Why is Wendi Adelson scot free thus far?
- “From a hundred rabbits you can’t make a horse, a hundred suspicions don’t make a proof, as the English proverb says, but that’s only from the rational point of view—you can’t help being partial, for after all a lawyer is only human”
- Source: Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1866) Crime and Punishment (Преступление и наказание) Part 6, Chapter 2. Moscow, Russia: The Russian Messenger
- This is not of the type of your ordinary reading but it might elevate the critical thinking of the contrarian. Before enlarging knowledge, ability, and skills from reading it, you may find more about it here: Crime and Punishment - Wikipedia
But can you make a horse from one hundred twenty-five rabbits?
The challenge with online discourse in the case against Wendi is the blurred lines between suspicion, speculation, assumptions, and actual evidence or proof. I think those lines became severely blurred after the infamous, and often cited, “125 indicators of guilt” video. Circumstantial evidence can absolutely be powerful, but the “125 indicators of guilt” list is mostly redundant data points and biased interpretations that are argued with a lot of emotion about how cruel or manipulative Wendi is. I agree that Wendi had motive and a lot to gain – proving that part is easy, but once you strip from the list the motive-based points, the ways she gained from Dan’s murder, and her arguably flawed character, what remains? Very little, if anything, that speaks to the legal elements the state would actually need to prove to meet the burden of proof.
The list falls short of showing that Wendi entered into a conspiratorial agreement or committed an overt act in furtherance of the crime. That is the burden of proof the state will need present to a jury – not simply that she had motive, disliked Dan, or is morally corrupt and benefited from his death. Based on what I’ve personally been exposed to (opinions may vary), the three most commonly argued “proof points” of Wendi’s involvement on social media are:
1) Dan’s schedule – The claim that Wendi ‘must’ have given the conspirators Dan’s schedule is speculation, not evidence. There is no record, no communication, no witness, and no forensic trail tying her to that information transfer.
2) Wendi’s “approval” - The argument that “the family wouldn’t have done it without her sign‑off or approval” is an assumption dressed up as logic. That argument may seem intuitively persuasive to some people, but it is not evidence of an agreement.
3) The Trescott drive – Her drive toward the crime scene is suspicious and raises questions about what she may have suspected or feared. Even if one assumes she knew something was happening, knowledge is not the same as participation. Awareness is not an overt act, nor is it an agreement to the conspiracy.
I’ll also give an honorable mention to the ‘theory’ of a coordinated attempt to the frame-up of Jeff Lacasse. IMO, based on the case facts, that narrative is implausible and, as Jeff himself said, “far‑flung.” A competent defense attorney would easily dismantle that theory, and it would likely backfire on the state. I’m aware the state indirectly introduced this idea by eliciting Jeff’s testimony about what his friends told him, but in a hypothetical Wendi trial, I’d bet the state avoids that theory entirely.