← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Donna Adelson... AKA “Grandma Gotti” & The Insane Murder Trial in Florida
00:29:55
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- [00:00]
Ashley Banfield
Foreign.
- [00:05]
Hey everyone, I'm Ashley banfield and this is drop dead serious. And today you might need a road map for this one because this is one tricky little puzzle. It's the story of the Adelson family and a murder for hire plot. And one person after the other going down and being locked away. Except for the mom slash grandmom slash grandma gotti, as the Internet has dubbed her. Donna adelson is on trial currently in Florida. And this is a story that involves a murder for hire plot of her former son in law and then her kids and her husband and vietnam and hitmen and ex girlfriends. And it is super confusing. So I put together this little flowchart and together with my studio manager, we are going to sort through this entire story and give you all the background and tell you what's happening in court right now. Because there are witnesses and there are witnesses and there is nothing like jailhouse snitches and ex cons who take the stand. It just makes for sort of this whole delicious true crime story. That is very true and there is a hell of a lot of crime. So stick with me. If you haven't heard of the case of Donna adelen or Wendy adelen or Dan markel or Charlie adelen and the list goes on. I've got all the explosive background and the testimony and the opening statements and the first witnesses. You ready to get started? Okay, buckle up. Here we go. More than 10 years ago, a brilliant law professor named Dan Markel pulled into his driveway in Tallahassee, Florida and was gunned down in cold blood right there in his car. But this was not a random act of violence. This was a murder for hire plot. And it was planned and it was paid for and it was executed with precision. There were even two takes, two go rounds on this murder. And at the center of it all, a bitter custody battle that continued after his divorce was finalized. Dan Markell was fighting for custody of the two boys that he shared with his ex wife, Wendy adelson. Remember the name Adelson, because that name is going to come up a whole bunch with a whole bunch of other adelson. So for starters, we have Dan Markell, the victim, his ex wife, Wendy Adelson, and these two little kids they're fighting over. Wendy wanted to pack those kids up and move down to south Florida to be closer to her wealthy family where they lived. But the judge in their custody case said no, she had to stay in Tallahassee or she could pack herself up and go. But that is standard in custody Deals, Right. You may want to move back to where your family is, but you got a new family, right? And usually within about 100 miles, you can move anywhere in that ring, but you cannot take the children further because both parents have the right to have access for the most part. Generally speaking, that's how custody deals go. But that was not the answer that. That Wendy wanted. And that's when prosecutors say the Adelson family, not just Wendy, but her brother Charlie, her mother, Donna, and several other people, all became fixated on getting rid of Dan Markell, the children's father. Charlie Adelson, Wendy's brother, was a flashy dentist in Miami, and prosecutors say he helped to arrange a murder plot to take his sister's husband out. Wendy has another brother, too, named Rob Adelson. He's somewhat estranged from the family, but nonetheless a figure who will be testifying in his mother's trial. He is not someone who's been connected to Dan Markel's murder, though. Here's what prosecutors say happened to Dan Markel that day in his driveway. Remember, he's Wendy Adelson's ex husband. Two hitmen named Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia were hired out of Miami to murder Dan in July of 2014. They followed Dan home from the gym, and as Dan pulled into his driveway, Luis Rivera pulled up, parked the car. Sigfredo Garcia jumped out and shot Dan twice in the head.
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911 Operator
9 1. What's the address of your emergency casen? Okay, tell me exactly what happened. We heard, looked in, the garage door was up, and I thought the gentleman was backing out, and I went back to my house, but he never backed out. And I came back over, and his wind. His driver's side window is shattered, and he's battered and can't answer. He's inside. I don't know if somebody tried to shoot him or if he shot himself or what. I don't know. He didn't send an ambulance in ramt. He's still alive. He's moving. Okay, what. What's he. What's going on with him? I don't know. The driver's side window is all bashed in, and he's got blood all over his head. He's not responding to me. I think you need to hurry.
- [05:23]
Ashley Banfield
Dan died the next day. He was just 41 years old. And it was not long before the whole conspiracy was starting to come into focus. Luis Rivera cut a deal with prosecutors. He confessed and got 19 years in prison. And I'll tell you how they even found Rivera in just A moment. But Sigfredo Garcia, the gunman, he got life in prison. And some of the details on how police tracked him almost comical. I'm going to lay all that out too, Charlie. Remember Wendy's brother Charlie? Charlie had a girlfriend, a woman named Catherine Magbanua. She was accused of being the go between connecting the Adelsons to the hitmen. And I will lay out how they came together as well. But Catherine, she also got life in prison. And what a story she's got. And Charlie Adelson himself, Wendy's brother, he was convicted in 2023, and he too is serving life. So, yeah, as families go, the Adelsons, not your wholesome Partridge Family here. But the case didn't end there. Prosecutors felt like they needed to get to the very top, where everything began, where the plot began. And enter Grandma Gotti, as the Internet calls her, the alleged mastermind of it all. Like I said before, police were pretty sure that the investigation wasn't over after four arrests and four convictions. Even though I gotta say, four arrests and four convictions is pretty solid. But the investigators really believe that the motivation and the money came straight from the top of the family. Enter Donna adelson. She's the 75 year old matriarch of the Adelson clan, a wealthy dentist's wife, a grandmother, and now a murder defendant called Grandma Gotti. Online, prosecutors say Donna Adelson wasn't just aware of the plan to kill her former son in law, but that she was part of it. According to testimony and affidavits, Donna allegedly pressured her daughter Wendy to pack up those kids and relocate to South Florida, even convincing Wendy to pressure her ex husband Dan and offer him a million dollars to agree to the move. But when that failed, prosecutors say Donna approved a plot. It was something that became infamously known in this case as the TV joke. Remember that? The TV joke. As it turns out, Wendy's brother Charlie bought his sister a tv, you know, kind of to cheer her up while she was going through the nasty divorce. The witnesses said that Charlie joked with his sister, quote, well, it's cheaper to buy you a TV than hire a hitman. And police say that's when Donna started plotting the hit and even concocted an alibi for her daughter Wendy. They say that Donna scheduled a TV repair appointment at her daughter Wendy's house at exactly the same time that the hitmen were across town killing Wendy's husband Dan. They say that Donna picked up the phone from 460 miles away to create that perfect alibi for her daughter to be seen somewhere else while her husband was being murdered at his house. Now enter Charlie's girlfriend, Catherine magbanua. She later testified about the blood money that she got for arranging those two hitmen. She even told police that the money had been, quote, washed by charlie's parents. And I know what you're thinking, right? You're thinking washed, money laundering. But no, I think they might have actually washed the money for some reason, because katherine testified that the money she received was. Was actually damp when she got it. I know. Can't make this stuff up. After the murder, Donna herself signed over more than $17,000 in handwritten checks to catherine magbanua. Prosecutors say that the checks were paid out from the family's dental practice to disguise the payments. And when the FBI sent undercover agents to pose as blackmailers, Donna immediately called Charlie on the ph to discuss, quote, the tv, which was allegedly their code word for the hit job on dan markell. And yeah, I know you're asking, what do you mean, blackmail? What are the FBI saying about blackmail? So, generally speaking, what happened was the FBI sent some stranger to kind of intervene and walk up to donna adelson on the street and pretend that he was a guy who knew what was going on, Basically saying, hey, lady, I know what you're doing. I know what you've done, and you haven't paid. And I'm getting mad because my guy needs to be paid. Basically, FBI is just trying to poke the bear, get her to freak out and get her to start talking. And effectively, they said that's exactly what she did when she called Charlie and said something about the TV job. Right. So after Charlie was convicted, prosecutors said something else happened that really sealed Donna adelson's fate. Donna and her husband Harvey packed their bags and headed to miami international airport. Nothing illegal about that, but police were watching them, and they followed them. And why would police follow them to the airport? Well, as it turns out, Donna was caught on an audio recording jailhouse call with her son Charlie, saying the following. And I will paraphrase. I either gotta off myself or I gotta make a run for it to somewhere where they can't catch me. So once at the airport, the police stopped the adelsons and discovered that they both had one way tickets to vietnam. And yes, I hear you. Vietnam is a great place to go on vacation, but it's also a country with no extradition treaty with the united states. So basically, prosecutors say Donna adelson was starting to make a run for it, make a break for it. And get the hell out of the United States. But she didn't get past the gate. They arrested her right there at Miami International in front of everyone. And they took that one way ticket into evidence for good measure. And Harvey, her husband, he wasn't cuffed, he was not arrested. He was basically left behind at the airport to try to figure out what the hell to do next. Okay, I have a confession. When the air turns crisp in the fall and in the winter, my idea of luxury is not a night out. It's wrapping up in a soft blanket and sipping a cocktail out on the patio and soaking in the cozy vibes. And I have to say I am completely obsessed with my Lola blanket. First time I pulled it out of the box, I was shocked at how soft and cozy it felt. It just drapes around you perfectly, almost like it's hugging you. Compared to every other throw that I've owned, this one is in a different league. My other blankets honestly do not even get used anymore. And it doesn't just feel amazing, it looks incredible. In my space, one Lola instantly makes the whole room feel more curated and cozy. Plus it's machine washable, it's durable and it still looks brand new after the washes. So no wonder lola has over 10,000 five star reviews. Well, once you try it, you will get why people call it the world's number one blanket. And it's the perfect gift. Personal, beautiful and something everybody actually uses. And guess what? Right now I can get you 35% off your entire order. Just go to Lola blankets.com and use my code drop dead serious. All caps, no spaces, no dashes. Just drop dead serious. Once Again, that's Lola Blankets.com and use the code drop dead serious and you'll get your 35% off. And please feel free share the code with your friends. Don't forget to tell them we sent you. Cuz it really does support the show and I so appreciate it. Wrap yourself in luxury with Lola blankets. And now Donna is on trial for first degree murder and conspiracy and solicitation of murder. And the stakes couldn't be higher. But the big question for this jury is going to be did Donna Adelson, the family matriarch really mastermind the murder of her ex son in law? Or is she just the last Adelson standing who's left to blame? In opening statements, the prosecutors told jurors that this case is about power and privilege and a family that would do anything to keep control of their grandchildren. They painted Donna as the driving force. The grandmother who Pulled strings from behind the scenes and helped bankroll a murder. They told the jury that the jury would be seeing emails between Donna and her daughter Wendy, suggesting that Wendy dress her own kids up as Nazis to piss off her ex husband, who was a devout Jew. The defense, of course, says things are totally different than that. In their opening statement, they told the jury that Donna is just a mother, a woman in her 70s who loved her family and is being scapegoated for the sins of others. They say they'll argue that the state is relying on circumstantial evidence, old wiretaps, and testimony from convicted criminals who have every reason to lie and point the finger at Donna Adelson. After openings, the jury heard from some of the most critical witnesses in this entire case, like Luis Rivera. Remember, he's one of the hitmen convicted of actually killing Dan Markel. He's a Latin King's gang member who admitted that he was part of the plan to kill Dan. He's already serving 19 years for his role, but he cut a deal by cooperating with the state. So, yeah, that's ripe for the defense to prod and push. On the stand, Luis Rivera told jurors that he was recruited by Sigfredo Garcia, the other hitman. He said Siegfredo was one of his best friends and a fellow gang member who asked him to help carry out this hit. At the time, Sigfredo Garcia was dating a woman named. Wait for it. Catherine Magbanua. The same Catherine Magbanua who had also dated Charlie Adelson, Donna's son, Wendy's brother. According to the hitman, Luis Rivera, the order did not come directly from the Adelson family. He said he never actually spoke with Donna or with Harvey or with Charlie or with Wendy. He said all of the communication went through Catherine Magbanua, essentially making her the middleman. Luis and his pal Sigfredo were promised $100,000 to kill Dan Markel. They said they were given a piece of paper with Markel's face and his home address right there on the front, Literally a hit sheet. But on their first trip to Tallahassee, they backed off. They walked. They refused to do it. And why? Because, I guess, Luis Rivera has somewhat of a conscience. He told police that they didn't want to kill Dan Markel right there in front of his two kids. That is just so incredibly thoughtful. So instead, they changed the plan, and on July 18, 2014, they tried again. Luis Rivera was the driver of the rented Prius. Siegfredo Garcia was the Gunman who jumped out and this time decided to go through with it. He shot Dan Markel twice in the head. As Dan sat in his car in his driveway on the drive back to Miami, Sigfredo Garcia tossed the gun into the ocean. Luis Rivera said the payoff money itself was really strange. He described to the police that the bills had been stapled together in stacks. But nonetheless, within weeks, those two hitmen were buying cars and motorcycles. And Luis Rivera admitted something else. Before the murder, he actually suggested to Sigfredo Garcia that maybe they should just rob the Adelson family instead of going through with the hit. But the killing went forward anyway. On cross examination, though, Donna's defense team pounced.
- [18:10]
Defense Attorney
You followed him to his house?
- [18:11]
Ashley Banfield
Yes, ma'.
- [18:12]
Am.
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Defense Attorney
And that's where he was killed?
- [18:13]
Ashley Banfield
Yes, ma'. Am.
- [18:14]
Defense Attorney
And the woman who wanted him to be killed past you and Sigfredo and Katie, the woman who wanted him to be killed was Wendy Adelson, correct?
- [18:25]
Wendy Adelson
Yes, ma'.
- [18:26]
Ashley Banfield
Am. It was.
- [18:27]
Defense Attorney
She wanting her children, correct?
- [18:29]
Ashley Banfield
Absolutely. Wendy, this was a moment that you can bet your bottom dollar that defense team is going to return to again and again and again in this trial and then hit it for good measure a whole bunch of times. In their closing, the jury also heard from retired Tallahassee detective Craig Isom, who walked them through surveillance video, specifically a Prius. A Prius that was trailing Dan Markell all the way from the gym to Dan's home. City bus cameras were also able to capture images of that same Prius, and investigators matched that car with Sun Pass toll records in Florida. That led them straight to Garcia and Rivera. And then came the emails. Emails about the bitter divorce filings between Wendy and Dan. In one email, Dan told the court that he did not want grandma Donna Adelson having any unsupervised contact with his two little boys. He said that his kids told him things like, quote, grandma says she hates you. In another email, Donna is pressing Wendy about relocating with the kids to south Florida, calling it, quote, extremely important to her. All of it, prosecutors say, lays out the motive, the Adelson's desperation to move Wendy and the grandchildren out of Tallahassee and away from her husband and their kids. Dan Markell. There was also courtroom drama, too. Judge Stephen Everett had to stop the proceedings after noticing Donna's behavior. He said that Donna was being visible in her reactions to testimony, and he told her flat out to control her, quote, emotional outbursts, the judge reminding her that the jury is always watching. And all Donna had to say in response was a Quiet. Yes. And then on Monday, August 25, the one witness that everybody was waiting for took the stand. Wendy Adelen, Donna's daughter, and the victim, Dan Marquel's ex wife. Wendy was given immunity to testify, meaning that nothing she would say on the stand, all of her testimony, none of that, could be used against her. But it does not mean that she can't be charged in the future. And I don't need to remind you, because you are the true crime community. There is no statute of limitations on murder. So a murder charge that can hang over Wendy's head forever and ever. Amen. Anyway, in court, Wendy gets up on the stand and she tells this jury and everybody else who will listen that she has not spoken to her mother since November of 2023. That's going on two years, right? This fall. That's, of course, also the time that her brother Charlie was convicted. Wendy said that her mother was upset by Wendy's quote, unquote performance. While Wendy was testifying in her brother Charlie's trial, Wendy said that it felt like her mother was angry at her for not having done more to help her brother while on the stand. Since Donna was arrested at the beginning of December 2023, this was the first time that she had seen or heard Wendy since their last communications. And here are the highlights of Wendy's.
- [21:56]
Wendy Adelson
Testimony at the time of Dan Markell's murder. Was the defendant, your mother, very angry at Dan Markell.
- [22:06]
Ashley Banfield
Before he died?
- [22:07]
Wendy Adelson
Yes, ma'.
- [22:07]
Ashley Banfield
Am.
- [22:08]
Yes.
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Wendy Adelson
And you hated him, too, right?
- [22:13]
Ashley Banfield
At certain points, I was very frustrated with him.
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Wendy Adelson
Did you refer to him as an std?
- [22:20]
Ashley Banfield
I don't remember saying that.
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Wendy Adelson
Danny is an std. One wrong mistake, marrying him, and this will never go away. Is that what you said?
- [22:29]
Ashley Banfield
I did.
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Wendy Adelson
And did you share that kind of sentiment with your mother?
- [22:33]
Ashley Banfield
I don't remember ever saying that. So I don't think it's something I said very often.
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Wendy Adelson
And this was said in an email on February 26th of 2013, correct? It was approximately 17 months prior. Before the murder. Did you ever refer to your ex husband as the dark lord?
- [22:51]
Ashley Banfield
I don't remember saying that, but I certainly might have.
- [22:56]
Wendy Adelson
Did you ever say that you hated Dan Markell?
- [23:00]
Ashley Banfield
I don't remember saying it, but I certainly could have.
- [23:03]
Wendy Adelson
Tab 31, please to refresh your memory. Did you ever refer to your ex husband, Dan Markell, as an emotional terrorist?
- [23:12]
Ashley Banfield
I very well could have. I don't remember saying that, but I.
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Wendy Adelson
That one's on tab 34. I did write that, and that was approximately three weeks before Mr. Markell was murdered, correct?
- [23:27]
Ashley Banfield
Yes.
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Wendy Adelson
Were you in any way involved in the plot to kill your ex husband?
- [23:34]
Ashley Banfield
No.
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Wendy Adelson
Did you maybe know it was going to happen, but not know the details?
- [23:41]
Ashley Banfield
I did not know it was going to happen and I did not know any details.
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Wendy Adelson
Did you provide any information, even unknowingly in hindsight, that you think could have been used to assist the murderers?
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Ashley Banfield
I don't think so. I didn't provide any information.
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Wendy Adelson
What information do you have regarding your mother's involvement in the plot to kill your ex husband?
- [24:02]
Ashley Banfield
I don't have information.
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Defense Attorney
When you got up, when the state was asking you questions, after you said your mother hated Danny at the time that he was killed, which you've clarified now that she was mad at him, not that she hated him. You testified you hated him at the time he was killed, right?
- [24:19]
Ashley Banfield
I don't remember testifying to that.
- [24:21]
Defense Attorney
Seidelson, you would agree that when Danny Markell was murdered on June 18th of 2014, your little boys lost their father for the rest of their life?
- [24:32]
Ashley Banfield
On the day that he was murdered was July 18th. And yes, my boys lost their father.
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Defense Attorney
They are growing up as 11 years have passed without his influence in their life in any way. Isn't that correct?
- [24:45]
Ashley Banfield
I wouldn't say without his influence in any way, but yes, they've grown up without their father.
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Defense Attorney
He's not here to give them advice.
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Ashley Banfield
He is not.
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Defense Attorney
He can't come to any of their functions. Sports, anything else?
- [24:57]
Ashley Banfield
Correct.
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Defense Attorney
They're not eating kosher like they would have with their father.
- [25:01]
Ashley Banfield
They are not.
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Defense Attorney
They don't have him at all.
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Ashley Banfield
They don't have him in their lives day to day.
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No.
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Defense Attorney
Because on July 18th of 2014, he was brutally murdered in his driveway.
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Ashley Banfield
Isn't that true?
- [25:12]
That is true.
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Defense Attorney
And you testified on direct that anybody in your family that had anything to do with it should be held responsible. Isn't that correct?
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Ashley Banfield
Yes.
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Defense Attorney
And that includes you, doesn't it?
- [25:23]
Ashley Banfield
Anyone. Anyone who's responsible.
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Gigi. What a shit show. I mean, there's really no other way to say it in this courtroom. Is it tense? Like. I mean, this is a bad family affair. Worse than the worst Thanksgiving.
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Legal Analyst
It is tense. I mean, you have Donna face to face with two of her kids so far. Charlie should be on the stand at some point, but, you know, Wendy and Donna had these little glances back and forth when Wendy had to identify her mom in court. She sounded like she wanted to get choked up. But I noticed when her oldest son, Rob Adelen, got on the stand, she really Had a look of disgust versus what she gave Wendy. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact she meddled in his personal life years ago. And he left the woman he was in love with, married another woman. Very quickly annulled. Went back to the woman he loved. Don's complaint was she was not Jewish. To her, Dan was too Jewish. You can't please this woman. But Rob got rid of everybody, did his own thing. Moved to upstate New York, very happily married. It was so tense yesterday with those two kids on the stand. What a day we had.
- [26:34]
Ashley Banfield
So, yeah. God, I mean, there's grandma. And the Internet calls her Grandma Gotti. They say she's the mastermind of all of this. Prosecutors say that her daughter Wendy's on the stand. They say they haven't spoken since the arrest, which is a couple years now. And Rob gets on the stand. That wasn't on anyone's bingo card. I wasn't expecting him to get up there. So two of her kids testifying, like you said. Kid number three, Charlie's gonna get up there. He's a convicted felon now. But I keep thinking about Wendy. Wendy is at the core of all of this, right? It's her ex husband that ended up getting executed in his driveway. The hitman, you know, shot him in his driveway. She's not charged. She was given immunity to get up there on the stand, but she was not given immunity from being charged. She was only given immunity so that anything she said on the stand couldn't be used against her in case she was charged. Is she gonna be charged?
- [27:29]
Legal Analyst
You know, I wouldn't count it out, Ashley. I mean, look, if you look at the case they have against Donna right now, there is no smoking gun per where you can say, I planned to kill Dan. It's largely circumstantial. You put the pieces together, you get a big picture. I think it's going to be the same with Wendy. And she is an unamdotted co. Conspirator. Prosecutor. Prosecutor Kaplan has definitely in the past let Wendy know on the stand in the event of your arrest. And Wendy's eyes get big. She kind of plays around with her a bit, you know, But Kaplan is playing a nice game of chess. You get one conviction, you get the next. So Charlie was convicted. Charlotte shortly after Donna. You know, the buzz is after Donna is convicted, or I think convicted, does she go for Wendy? I mean, that remains to be seen. But there are a lot of coincidences, Ashley. Who else would know his schedule for that day to go to the gym who knew he was going out of town when the boys would be out of his care had to come from somebody. And who else would that be but his ex wife who had joint custody with him? So I think there's a lot there to work with and we will see. But I won't be surprised at all. I will be here for it.
- [28:44]
Ashley Banfield
ASHLEY and that's where the trial leaves off for now. With prosecutors laying out a motive for Donna Adelen to want her ex son in law dead and Donna Adelen herself creating disruptions in her own murder trial. And Donna Adelen having to look at her own daughter on the stand as a witness for the prosecution. Can you imagine Thanksgiving dinner after this? Not that there's ever going to be one really. Anyway, the evidence, it is piling up, but so are the defense attacks. We have already seen how they're going to chip away at the credibility of several key witnesses. How they're going to point the finger at the daughter Wendy, and how they're going to try to separate grandma Donna from this whole ugly, sordid conspiracy mess. But remember, this is just the beginning. We've got weeks and weeks of testimony still ahead and some of the most explosive witnesses have yet to take the stand. I'm Ashley Banfield. Thank you so much for listening and watching. And remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead serious.