could tell a bad joke, it would start, "How many phone calls does it take 3 educated people to replace a TV?" Really.

Exactly. And add 3 multimillionaires for a small, cheap, small tv to that.

 

[Missyrocks5]

OJ’s kids still think he didn’t do it. Family is powerful.

I literally just posted this not having seen what you had written. The only family they've known at that. Like Dateline episodes with Michael Petersen's kids and so many others. Denial is real.

 

[Blue Shakehead]

Did Wendi Adelson tell Charlie where Dan was going to be the morning of his murder? Did Dan's voicemail give her the comfort that the kids were already at Creative pre-school?

0:00 Wendi has a calendar appointment "Fix TV" for 8:00 am on July 18, 2014. Appointment is deleted from her phone before her police interview later that afternoon.
8:09am Wendi calls Donna Adelson (no answer)
8:10am Donna calls Wendi Adelson (no answer)
8:11am Donna texts Wendi Adelson: "Best Buy just called me and I told them to confirm with you. They are on their way over now to help you with the TV set in your living room."
8:20am Wendi texts Charlie: "This is so sweet. Deleted before police interview.
9:02am Dan Markel leaves Wendi a voicemail on Wendi's phone "I am going to be at the gym probably between 9:15 and 10:30 but I am happy to chat or meet with you. Maybe we can go for a walk at school or something like that. Let me know."
9:19am Wendi calls Charlie for 18 minutes and 17 seconds.
9:58am Charlie calls Magbanua for 6 minutes and 46 seconds
10:06 Charlie calls Wendi (no answer)
10:07 Magbanua calls Charlie for 1 minute and 9 seconds.
10:09 Charlie calls Magbanua for 5 minutes and 54 seconds.

 

[Wishbone]

Did Wendi Adelson tell Charlie where Dan was going to be the morning of his murder? Did Dan's voicemail give her the comfort that the kids were already at Creative pre-school?

0:00 Wendi has a calendar appointment "Fix TV" for 8:00 am on July 18, 2014. Appointment is deleted from her phone before her police interview later that afternoon.
8:09am Wendi calls Donna Adelson (no answer)
8:10am Donna calls Wendi Adelson (no answer)
8:11am Donna texts Wendi Adelson: "Best Buy just called me and I told them to confirm with you. They are on their way over now to help you with the TV set in your living room."
8:20am Wendi texts Charlie: "This is so sweet. Deleted before police interview.
9:02am Dan Markel leaves Wendi a voicemail on Wendi's phone "I am going to be at the gym probably between 9:15 and 10:30 but I am happy to chat or meet with you. Maybe we can go for a walk at school or something like that. Let me know."
9:19am Wendi calls Charlie for 18 minutes and 17 seconds.
9:58am Charlie calls Magbanua for 6 minutes and 46 seconds
10:06 Charlie calls Wendi (no answer)
10:07 Magbanua calls Charlie for 1 minute and 9 seconds.
10:09 Charlie calls Magbanua for 5 minutes and 54 seconds.

I might be wrong but DM's message sounds like he is getting back to a request from WA?

 

[IQuestion]

'This is Our Story'

Wendi Adelson's criminally lousy novel, "This is Our Story"

A former Florida State law professor named Wendi Adelson is in the public spotlight because members of her family have been implicate...

outsidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com

'she adopted the kid in her maiden name and did not want him in her or her child's lives.' & other highlights

COTTONWEAVER You just had to do it, huh? (Tons of smiley faces for ya' cuz I can't make this stuff up!) Now I'm reading more about Wendi's book and deeper dive found this in: About the author....
She has been a contestant on The Weakest Link, a contortionist, and now, a novelist. She resides in Florida with her boys.

Wendi Adelson: books, biography, latest update

Follow Wendi Adelson and explore their bibliography from Amazon.com's Wendi Adelson Author Page.

www.amazon.com

 

[Seattle1]

I might be wrong but DM's message sounds like he is getting back to a request from WA?

Thinking back to Webster's testimony, I think DM had calmed down where he thought he could have a face to face with WA about enrollment at the Charter school WA initiated without input from DM.

Although the estranged parents did not meet, I believe DM's last call was with the music teacher for the Charter school. It stuck with me that DM's last communication was about his children.

 

[Missyrocks5]

She has given several different reasons in her police Interview and the three times she testified: Trescott was a shortcut to the main road. She sometimes drove by the house to come to terms with the divorce. She has a bad sense of direction so she took the route she was used to.

A question I do have, and this info may be out there, and I just don't remember it. For her to go down Trescott, she had to know where it was going to be done. We presume she supplied the time to coincide with JL driving out of town nearby framing him.

It seems like a very risky thing to do in that quiet neighborhood at that time in the morning to go in the garage and follow him home. Anyone could've been getting groceries out of their car in their driveway or whatever. But I guess it was to make it look as though JL did it before he went on his trip? I know it had to coincide to DM's schedule that he had dropped off the boys, wasn't working, and then was leaving to go out of town the next day to visit his girlfriend in NY. It just seems so risky. But it did work.

And as everyone says, but for the great neighbor seeing the car, they truly probably would've gotten away with this. It's just beyond crazy