FL - FSU Law Professor Dan Markel Murdered by Hitmen *4 Guilty* #21

[Tanager]

I have a famously poor sense of direction. I use navigation on my phone constantly, and I usually say," __________ near me" to prompt my directions when I am looking for a specialty store like a liquor store. That is just me, but it is fair to assume that others with the same challenge would tend to do the same. Navigation systems have been standard in nice cars for at least 10 years. To be fair, I do travel the well-worn route often, too.

I am also having a hard time with "Wendi drinks her dinner" and her unfamiliarity with the location of other liquor stores. I don't drink any longer, but I still know where all of the local liquor stores are. When I "drank my dinner" I would rotate through the local liquor options because I was ashamed about how often I was purchasing alcohol. Not to project any of my issues on WA; it is just that these are inconsistencies in the information. JL is a very credible witness to me, and there is a reason why the Adelsons malign him when they can- they don't want his testimony to be believed. He does not behave like a jealous ex, just a nice guy who is totally confused by WA's unpredictable behavior. Also, when he testified- something to the effect that... WA often blurts out things that are not to her own advantage, it struck me that it is the kind of thing a person who is drinking their dinner out of stress might do. In the other restaurant incident involving WA's table vomit, that looks like what happens when a person gulps a drink too quickly and their stomach rejects the alcohol. None of these things are necessarily connected, nor do they mean that WA has issues with drinking, but they do resonate with me as evidence counter to WA's unfamiliarity with the local liquor store options and CA's references to WA rarely drinking. My guess is that WA got the party invite and added it to the plan as an element that factored into the timing. Maybe the date was selected because of the invitation?

Do we know anything about who proposed the lunch location and time for WA's lunch? Do we know how far the restaurant is from WA's residence?

 

[yazoost]

1. As mentioned at trial, Market Square Liquors is 100 yards from Mozaik, the restaurant she had lunch at.

2. The trip was taken in July- since you're obviously familiar with Tallahassee, you know that it's practically a ghost-town in the summer- during mid-afternoon on a weekday, there is absolutely no traffic on Thomasville. This is demonstrable with Waze or similar mapping/traffic software.

3. I looked it up on Google Maps. There aren't multiple stoplights between Centerville/Trescott and Centerville/Betton- there is just the one at Betton, where you can turn right.

4. If you listen to the jail calls, CA is outraged that she drove past the crime scene. He doesn't seem to agree with your post at all.

But, sure.

1. This is true. I mentioned it in a later post.
2. This patently untrue. There is no FSU/FAMU/TCC-related traffic on Thomasville, ever. It only starts at Monroe, miles from FSU's campus. Students weren't eating at Mozaik (in fact the owners operated places closer to campus).
3. I regularly go from Centerville to Thomasville. I definitely prefer Trescott to Betton. Maps may show one thing, and they may even be empirically accurate. But many people take routes for reasons other than being shorter/faster.
4. I'm not placing any credence in anything CA said on any jail calls. She may have chosen the route because she wanted to see the scene, wanted to drive by her old house, wanted to wave to her old neighbors, etc. I just don't think it's a smoking gun at all.

But, yeah, ok.

 

[Deleted member 302228]

I have a famously poor sense of direction. I use navigation on my phone constantly, and I usually say," __________ near me" to prompt my directions when I am looking for a specialty store like a liquor store. That is just me, but it is fair to assume that others with the same challenge would tend to do the same. Navigation systems have been standard in nice cars for at least 10 years. To be fair, I do travel the well-worn route often, too.

I think it was in the first trial where WA was asked why she went to that particular ABC Liquors and said something like, "it was the first one that popped up." Popped up, where? Perhaps in Google or Siri as you're suggesting above. If so, that should be on her phone.

 

[Deleted member 302228]

2. This patently untrue. There is no FSU/FAMU/TCC-related traffic on Thomasville, ever. It only starts at Monroe, miles from FSU's campus. Students weren't eating at Mozaik (in fact the owners operated places closer to campus).

So you're saying that at 1pm on a Friday in July, there's a lot of traffic on Thomasville Road? I invite locals to tell me if I am wrong about that.

 

[cottonweaver]

In my opinion she also seems to me like she’s just not very bright.

Plus it has to help that she's also a blabbermouth.
I was surprised to hear her ( hot mic jail call 6th Nov) blab to her friend and associate Susan about Wendi

She'd told Susan ( and husband Rick)
- that they were looking for non-extradition destinations
- Susan knew enough about DA & WA's relationship to raise the concern that Wendi might tip off the cops
- Donna then told her she might try attorney-client privilege on Wendi to ensure Wendi couldn't blab but could privately advise her on which destinations.

How many Susans & Ricks are there in Donna's circle? I'd speculate there's a lot of people Donna's ran her mouth to.

Anyway, changing the subject and asking a dumb question but what on earth is Jorge/AnyGuy doing with Wendi in 2023? I'm not a man, but you'd have to be daft, desperate (or broke?) to date her with this cloud of suspicion hanging over her head. Baggage much?

He's also acting as a go-between between the parents & Wendi on that same call.

 

[yazoost]

I always avoid Thomasville around the I-10 interchange, Timberlane, Maclay, etc. It's always a pain in the . Lunchtime can be busy in those areas. For instance, Wendi and her friends planned lunch around there.

But my primary point there was to say that FSU's schedule does not impact traffic in the NE part of town. The area where SG&LR got their hotel room- that would be noticeably impacted by summer breaks.

 

[IQuestion]

The Publix liquors near Mozaik is a small, narrow store front staffed by part time employees. The ABC on Thomasville is a huge, bright store staffed with people knowledgeable about liquor/wine. It has a much broader range of products.

It's completely reasonable for a non-drinker to not be aware of the small Publix store and/or prefer to go to a much nicer store. I spent many years as a heavy drinker- but if I was buying a gift, that ABC is one of two stores in Tallahassee that I would consider.

I also prefer Trescott to Betton if I have to get from Centerville to Thomasville. It's a more pleasant ride- less lights, traffic, pedestrians. Betton also gets backed up at the Thomasville light and taking Trescott can let you make a right turn into the line of cars (if someone will let you in).

I'm not trying to defend WA. But I think way too much has been made about her choice of liquor stores and route.

I dont have a problem with a choice of liquor store, per se. But, the fact the route coincides with the timing of WA "checking out" a murder scene is my problem with her route. " OMG, And I tried to drive up Trescott and I saw it was blocked." And not just coinciding with a random crime scene, but the murder of the spouse who according to Miss Overemote: "Treated me badly", "was emotionally abusive," "he hurt me," "my brother made bad jokes about hitmen," (Soliloquy: Oh just stop it IQuestion....just because her ex-husband is fighting for his life in a local hospital is no reason for her to stop her habit of telling everybody within the sound of her voice, a recipient of her emails, or answering her cell calls to hear her elaborate on what a horrible man he was to her.) But I digress.
And, who am I (or jurors) going to believe? A former bf/college professor who says WA drank a lot and told him her brother (CA) had looked into hiring a hitman. (?) Or, her (WA) who says she doesn't drink alcohol and is only guilty of having a brother who tells bad jokes. And has 4 different versions and reasons for being on Trescott(?)

 

[GDP]

Another aspect of Wendi’s trip to lunch that day that is potentially incriminating but hasn’t gotten that much attention is that despite her being late for lunch (which explains her not showering) she not only buys the bourbon (for a party that’s six hours away) but she also gets gas before lunch. To my knowledge some key details haven’t been fleshed out. How late was she for lunch (I believe it was not barely late)? How much gas did she buy (if I was running late, I’d only get gas if I was empty, but even then why not wait till after lunch)? How full was her schedule for the rest of the day; so full that she had to run these errands while keeping her friends waiting (Dan’s ask to take the kids swimming presumably would have opened up at least 1.5 hours of her time unexpectedly)? Was Wendi traditionally late? My guess is that the answers to these questions would make her behavior seem quite weird.

 

[amicuscurie]

I have a famously poor sense of direction. I use navigation on my phone constantly, and I usually say," __________ near me" to prompt my directions when I am looking for a specialty store like a liquor store. That is just me, but it is fair to assume that others with the same challenge would tend to do the same. Navigation systems have been standard in nice cars for at least 10 years. To be fair, I do travel the well-worn route often, too.

I am also having a hard time with "Wendi drinks her dinner" and her unfamiliarity with the location of other liquor stores. I don't drink any longer, but I still know where all of the local liquor stores are. When I "drank my dinner" I would rotate through the local liquor options because I was ashamed about how often I was purchasing alcohol. Not to project any of my issues on WA; it is just that these are inconsistencies in the information. JL is a very credible witness to me, and there is a reason why the Adelsons malign him when they can- they don't want his testimony to be believed. He does not behave like a jealous ex, just a nice guy who is totally confused by WA's unpredictable behavior. Also, when he testified- something to the effect that... WA often blurts out things that are not to her own advantage, it struck me that it is the kind of thing a person who is drinking their dinner out of stress might do. In the other restaurant incident involving WA's table vomit, that looks like what happens when a person gulps a drink too quickly and their stomach rejects the alcohol. None of these things are necessarily connected, nor do they mean that WA has issues with drinking, but they do resonate with me as evidence counter to WA's unfamiliarity with the local liquor store options and CA's references to WA rarely drinking. My guess is that WA got the party invite and added it to the plan as an element that factored into the timing. Maybe the date was selected because of the invitation?

Do we know anything about who proposed the lunch location and time for WA's lunch? Do we know how far the restaurant is from WA's residence?

The restaurant is ten minutes away in the other direction, according to testimony at trial.

 

[amicuscurie]

I think it was in the first trial where WA was asked why she went to that particular ABC Liquors and said something like, "it was the first one that popped up." Popped up, where? Perhaps in Google or Siri as you're suggesting above. If so, that should be on her phone.

Again, it’s not so much what she said, in my opinion, it’s the number of different stories and explanations she has given. Any individual one of these can be explained. It’s a shortcut. I have no sense of direction. It was the first liquor store that popped up. All arguably make sense. But why so many?

 

[amicuscurie]

Plus it has to help that she's also a blabbermouth.
I was surprised to hear her ( hot mic jail call 6th Nov) blab to her friend and associate Susan about Wendi

She'd told Susan ( and husband Rick)
- that they were looking for non-extradition destinations
- Susan knew enough about DA & WA's relationship to raise the concern that Wendi might tip off the cops
- Donna then told her she might try attorney-client privilege on Wendi to ensure Wendi couldn't blab but could privately advise her on which destinations.

How many Susans & Ricks are there in Donna's circle? I'd speculate there's a lot of people Donna's ran her mouth to.

Anyway, changing the subject and asking a dumb question but what on earth is Jorge/AnyGuy doing with Wendi in 2023? I'm not a man, but you'd have to be daft, desperate (or broke?) to date her with this cloud of suspicion hanging over her head. Baggage much?

He's also acting as a go-between between the parents & Wendi on that same call.

dbm

 

[amicuscurie]

Another aspect of Wendi’s trip to lunch that day that is potentially incriminating but hasn’t gotten that much attention is that despite her being late for lunch (which explains her not showering) she not only buys the bourbon (for a party that’s six hours away) but she also gets gas before lunch. To my knowledge some key details haven’t been fleshed out. How late was she for lunch (I believe it was not barely late)? How much gas did she buy (if I was running late, I’d only get gas if I was empty, but even then why not wait till after lunch)? How full was her schedule for the rest of the day; so full that she had to run these errands while keeping her friends waiting (Dan’s ask to take the kids swimming presumably would have opened up at least 1.5 hours of her time unexpectedly)? Was Wendi traditionally late? My guess is that the answers to these questions would make her behavior seem quite weird.

well said.

 

[ch_13]

Again, it’s not so much what she said, in my opinion, it’s the number of different stories and explanations she has given. Any individual one of these can be explained. It’s a shortcut. I have no sense of direction. It was the first liquor store that popped up. All arguably make sense. But why so many?

I agree. The liquor store I frequent the most isn't that close to my home. But it has the widest selection and cheapest prices in the area. Anyone investigating me would see that I have a record of purchases there going back a couple of years. Similarly, I don't always frequent my nearest grocery store, but that's usually because another store has a sale or is near my destination. If asked I could always provide a clear, logical explanation for why I went to a particular store.

The problem with Wendy's story is that she hasn't yet provided a cogent reason as to why she went to that liquor store and why she chose the route she did. When you combine her changing story with the unlikely coincidence that she passed by her ex's home shortly after his murder, it's easy to see why people don't believe her.

 

[B4igo2it]

Right. But was she intending to take one before lunch and didn’t, or was she always intending to take one later, before the party? To me she seems to say both things.

Liars rarely remember lies previously told. WA probably should review & memorize her testimonies prior to DA trial IMO

 

[rebelchild]

Why do you suppose the bourbon is highlighted? Do you agree that is odd? Here in Florida you can get wine at Publix,a supermarket usually within a mile. the invite says you can bring anything.She could have gotten wine or anything . Most Publix have a liquor store right next to the supermarket. Not sure the one by Mozaic did.

My thoughts .. it says "stock the bar for their wedding" .. so maybe they were having a special drink for their wedding. Like a "bride and groom" drink. They usually have some cute little name attached to the drink. Maybe they were going to have bourbon shots or some kind of special mix drink that uses their favorite bourbon?

 

[Mariposa]

In my opinion that is exactly what it was. It’s not so much that there isn’t a reasonable explanation for choosing that store, people have raised several. To me, it’s the fact that she gave several different explanations for choosing that route through three trials and even at different times during her interview at the police station. And now, on the calls, Charlie gives several different explanations as well as he seems to me to be coming to terms with this drive by and the effect he believes it had on the jury. Speaking generally and not about anyone in this particular case, people who are telling the truth do not need to remember what they said before.

About the varying explanations for the Trescott route, one thing she told Isom was: she drove down Trescott as a way to emotionally deal with her divorce. Has that weird explanation ever been brought up at the trials? I’m thinking no but with three sets of WA trial testimony I’m unsure.

 

[cottonweaver]

About the varying explanations for the Trescott route, one thing she told Isom was: she drove down Trescott as a way to emotionally deal with her divorce. Has that weird explanation ever been brought up at the trials? I’m thinking no but with three sets of WA trial testimony I’m unsure.

only in the Isom interview IIRC (and only when the shortcut excuse had Isom almost fall out his chair)

what did come up in this last trial re Wendi & her divorce was that she was already so over Dan by the time she left the house she was already registered on OKCupid dating site.


Also, witness Tamara Demko would make mincemeat out of that excuse if Wendi tried it again

Demko on the book:
'Wendi is good at keeping things close to the vest and redirecting.
And for example, she and I were pretty close while she was writing that book. (2011)
She didn't tell me she was writing the book at all.
And then when she finally told me, she gave me a copy and I was like, oh, you know, the author lives in Tallahassee with her two sons.
A book about a single woman raising two children?
And Danny was all like supportive about everything and all this kind of stuff. (about the book)
And it's still, honestly, when I looked at that, I'm like, it was one of the things I noted, but I put it in the back of my mind with every other little weird thing.
And then when she left him, I was like, oh, she knows it's coming.
But she, when she finished it, it was like a whole year before.' (before they split)

Demko on Dan, Tally & the Trescott house:
'And this provided enough of a small town feel that he's like, I'm going to throw myself into it.
And he was happy to do that. He wanted the house. He got the house together.
You know, he wanted to do it all up and he was excited about that.
And she went along, but I knew she wasn't excited about it.'

 

[Mariposa]

only in the Isom interview IIRC (and only when the shortcut excuse had Isom almost fall out his chair)

what did come up in this last trial re Wendi & her divorce was that she was already so over Dan by the time she left the house she was already registered on OKCupid dating site.


Also, witness Tamara Demko would make mincemeat out of that excuse if Wendi tried it again

Demko on the book:
'Wendi is good at keeping things close to the vest and redirecting.
And for example, she and I were pretty close while she was writing that book. (2011)
She didn't tell me she was writing the book at all.
And then when she finally told me, she gave me a copy and I was like, oh, you know, the author lives in Tallahassee with her two sons.
A book about a single woman raising two children?
And Danny was all like supportive about everything and all this kind of stuff. (about the book)
And it's still, honestly, when I looked at that, I'm like, it was one of the things I noted, but I put it in the back of my mind with every other little weird thing.
And then when she left him, I was like, oh, she knows it's coming.
But she, when she finished it, it was like a whole year before.' (before they split)

Demko on Dan, Tally & the Trescott house:
'And this provided enough of a small town feel that he's like, I'm going to throw myself into it.
And he was happy to do that. He wanted the house. He got the house together.
You know, he wanted to do it all up and he was excited about that.
And she went along, but I knew she wasn't excited about it.'

Yep the part about her author bio on the back of her book mentioning the kids yet omitting mention of DM (while they were still together) is interesting. Tamara seemed quite perceptive indeed in the bits of her interviews I’ve seen.

 

[apeXperience]

According to FDC, Charles Adelson is in Administrative Confinement at the Northwest Florida Reception Center – Annex prison (NWFRC - Annex). The Annex is the newer and larger of two adjacent prisons. The “Confinement Status is an internal status used by FDC within a correctional facility.” In Confinement, the inmates are “Not Eligible for Regular Visits.”

I wonder if the Administrative Confinement were to hinder Charles Adelson’s ability to send/receive phone calls at NWFRC – Annex. Would he be able to talk to Donna Adelson, Dr. Janis Manalang, and other “friends” from prison?

According to Wikipedia, the NWFRC prisons are reputed to use a violent system of inmate management. Some MSM report that inmates are punitively “gassed with chemicals” at NWFRC for trivial infractions such as being in possession of a rubber band. Charles Adelson has a “celebrity” status at the NWFRC -Annex prison.

 

[Ferpo]

According to FDC, Charles Adelson is in Administrative Confinement at the Northwest Florida Reception Center – Annex prison (NWFRC - Annex). The Annex is the newer and larger of two adjacent prisons. The “Confinement Status is an internal status used by FDC within a correctional facility.” In Confinement, the inmates are “Not Eligible for Regular Visits.”

This is all standard practice, from what I've heard, for new prisoners entering the FLDC system. Think of it as a ~30 day "boot camp" before being assigned to an actual prison. I'm sure he is at least still able to communicate with his attorney during this time.