GUILTY FL - FSU Law Professor Dan Markel Murdered by Hitmen #19

[IQuestion]

I think the last thing that will ever happen is hearing from the guys who "jacked the Adelsons" out of $50K. They have nothing to gain by exposing themselves or their stapled money. Or maybe the first money didn't come out of Charlie's stack alone?? Remember the convo about "moving money from Charlie's stack to parents stack?? Hmmm, 26K would have been close to half of the 50K...if the first hitman theory has any truth. Oh wow.... this theory might have wings after all!!
Circumstantially,

Before anyone reminds me to post a link...I found the source of aforementioned:
In July 2011, three years before the murder, Donna Adelson texted her son saying she needed to take $25,000 from his office checkbook and put it in Harvey Adelson’s office checkbook “in order to break even this month.”

“Do you have enough money in your office account for us to write that check?” Donna Adelson asked. “If you do then dad will move $25,000 in cash in the safe into your pile.”

Adelsons moved 'large amounts of cash' from one pile to another in their safe​

Adelson family had 'piles' of cash and millions in the bank when Dan Markel was murdered

Donna Adelson, who was nabbed by the FBI trying to board a one-way flight to Vietnam, had the money to start a new life in a non-extradition country.

www.tallahassee.com

 

[amicuscurie]

Too far for them to visit regularly?

No, it’s close by. Could be 20 minutes, could be almost an hour with traffic. But they’re not across the street anymore, so not as convenient for regular babysitting/school pickups.

 

[Blue Shakehead]

OK, thanks. Following up further, if she takes $350k from the shared account in what, 2013, and that's her savings, where does the next ~$180k come from to bring her to $532k in 2014? Man, she's rolling in the dough. Is this all from her family? She certainly doesn't need to rely on Dan for income once separated, legally or permanently.

That’s an excellent question. Dan alleged that Wendi had withheld $200k from her financial disclosure. That amount plus the $350k gets you to $550k and in the ballpark of what she had.

From that $200k, $50k was an account that Wendi and her lawyer claimed was a gift from her parents from before the marriage. Interestingly, we saw from the forensic accountant’s testimony that Wendi emptied that account in May 2014. Which is also right around the time she was scheduled to undergo her 2nd deposition - but that deposition was postponed when Wendis lawyer withdrew from the case.
These Adelsons were dirty.

 

[apeXperience]

SBM
[...] Epstein believes that Donna and Charlie did this behind her back. He points to Wendi not doing any of the crazy things Donna suggested in her emails as evidence. “Wendi wouldn’t go along with the bribe, religious conversion or other stuff and none of that is even illegal so she would never go along with the murder!“ [...]

I wonder what would June Umchinda think currently as the degree of Wendi’s involvement after long waiting years. As an insider in 2019, June Umchinda could not tell to the effect “IF Wendi were involved or IF Wendi were aware IN CASE Charlie has done the crime.”

Wendi and Donna were named “co-conspirators” in Charlie’s affidavit. Charlie is convicted and Donna is indicted. Hence, I believe the State has some evidences, probably for lesser than 1st degree felony, against Wendi.

It is my expectation that Wendi will be charged with whatever the State could make stick by the time the Discovery Process unveils what are in store against Donna.

 

[Tapeartree]

Yes, Here's a map of her route from the below article.

View attachment 463568

Markel Trial Day 5: State lights fuses; a Latin King breaks code; Corbitt spills data; Wendi takes a weird route

'I knew she was involved.'

floridapolitics.com

When I look at this map (and I know this area fairly well). I might believe that WA was simply snooping to see what DM was doing. I definitely do not believe that she was taking a shortcut nor do I believe she saw crime scene tape on Trescott Rd from Centerville Rd. Not possible. My problem with this route is the fact she turned around and went to the liquor store after seeing police cars. Afterwards, she went to gas up her car and drove off to have lunch with friends unconcerned that there were police cars at her ex husbands house. The very place her children spent the previous night. So, I don't buy her innocent act that a tree fell during an electrical storm that didn't exist.

 

[Hiller]

When I look at this map (and I know this area fairly well). I might believe that WA was simply snooping to see what DM was doing. I definitely do not believe that she was taking a shortcut nor do I believe she saw crime scene tape on Trescott Rd from Centerville Rd. Not possible. My problem with this route is the fact she turned around and went to the liquor store after seeing police cars. Afterwards, she went to gas up her car and drove off to have lunch with friends unconcerned that there were police cars at her ex husbands house. The very place her children spent the previous night. So, I don't buy her innocent act that a tree fell during an electrical storm that didn't exist.

As I've said before, there is no logical explanation for her route other than that she was was planning to drive either by or to the house, and I'm going with to.

 

[Mrspratcher]

Thanks for providing the jury instructions. That’s very helpful, and unfortunately, jury instructions are very nuanced.

So in the elements for conspiracy - the first one is that the defendant intended for the murder to happen. In the elements for solicitation, the first element is that Charlie solicited Magbanua to commit the crime. So I assume it would be written the same way for Wendi. There’s absolutely no hint that Wendi solicited Charlie or Donna. In fact, it’s the opposite, Charlie and Donna are the drivers. If Charlie tells Wendi, don’t buy a house I’m going to take care of it and you’ll be able to move to Miami. So don’t worry about anything…..The state would have to prove Wendi had INTENT to conspire to murder Dan. That she had an EVIL MIND. The fact that she was ready to buy a house in Tally and got talked out of it by big brother and mom helps Wendi a lot. JMO

Yes, if we believe she really had to be talked out of living in that ‘God-forsaken place’.

 

[Wishbone]

As I've said before, there is no logical explanation for her route other than that she was was planning to drive either by or to the house, and I'm going with to.

You're right. There is no reason she should have taken that route other than to see for herself. Then to lie in her various stories about not being curious about what she saw. And then making a lame statement that a tree might have fallen. She's a liar and a bad one at that. JMO

 

[Weki]

Yes, if we believe she really had to be talked out of living in that ‘God-forsaken place’.

Well I think Donna’s exuberant response to Charlie being able to finally convince Wendi suggests otherwise imo. I posted it above yesterday. Now I am NOT saying Wendi was more than happy to stay in Tally. She hates Tally and was miserable - there’s no question. But it seems like after the relocation was denied she had resigned herself to staying in Tally. In one of the Donna emails, she discourages Wendi from being at peace with the outcome. She quotes Wendi as saying she “wanted to move on in peace” (Im paraphrasing). In her cross exam, Georgia asks Charlie if he and Donna knew what was best for Wendi more than Wendi did. Suggesting they were managing Wendi’s life.

Again, Wendi is a pathological liar and she knew they were going to have Danny killed and she did nothing. Proving she conspired to murder Danny beyond a reasonable doubt though…..I don’t see it. I hope I’m wrong! JMO

 

[amicuscurie]

Well I think Donna’s exuberant response to Charlie being able to finally convince Wendi suggests otherwise imo. I posted it above yesterday. Now I am NOT saying Wendi was more than happy to stay in Tally. She hates Tally and was miserable - there’s no question. But it seems like after the relocation was denied she had resigned herself to staying in Tally. In one of the Donna emails, she discourages Wendi from being at peace with the outcome. She quotes Wendi as saying she “wanted to move on in peace” (Im paraphrasing). In her cross exam, Georgia asks Charlie if he and Donna knew what was best for Wendi more than Wendi did. Suggesting they were managing Wendi’s life.

Again, Wendi is a pathological liar and she knew they were going to have Danny killed and she did nothing. Proving she conspired to murder Danny beyond a reasonable doubt though…..I don’t see it. I hope I’m wrong! JMO

Agree it will be hard to convict based on the evidence we have seen so far. The text to Dan on July 7 asking if he will be home the week of the 18th is about the only thing I’ve seen which might constitute an overt act on her part, but I did find it highly persuasive. All the lying about why she drove the route she did to me indicates some level of knowledge of the crime, and general deception as to her actions on that day, but that is not evidence of murder or conspiracy, in my opinion.

 

[Misy]

Major head slap (my forehead, not yours!) Now I get what you are saying....why burn up 2K per month in rent, unless and this a big UNLESS you know in advance your living situation is just going to be temporary.
It might have been one of those "Charlie expounding on life advice talks" IE: 1) Just change the dates on the DMV paperwork. 2) Just change the dates on a client's medical files.3) The kids will be better off in a single parent home than a house where the parents are fighting all time. 4) Don't buy a house...it is like being married... just date it.
5) If they had any evidence against us, we'd already be at the airport.
Oooops. Sorry Charlie, but 4 out of 5 was pretty good.

Hope I didn’t miss the answer in case someone already asked, but can you pls elaborate on #1 & #2 ? TIA

 

[IQuestion]

Being guilty of murder/ conspiracy can be as simple as setting up a victim's location:
...most jurisdictions say that it must be some specific act that helps the group advance the first-degree murder crime. Examples may include someone:

• buying the murder weapon,
• renting a “get-away” car, or
• arranging for the alleged “victim” to be in a certain location at a certain time to elude law enforcement.
• “Conspiracy to Commit Murder” – How is it Defined? - Shouse Law Group *** I'm definately lacking in legalese, but I think supplying Dan's location, schedule, gym routine, that he regularly returns home to shower/office work, and he would be alone (no landscaper, housecleaning service, roommates, scheduled repairmen etc.) to the hitmen...even if it was through CA or KM on What's App (or similar) could definitely meet the aformentioned example.

 

[IQuestion]

Hope I didn’t miss the answer in case someone already asked, but can you pls elaborate on #1 & #2 ? TIA

#1 was in reference to a recording of CA & DA on paperwork for the transfer of a vehicle.
#2 was in reference to a recording of CA & HA talking about altering a patient's medical record

 

[Hiller]

You're right. There is no reason she should have taken that route other than to see for herself. Then to lie in her various stories about not being curious about what she saw. And then making a lame statement that a tree might have fallen. She's a liar and a bad one at that. JMO

For brevity, I left out the rest of my supposition as I have posted it several times before: I also believe that the only logical reason that she was driving TO the house was not to confirm that it was done but rather, with an excuse like she had something in the car to drop off for the boys (after all, DM was not going to be able to dispute it), to innocently happen upon the scene and then stage a shock and surprise performance there, on her terms, rather than sometime later when she could not predict where she would be informed and who would inform her. I believe the quick turn around at the roadblock was just a bad decision, as she did not expect it. Had she had time to think about it, she would have realized that she should have interacted with the cop, then run to the house in accord with her original plan, rather than now have to explain an inexplicable route. The only plausible alternative explanation - that she planned to drive BY the house - simply makes no sense: that she would risk be identified by her former neighbors driving by an obvious crime scene at her old house? No way.

 

[apeXperience]

It is a fact established by TPD report that Wendi drove in the vicinity of the crime scene the day of the murder. Wendi says she is familiar with the neighborhood and took the most bizarre route to get her liquor. Georgia implies taking that bizarre route displays foreknowledge of the timing of the assassination and curiosity. So what?

Here is a crude analogy to make the circumstantial evidence and reasonable doubt points. I am accused of pumping gas without paying and the store clerk provided LE with a video of me and my car by one of the gas station’s pumps. I would say “I was about to pump gas but I realized I forgot my wallet at home. Hence, I left without pumping.” On the one hand, if I were a member of NAACP driving 10 years old Prius, there could be conviction because of sufficient circumstantial evidence. On the other hand, if I were a member of the Ivory Tower driving a 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300, there could be a reasonable doubt.

This analogy intuits that taking that route that time of that day to buy a liquor, albeit suspicious, would not be enough to press a murder charge against Wendi. The investigation continues, so sayeth Georgia. I look forward to the Discovery Process of Donna’s case as “the next step.” It is my expectation that more co-conspirators will be charged with something related to Dan’s murder in the near future, as opposed to waiting nine more years.

 

[Missyrocks5]

Agree it will be hard to convict based on the evidence we have seen so far. The text to Dan on July 7 asking if he will be home the week of the 18th is about the only thing I’ve seen which might constitute an overt act on her part, but I did find it highly persuasive. All the lying about why she drove the route she did to me indicates some level of knowledge of the crime, and general deception as to her actions on that day, but that is not evidence of murder or conspiracy, in my opinion.

I've always thought it was an uphill climb to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Having to explain too many inferences to a jury is not a good position to be in. And all these things that we all see and know that logically lead one to infer that she knew are not going to cut it at trial. Then you add in what Tim Jansen got dragged for, that she's attractive & will say I'm all my boys have now. It does matter. Look at the one woman at KM's first trial who was the only NG vote because she didn't want the kids to not have a parent at home.

But I disagree that the evidence shows her just not to have done anything to stop it. I do think it was C a& D who started the train, but they got her to come on board. That call or text from the 70th b-day asking if Dan was going to be in town, changing her FB profile picture to a more flattering one where only she looked good, but her boys didn't the night before the murder, her refusing to speak to Dan that whole week claiming she had laryngitis, she heard his voicemail message he left her that morning letting her know what time he was at the gym & his schedule followed by her call to C for 18 minutes. Just her involvement with all that ridiculous code story of the TV. Rich people carrying on over replacing a cheap TV that JL said you would see in a dorm room. Trying to fix it? She was stringing JL along to keep him as a suspect. Who else would know what his car looked like to try to rent one that was similar from a distance. Who else knew his schedule and asked about it that week to make sure he was going to be leaving around 11 on Friday. I also definitely believe her driving on Trescott that day was to look to see if it was done. Local people have said her route made no sense otherwise. It's amazing. They have the officer who remembered her. I forget who had a video that showed pictures of the crime scene taped off that day. They showed in detailed that there was no way that she drove on Trescott and didn't see that it was that house. And that she didn't go ask about her boys to make sure they were OK, call the school, any of it is further proof. But again, it is inferential proof.


Again, I understand that it's weaving together these facts and it's going to be hard to prove it because it requires deductive reasoning. Not every juror will have it. But the detailed schedule that everyone had to know in order to do this could only have been supplied by her. Only she would know that level of detail to never allow any chance that the boys needed to be picked up by DM, or could be in the car, etc.

As I always say, her family would never have taken out the children's father without her consent. Never. I hope that somehow they find WhatsApp messages that they can get to show she knew. We know Donna knew to delete her messages, but hopefully they're still in the cloud.

 

[Sustained]

I've always thought it was an uphill climb to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Having to explain too many inferences to a jury is not a good position to be in. And all these things that we all see and know that logically lead one to infer that she knew are not going to cut it at trial. Then you add in what Tim Jansen got dragged for, that she's attractive & will say I'm all my boys have now. It does matter. Look at the one woman at KM's first trial who was the only NG vote because she didn't want the kids to not have a parent at home.

But I disagree that the evidence shows her just not to have done anything to stop it. I do think it was C a& D who started the train, but they got her to come on board. That call or text from the 70th b-day asking if Dan was going to be in town, changing her FB profile picture to a more flattering one where only she looked good, but her boys didn't the night before the murder, her refusing to speak to Dan that whole week claiming she had laryngitis, she heard his voicemail message he left her that morning letting her know what time he was at the gym & his schedule followed by her call to C for 18 minutes. Just her involvement with all that ridiculous code story of the TV. Rich people carrying on over replacing a cheap TV that JL said you would see in a dorm room. Trying to fix it? She was stringing JL along to keep him as a suspect. Who else would know what his car looked like to try to rent one that was similar from a distance. Who else knew his schedule and asked about it that week to make sure he was going to be leaving around 11 on Friday. I also definitely believe her driving on Trescott that day was to look to see if it was done. Local people have said her route made no sense otherwise. It's amazing. They have the officer who remembered her. I forget who had a video that showed pictures of the crime scene taped off that day. They showed in detailed that there was no way that she drove on Trescott and didn't see that it was that house. And that she didn't go ask about her boys to make sure they were OK, call the school, any of it is further proof. But again, it is inferential proof.


Again, I understand that it's weaving together these facts and it's going to be hard to prove it because it requires deductive reasoning. Not every juror will have it. But the detailed schedule that everyone had to know in order to do this could only have been supplied by her. Only she would know that level of detail to never allow any chance that the boys needed to be picked up by DM, or could be in the car, etc.

As I always say, her family would never have taken out the children's father without her consent. Never. I hope that somehow they find WhatsApp messages that they can get to show she knew. We know Donna knew to delete her messages, but hopefully they're still in the cloud.

Inference can be thwarted by actual proof hopefully provided when, in a fit of narcissistic jealousy, DA or CA decides to roll over and implicate every Adelson involved in the plot.

 

[Wishbone]

For brevity, I left out the rest of my supposition as I have posted it several times before: I also believe that the only logical reason that she was driving TO the house was not to confirm that it was done but rather, with an excuse like she had something in the car to drop off for the boys (after all, DM was not going to be able to dispute it), to innocently happen upon the scene and then stage a shock and surprise performance there, on her terms, rather than sometime later when she could not predict where she would be informed and who would inform her. I believe the quick turn around at the roadblock was just a bad decision, as she did not expect it. Had she had time to think about it, she would have realized that she should have interacted with the cop, then run to the house in accord with her original plan, rather than now have to explain an inexplicable route. The only plausible alternative explanation - that she planned to drive BY the house - simply makes no sense: that she would risk be identified by her former neighbors driving by an obvious crime scene at her old house? No way.

I was surprised the verdict on CA was pronounced in short time not because GC didn't weave all the elements of the case expertly together, but because I feared some jurors would conclude it wasn't enough. Even though I'm convinced WA was part of the conspiracy(even without new evidence we haven't seen yet if there is any)it's obvious there are doubts among the posters here that more evidence is needed to try WA. I'm afraid if she were to go on trial at this point, the jury would be hung. Maybe more will come to light with DA's prosecution, we'll see. But for now there are just too many naysayers posting their reservations and not seeing her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and I believe that doubt would also be reflected by a jury....JMO

 

[Ferpo]

Save The Last Dance For Me. Happier days for HA and DA 34 years ago at a Fort Lauderdale charity fundraiser in 1989. DA was 39, HA was 45 and at home would have been RA (age 15, maybe he was the babysitter), CA (13), and WA (10). Tallahassee would have only been the far-away state capital to them, nothing else. Three years later in 1992, times got more difficult for them because HA lost a large amount of savings to a Ponzi* scheme (according to CA testimony on the stand). Maybe they couldn't attend these ballroom gala's for a while after that. It's still unfathomable how either one of this couple [allegedly] could have made such a poor decision 24 years later that would destroy lives and families, including theirs.

Source: Miami Herald, October 25, 1989. Events/society photographer Gina Fontana is still in business in South Florida.

____
* Fort Lauderdale was considered the Ponzi capital of the USA around 1992, in particular scammers had offices all along Oakland Park Boulevard.

 

[Missyrocks5]

Inference can be thwarted by actual proof hopefully provided when, in a fit of narcissistic jealousy, DA or CA decides to roll over and implicate every Adelson involved in the plot.

Well, that would be interesting. I don't see any of them flipping. The way that I do see that potentially happening is if DA passes away. Then, CA may try to make a deal to give up WA once his mother is not around. Otherwise, they are way too close knit & they want WA to keep the boys.

I don't see Charlie doing it for the simple fact that DA wouldn't allow it. If they give up WA, those boys go to Shelly or Ruth. H is too old. I just don't see that happening. I don't see any way that DA or CA roll on HA. He wasn't a very big player in any of this anyway. The golden goose is Wendi, The state wants her big time.

But it may happen if D isn't around any longer and Charlie decides he's giving zero F's about WA or the boys.