IMO, ‘agreement’ to the plot in the absence of an act of furtherance, is still a hurdle for the state. I guess if she lied during her police interview as cover for her family, and it can only be proven that she had foreknowledge, you can make a good argument for aiding and abetting charges.
The most persuasive act of furtherance I’ve seen so far is the text to Dan asking if he would be home.
I know, this could have been a regular pattern with them, but we really don’t know whether that was the case.
What we do know: Their custody arrangement was that the parent who did not have the boys for the week would get a Wednesday overnight. (One way we know this is that Wendi herself explains this to Isom in her police interview, because she has, indeed, had the boys on Wednesday that week pursuant to the agreement.). There is no language in the custody agreement that I am aware of which would require the parent whose turn it was to have the overnight to ask in advance whether said overnight would take place.
So- It was her week to have a Wednesday overnight, unless Dan was traveling with the boys. If it was NOT going to happen, It would seem that the burden would be on him to tell her “you can’t have them this week, I’m traveling.” The alternative would be to have us believe that every single week, the parent who didn’t have the kids but was supposed to have the overnight, was supposed to ask if the other parent would be traveling, just to make sure the overnight would happen. For me that is a bridge to far, that’s not how a regular custody agreement works. You can’t require the parties to have a conversation every week about whether the regular default terms of the agreement would be honored. I don’t believe any court would structure it that way.
But, what happens with regard to the particular week of the murder? The evidence shows that nearly two weeks before what was to be her regular, default, scheduled overnight for the week of the murder, Wendi texts Dan and asks oh-by-the-way, whether he just might be traveling the week of the 18th, because she wanted to have the boys for the Wednesday overnight that week. The week she was already scheduled to have them overnight by default.
The evidence also showed that Wendi was at her parents’ home in Miami when this text was sent. It further shows that Charlie was at his house with Katie at that time. If I recall correctly the record shows calls from Donna’s house to Charlie’s (where he was with Katie) around the time that text was sent.
Imagine how that would look to a jury, explained in that manner. I know for me, personally, when I heard that testimony regarding that text, where the parties were when it was sent, and the communications between the parties at that time, I was persuaded that she not only knew about the plot but was involved.
I am but one person, however, and this is but one text.