GUILTY FL - FSU Law Professor Dan Markel Murdered by Hitmen #18

[dotr]

Matriarch charged with arranging Toronto-born law professor's death

he matriarch of a South Florida family who made their fortune practicing dentistry has been arrested at Miami International Airport on charges of orchestrating the hit-man murder of her ex-son-in-law, one week after her oral surgeon son was convicted on the same first-degree murder charge.

www.cp24.com

November 15, 2023 11:46AM EST
''FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The matriarch of a South Florida family who made their fortune practicing dentistry has been arrested at Miami International Airport on charges of orchestrating the hit-man murder of her ex-son-in-law, one week after her oral surgeon son was convicted on the same first-degree murder charge.
Authorities said Donna Adelson, 73, was arrested Monday night as she and her husband were about to use one-way tickets to board a flight to Dubai and Vietnam, countries that do not have an extradition treaty with the United States. She is charged with arranging the 2014 murder of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel, who was shot in the head inside his Tallahassee garage.
Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell said in a Tuesday phone interview that while he believes his prosecutors already had enough evidence to convict Adelson before Monday, plans for her arrest had to be accelerated when investigators learned of her plans to leave the country.''

 

[vislaw]

Donna's "TV" code after the bump is incredibly significant. I was hoping Georgia would ask Charlie "Did you ask your mother why she chose to use that term?" The answer to that question would not be hearsay and would have been interesting to hear. That Charlie understood the phrase immediately was damning -- as is the incredibly lame way he tried to explain it as a coincidental word salad. He KNEW how bad the issue was and after years of contemplation that was the best he could come up with.

 

[Sustained]

I realize that convicting her is problematic-where I was going was that crazy family dynamic that caused her brother, her mom and possibly her dad to involve themselves in such a horrible way, that really blew back on them, and not on Wendi.

I have the belief that WA will eventually be charged, perhaps by CA rolling on her after spending sometime in a FL max prison.

 

[turaj]

It's actually spelled Bulleit. It's a very popular bourbon, you can probably buy it in any liquor store or order it at any bar in America. It's not terribly expensive either, around $25 at my local Total Wine, so it makes sense as a housewarming gift.
View attachment 461132
I really don't think that there's any secret meaning behind the request to get that specific bottle, it's just an unfortunate coincidence that the name is similar to bullet.

It sounded like a party where each attendee was assigned a brand and this was how the wedding couple stocked their bar...it would stand to reason they request a supply of specific bottles so as to have the proper balance and choices. I have never heard of this but don't travel in the same circles as Wendi.

 

[clearskies1]

Donna's "TV" code after the bump is incredibly significant. I was hoping Georgia would ask Charlie "Did you ask your mother why she chose to use that term?" The answer to that question would not be hearsay and would have been interesting to hear. That Charlie understood the phrase immediately was damning -- as is the incredibly lame way he tried to explain it as a coincidental word salad. He KNEW how bad the issue was and after years of contemplation that was the best he could come up with.

Yes, the first post-bump wiretap call btwn Donna and Charlie is brutal for both of them. Interesting that the State didn't charge Charlie until years later, when they got the enhanced Dolce Vita audio. I wonder why they didn't charge Donna sooner. Maybe they thought it was possible that Charlie would flip on her. JMO.

 

[ilovewings]

Her mom is a real piece of…something. What was meant by calling Dan “jibbers”? And they are Jews-kosher food is not a crazy thing for many-why would that be such an issue? They didn’t know this before Wendi married him?

Gosh- I forgot Donna calling Dan "jibbers"- she apparently enjoyed demeaning him- no doubt she and Wendi had lots of laughs behind his back. Poor man----he was a good and decent man who simply married the wrong woman- a sadly fatal mistake.

 

[Gypsy Road]

I think one of the problems in connecting and arresting Wendi is that there isn’t really a money trail connecting her to Katie, SG and LR where there is with Donna and Charlie. She may have known about the murder scheme, but connecting her will be difficult.

 

[Wishbone]

Yes, it's pronounced the same as an ammo. Although I've also heard it mispronounced a lot.

If it's true that the hosts suggested that WA get that particular bourbon, than I'd just chalk it up to coincidence.

On the other hand, if WA was the one who picked the bottle, then who knows? Maybe it was a little family "joke" like Jibbers or TV. But, I tend to doubt Wendy was a whisky connoisseur so it would likely be Charlie who came up with it.

coincidence for some, synchronicity for others

 

[Blue Shakehead]

Brilliant analysis. I like what you said about the phone call to Charlie that morning. And she does bring up the argument about the swimming pretty early on in the police interview.

The first attempt failed because he was with the kids, according to Luis, or rather they couldn’t confirm he wasn’t with them. They would have wanted to make sure he wasn’t with them the second time. This could explain the text to Dan (and even her wanting the kids that week, though in the end she didn’t take them for some reason, which is strange).

So him wanting to take the kids swimming and bring them to her later, instead of her getting them directly from the school, could have put a sudden wrinkle in the plans. Maybe she DID talk to Charlie about this, like she said on the stand. Maybe he assured her it was still going to be OK. Maybe they were still trying to figure this out. There are a lot of calls back and forth with Katie and the killers in that time, too.

It appears that she left her house suddenly that morning. She tells Isom she didn’t have time to shower, and she was running late. But she makes sure to say she left at 12:15 (and later, she says she left even earlier, “around 12) in the interview. (Records at trial show she indeed left later, closer to 12:30.) Her lunch was at 1. She says she was running late, but she wouldn’t have been late if she left at 12, or 12:15 as she said, even if she did run some errands. So this doesn’t make sense. What if her plans were originally to shower and get ready for lunch and leave at around 12:45 and do the errands later? But she ran out of the house earlier without showering for some reason? All speculation, of course.

She only brings up the swimming after she has agreed to give Isom her phone. She is telling Isom that her last communications with Danny were "not nice". Her explanation for this was:

Wendi: “yeah, I’m just looking here (flips through phone). I didn’t want him to take the boys this afternoon. I had wanted to have them. And I talked it over with my brother and realized, you know, if their Dad wants to take them swimming, it’s not worth getting upset over.

Back up a sec here. Dan is leaving for NYC the next day and won't see his kids for a week. Despite his best efforts, these two are not positively co-parenting with each other. She's not complying with Skype calls with Dan on the weeks she has the kids. He invites her to kids events when he has them and she never does. She just sabotaged him about the school and she wouldn't even pick up the phone to discuss it with him. All week. And here she is, asking if she can pick the kids up early on his last day with them. And very upset when Dan tells her no. It makes ZERO sense. And then she suggests that Charlie, of all people, who we now know has killers circling Tallahassee calmed her down and explained to her that Dan taking the kids swimming is not a big deal. Give me a break.

 

[amicuscurie]

P

It sounded like a party where each attendee was assigned a brand and this was how the wedding couple stocked their bar...it would stand to reason they request a supply of specific bottles so as to have the proper balance and choices. I have never heard of this but don't travel in the same circles as Wendi.

dbm

 

[turaj]

P

Was it to stock the bar for the wedding party itself, or were these people just drinkers who wanted all this stuff for their home instead of pots and pans?

i suppose it could be that too...I have never had a "home bar" so did not even occur to me...could well be.

 

[Laura930]

P

Was it to stock the bar for the wedding party itself, or were these people just drinkers who wanted all this stuff for their home instead of pots and pans?

A stock the bar party is sometimes in lieu of an engagement party or a shower and is usually for the couples home bar. It can include liquor as well as bar glasses, ice buckets, speciality glasses ie martini, wine, margarita etc. I know of brides who have opted for this type of party as it seen as more modern/fun than a traditional shower.

This is very common among young urban professionals who entertain a lot, think of yuppies/preppies in young 20’s, not older couples. Sometimes this is more for the groom as the bride may still have a shower.

 

[MinnesotaMary]

I apologize if this is repeat info' - I just saw this clip on youtube - Donna literally ROLLS HER EYES - mocking the judge (IMO):

Stunning behavior - isn't she like age 75? IMO a real piece of work this one...

 

[amicuscurie]

She only brings up the swimming after she has agreed to give Isom her phone. She is telling Isom that her last communications with Danny were "not nice". Her explanation for this was:

Wendi: “yeah, I’m just looking here (flips through phone). I didn’t want him to take the boys this afternoon. I had wanted to have them. And I talked it over with my brother and realized, you know, if their Dad wants to take them swimming, it’s not worth getting upset over.

Back up a sec here. Dan is leaving for NYC the next day and won't see his kids for a week. Despite his best efforts, these two are not positively co-parenting with each other. She's not complying with Skype calls with Dan on the weeks she has the kids. He invites her to kids events when he has them and she never does. She just sabotaged him about the school and she wouldn't even pick up the phone to discuss it with him. All week. And here she is, asking if she can pick the kids up early on his last day with them. And very upset when Dan tells her no. It makes ZERO sense. And then she suggests that Charlie, of all people, who we now know has killers circling Tallahassee calmed her down and explained to her that Dan taking the kids swimming is not a big deal. Give me a break.

Right? Was she asking to get the kids earlier than normal? Or was he asking her if instead of her picking them up, he could take them Swimmjng and drop them off? Who was originally supposed to pick them up, and who asked for the change? Did he usually pick them up on “his” days and bring them to her? Or did she because she was taking them for the week? She would have wanted to pick them up on this particular day, but I’m wondering if that would’ve been unusual for her.

 

[amicuscurie]

A stock the bar party is sometimes in lieu of an engagement party or a shower and is usually for the couples home bar. It can include liquor as well as bar glasses, ice buckets, speciality glasses ie martini, wine, margarita etc. I know of brides who have opted for this type of party as it seen as more modern/fun than a traditional shower.

This is very common among young urban professionals who entertain a lot, think of yuppies/preppies in young 20’s, not older couples.

Dmb

 

[Gypsy Road]

Or alcoholics. (Kidding.)

I’m Southern- and I’d rather have my china and silver set completed over having my bar completed - unless I had unruly impossible in-laws to deal with lol

 

[Missyrocks5]

What are everyone's thoughts truly on why DA and CA were talking on the line that they know is recorded. Those two have been so cautious, except for Charlie running his mouth because he can't help it. Is it that she thought she was either fleeing & would never be able to speak to him again, or truly, perhaps suicide was a back up plan for her, so she thought this may be the only time she could speak to him? She didn't want to go through Lawyers to pass a message to him. She wanted to tell him. It may be that.

My other thought I said yesterday was that maybe she figures this will be played at trial against her, and it will evoke some sympathy from at least one or two jurors who will let her go. Or was she setting the stage for, once they flee, she would pretend she was committing suicide, but really didn't and disappear somewhere with Harvey? That's all I've got.

But how does she talk about the fleeing plan when she knows they're listening? One would have been better to say she was committing suicide and then send a message through her attorney that she was actually going to be fleeing? Or I guess she couldn't do that because the attorneys cannot pass along that information. To say she heard Tunisia is beautiful this time of year lol. I'm sure it's against the Bar rules. Thoughts?

 

[amicuscurie]

What are everyone's thoughts truly on why DA and CA were talking on the line that they know is recorded. Those two have been so cautious, except for Charlie running his mouth because he can't help it. Is it that she thought she was either fleeing & would never be able to speak to him again, or truly, perhaps suicide was a back up plan for her, so she thought this may be the only time she could speak to him? She didn't want to go through Lawyers to pass a message to him. She wanted to tell him. It may be that.

My other thought I said yesterday was that maybe she figures this will be played at trial against her, and it will evoke some sympathy from at least one or two jurors who will let her go. Or was she setting the stage for, once they flee, she would pretend she was committing suicide, but really didn't and disappear somewhere with Harvey? That's all I've got.

But how does she talk about the fleeing plan when she knows they're listening? One would have been better to say she was committing suicide and then send a message through her attorney that she was actually going to be fleeing? Or I guess she couldn't do that because the attorneys cannot pass along that information. To say she heard Tunisia is beautiful this time of year lol. I'm sure it's against the Bar rules. Thoughts?

I think this is just them. On a lot of the wires they say stuff like “of course, don’t talk on the phone, obviously,” and then go on and talk on the phone. Seems like they can’t help themselves.

 

[amicuscurie]

Soooo…what’s happening with the grand jury today? Will she be formally charged? Someone said above that the warrant won’t stick without the grand jury. And I noticed at the arraignment that they didn’t charge her with murder, it was a bunch of lesser charges, presumably to hold her. Anybody know?

 

[Blue Shakehead]

Right? Was she asking to get the kids earlier than normal? Or was he asking her if instead of her picking them up, he could take them Swimmjng and drop them off? Who was originally supposed to pick them up, and who asked for the change? Did he usually pick them up on “his” days and bring them to her? Or did she because she was taking them for the week? She would have wanted to pick them up on this particular day, but I’m wondering if that would’ve been unusual for her.

My understanding is that the Marital Settlement Agreement spelled out that Dan would have the kids until 4:30pm that Friday. A lot of this is speculation because we have never seen the texts, but the fact that she is asking to have them early and he is telling her she can't have them because he's taking them swimming sort of tells us that she needed his permission (and the daycare would likely need his permission) to allow Wendi to pick up the kids early.

I doubt Wendi wanted to pick them up early. I think she just wanted to confirm with Dan that HE wasn't taking them early and got spooked when he said he wanted to take them swimming.