FL - FSU Law Professor Dan Markel Murdered by Hitmen-Donna Adelson Upcoming Trial - *5 Guilty* #27

[Zedzded]

what a terrible witness Cunningham was.

 

[Montrealaise]

I hope the boys are being taken care of and wish them only the best. If what you say is correct and I certainly don't know differently, that would hardly cover WAs spa treatments, hair extensions and Botox. Not to mention her blue contacts.

I don't mean to be disparaging of the widow but she is not a likeable person and I know she has attempted employment over the years but the reputation she has earned will only continue to become a hardship for her as she ages out of the job market. Maybe her situation is too messy for some fields as well as being 'arm candy' for some lucky fella. I'm already beginning to feel sorry for her.

Are you referring to WA in the second paragraph? She is not a widow, since she and Dan were already divorced by the time he was murdered. As for aging out of the job market: she's a lawyer, a field where experience counts for much more than youth. I agree that her reputation is a liability, however, since being followed around by whispers of maybe being involved in a murder doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

 

[Montrealaise]

There is nothing to prevent her from using any money in any fashion. Maybe no conviction for either WA or HA but drain their resources and shame them into oblivion but anyone who thinks murder is a solution for your inconvenience is shameless.

I wonder about her boys. Are they following the family gene of privilege and selfishness or have they had an exposure to real people? Did WA even want children or is that what she was supposed to do?

Not much is known about CA's son Roman?? How old is he and who is his mother? DA wasn't as dedicated to him, was she?

Roman is about 8 years old. His "baby mama" (I hate the term, yet somehow in CA's case it seems appropriate) is a woman called Brianna Price. She was upset because the audio recordings of her phone calls to CA in prison were publicly released: in them, she asks CA to marry her and he turns her down flat. She was also upset because little Roman's voice could be heard on some of the calls.

RA has children too, doesn't he? Did DA ever have any kind of relationship with them, or did her disapproval of RA's wife (because she was an Indian-American Hindu) prevent that?

 

[opt]

Are you referring to WA in the second paragraph? She is not a widow, since she and Dan were already divorced by the time he was murdered.

Ok, then Black Widow. Emerita.

 

[STAGNUM]

I just watched

The "UNREDACTED" Interview of Jeffrey Lacasse​

For the first time. It is so revealing. Wendi is definitely materially involved in the conspiracy. Her only defense is INSANITY.

 

[Luna20]

I just watched

The "UNREDACTED" Interview of Jeffrey Lacasse​

For the first time. It is so revealing. Wendi is definitely materially involved in the conspiracy. Her only defense is INSANITY.

She is far too sane to claim insanity in regards to her courtroom testimony. Her demeanour is very controlled, steady and guarded. Almost too much. I guess that could be a defense, she is “detached from reality”.

 

[Tricia]

Lauren Matthias from Hidden True Crime will be our guest tonight at l0:30 PM Eastern on Websleuths YouTube Live

 

[Luna20]

DA really is working the grandmother game. I saw in a clip that she had a blue floral scrunchie on. The problem with that is before she was arrested she didn’t have that look.

As far as the friends, I expect that she would play the victim to gain witnesses (her friends). She acted for them to gain sympathy. That was set into motion early on. She was the mastermind of this part of the process too, just like everything else.

Is she still in the same pod as the informants right now?

 

[Niner]

Wednesday, September 3rd:
*Trial continues (Day 8) (@ 8:30am ET) - FL - Daniel Eric Markel (41) (shot to death July 18, 2014, Tallahassee) - *Donna Sue Adelson (64 @ time of crime/73/now 75) arrested by FBI @ Miami Intl. Airport (11/13/23) on out-of-County warrant from Leon County arrest Warrant [#FW23102353] & indicted (11/15/23), charged (11/21/23) & arraigned (12/11/23) with 1st degree murder, conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder & solicitation to commit 1st degree murder. No bond. Held at Miami-Dade County Jail (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Leon County has 15 days to extradite from Miami-Dade County). Transferred from Miami-Dade to Leon County on 11/20/23. Transferred to Wakulla Detention Facility on 6/6/25. Held without bond (murder), $25K (conspiracy) & $25K (solicitation) on 11/21/23. Plead not guilty. Transferred to Leon County jail on 8/14/25. Leon County
Jury selection began on 8/19/25 & ended on 8/21/25. Jury: 12 jurors & 2 alternates [8 men & 6 women]
Trial began on 8/22/25. [thru 9/5/25] The State rested their case on 8/29/25. Defense began their case on 9/2/25.
Leon County Circuit Judge Stephen S. Everett presiding. Prosecutor Georgia Cappelman & Assistant State attorney Sarah Dugan. Defense attorney Adam J. Komisar, Jackie Fulford & Joshua D. Zelman.
Case & Court info from 11/13/23 thru 8/18/25 & Jury Selection Days 1-3 (8/19-21/25) & Trial Days 1-6 (8/22-29/25) reference post #525 here:
https://websleuths.com/threads/fl-f...son-upcoming-trial-4-guilty-27.751508/page-27
9/2/25 Tuesday, Trial Day 7: *The defense is asking the judge to end the case now, before it has to make its own case. Her attorney, Josh Zelman, said there is “an absence of evidence” as to what Donna Adelson did in this conspiracy. Judge Evenett DENIES Adelson's motion for judgement of acquittal.
Defense witnesses: Anne Cunningham, long time friend of Donna's. Ron Gutterson, family friend & went to high school with Harvey in NY. Kelsey Guay, a digital forensics specialist pused to work for Portland Police Bureau]. Anne Cunningham back on stand. Richard Shchagrin, family friend. Tehronna Khan, used to work for the Federal public defender's office in N. Florida from 2016 to 2022, now a private investigator who did interview with Byrd. Eddie Varnes, a private investigator [interviewed Byrd before she became State’s witness]. Josh Turner, Leon County Sheriff's Office Deputy [now a detective & interviewed Bernhardt].
[see post #530, page 27, thread 27 for Day 7 updates]. Trial continues on Wednesday, 9/3/25.

 

[Seattle1]

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES​

DAY 7 – 9/2/25​

• LIVESTREAM: FL v. Donna Adelson, Day 7 | Matriarch Mastermind Murder Trial
• At the start of the day, Donna’s defense made a motion for a judgment of acquittal, which the judge denied.
• Ann Cunningham, friend of defendant, defense witness #1
  • Testified Donna called her hysterical and crying on the day Markel was murdered saying the family was headed to Tallahassee, and she was concerned about what would happen to Wendi and the boys
    • WATCH: Donna Adelson’s Friend Re-Called to Discuss Calls After Dan Markel’s Death
  • Donna and Harvey stayed at her Naples home during Charlie’s trial
  • Donna told her she was forced to make payments to the people who killed Markel
• Ron Gutterson, life partner of Ann Cunningham, friend of Donna and Harvey
  • Testified Harvey and Donna were extremely upset during Charlie’s trial and devastated by the conviction
  • Knew of Donna and Harvey’s plan to travel to Vietnam: thought they were traveling Nov. – Feb., but returning for their grandchild’s Bar Mitzvah
  • WATCH: Family Friend: Harvey and Donna Adelson’s Vietnam Trip Was ‘Temporary’
• Kelsey Guay, digital forensics expert
  • Guay reviewed cell phone records for Harvey, Donna, and Charlie Adelson, as well as a PowerPoint presentation from the prosecution’s digital forensics expert, Corbitt.
  • The prosecution had claimed Charlie Adelson’s phone attempted to communicate with Donna Adelson 417 times between May 2, 2014, and July 2014. However, Guay’s analysis revealed significant discrepancies.
  • After removing overlapping dates and focusing on incoming and outgoing calls, Guay found only 383 unique call events. When she further analyzed connected calls between Charlie and Donna, she identified just 69 unique call events that were actually connected.
  • Guay also testified that she found no evidence that Donna and Charlie Adelson’s phones were connected to the same cell tower during the time period in question.
  • Under cross-examination, Guay acknowledged that she did not disagree with anything in Corbitt’s original report. She confirmed that Charlie Adelson remained the most frequent number in Donna’s phone records despite the data corrections.
  • On redirect, Guay clarified that 211 entries in the original data were duplicated. She also noted that apps like Viber and WhatsApp that do not store records would not appear in the call detail records.
• Richard Chagrin, friend of Donna and Harvey
  • Testified he helped the Adelsons book travel to Vietnam in the days following Charlie Adelson’s conviction.
  • He described the couple as “shocked and distraught” during their meeting.
  • Testified that at his suggestion, Harvey booked one-way tickets because the round-trip tickets were more expensive.
  • Testified the Adelsons requested a 90-day visa and were planning to return for their grandson’s Bar Mitzvah.
• Tarana Khan, private investigator
  • Interviewed inmate Patricia Byrd at the Leon County Detention Center
  • Testified that Byrd did not tell her that Donna confessed
• Eddie Varnes, private investigator
  • Interviewed inmate Patricia Byrd in Aug. 2024 at the Leon County Detention Center
  • Testified that Byrd did not tell him that Donna confessed or offered to buy things for her
  • Testified that Bryd talked extensively about Katherine Magbanua
• Tim Kelly, realtor
  • Contacted by Dan Markell in Nov. 2011 about finding a home in Tallahassee for Donna and Harvey
• Josh Turner, detective
  • Interviewed Drina Bernhardt and notified the State Attorney’s Office; he recorded their conversation.
  • Surveillance video from Leon County Detention Center on December 19th showed Donna Adelson and Drina Bernhardt together, writing and conversing at a table.
    • WATCH: Jury Shown Surveillance Video of Donna Adelson and Jailhouse Informant
  • Bernhardt was seen writing in a notebook, then Adelson wrote on a piece of paper. They exchanged notebooks and continued discussing and writing.
  • Two notebooks (a red one and a hot pink one) were present; Bernhardt opened the hot pink notebook and showed something to Adelson.
  • Their conversation and writing continued throughout the video; the content of the conversation and writing was not visible or audible in the video.
  • The video was filmed a day before Bernhardt met with the SAO and a day after she told Turner she had information.
  • On cross-examination, Bernhardt claimed Adelson solicited her to give false testimony by copying a script in her handwriting and returning it.
  • Bernhardt reportedly knew in advance about her interview with authorities.
  • Throughout the surveillance, Adelson continued writing even after Bernhardt moved; details of their discussion had to be determined by Bernhardt’s testimony since the video had no audio.

FL v. Donna Adelson: Matriarch Mastermind Murder Trial

UPDATE: Donna Adelson, the Florida grandmother accused of orchestrating the 2014 killing of Dan Markel, has been found guilty on all counts.

www.courttv.com

 

[Snoopster]

Nothing in yesterday's defense testimonies resonated with me. Friends said Donna seemed shocked and upset about Dan's killing and CA's guilty conviction. But of course that is how she would have acted in front of friends if they weren't aware of her role. She would play the 'victim'.

Regarding PI testimonies.... neither taped the conversation so we have to take their word and there isn't a full video that prosecution could have used to test the veracity of the statements or use other topics that might have been discussed. Patricia Byrd already didn't have a lot of credibility, so no comments there scored points for the defense.

The prison video added nothing other than confirm that DA wrote in the informant's journal. Which is damning for defense.

So far the defense hasn't made any significant inroads into the prosecution's strong case. IMO.

 

[BUF]

The defense said Donna Adelson will decide over lunch if she will testify in her own defense?

This morning, the defense has three other witnesses.

LIVE UPDATES | Donna Adelson trial testimony day 8

The first defense witness is Kristin Adamson, who previously represented Wendi Adelson.

 

[Kath1963]

Nothing in yesterday's defense testimonies resonated with me. Friends said Donna seemed shocked and upset about Dan's killing and CA's guilty conviction. But of course that is how she would have acted in front of friends if they weren't aware of her role. She would play the 'victim'.

Regarding PI testimonies.... neither taped the conversation so we have to take their word and there isn't a full video that prosecution could have used to test the veracity of the statements or use other topics that might have been discussed. Patricia Byrd already didn't have a lot of credibility, so no comments there scored points for the defense.

The prison video added nothing other than confirm that DA wrote in the informant's journal. Which is damning for defense.

So far the defense hasn't made any significant inroads into the prosecution's strong case. IMO.

Agreed, and the realtor testimony didn't make the point that the defense thought it did. The dates were presented in a confusing way, and the fact that no house was purchased undercut the defense's point, if anything.

 

[nodamselindistress]

This witness is making the divorce/settlement sound alot different than we have been led to believe. She is making it sound like Wendi would have prevailed, not Danny, at least on the marital assets argument.

 

[Tapeartree]

This witness is making the divorce/settlement sound alot different than we have been led to believe. She is making it sound like Wendi would have prevailed, not Danny, at least on the marital assets argument.

Yes, like this divorce had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to DM. Cross examination is going to be interesting to watch.

 

[Wishbone]

Are we going to rehash all the details of WA and DM messy divorce fillings? Is the defense trying to make DM look bad and justify his murder? Why this is being brought up in such biased detail just doesn't seem right to me.....JMOO

 

[Tapeartree]

Are we going to rehash all the details of WA and DM messy divorce fillings? Is the defense trying to make DM look bad and justify his murder? Why this is being brought up in such biased detail just doesn't seem right to me.....JMOO

I don't understand why they brought in this witness, unless they want to make it seem like DA knew very little about the divorce proceedings. If I was on the jury, I wouldn't buy it.

 

[Wishbone]

So, DM was murdered before this verbose attorney had to even testify against him in yet another hearing after she had been forced to stop representing WA. OH, the tangled web those adelson's weave.......JMOO

 

[Wishbone]

It seems another defense witness was caught sitting in the courtroom before being called to testify. Maybe the judge will rule correctly and not allow her to testify. Waiting to see what happens this time......Now I am hearing since this witness is deemed an expert witness it's ok if she was in the courtroom........

 

[arielilane]

DRAMA before the jury was brought in today in the #DonnaAdelson trial. Defense wanted to speak with a corrections officer at the jail to determine if she had any testimony they could use. They arrived at the jail after court yesterday, and the officer refused to talk to them. Defense was insinuating that someone had gotten to her and told her not to speak to them. The judge called the sheriff into court and had him testify as to what he knew about it. He said the officer wanted to know if she HAD to speak to the defense team, and they advised her that without a subpoena, she didn't have to, but she could if she wanted to. Judge told the defense they can attempt to subpoena her.

First witness of the day is Wendi Adelson's divorce attorney.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1963229169443336300