About this transcript: This is a full AI-generated transcript of Wendi Adelson Testifies in Brother's Hitman Conspiracy Murder Trial — Full Testimony Part One from Law&Crime Trials, published June 14, 2026. The transcript contains 18,268 words with timestamps and was generated using Whisper AI.
"For a further testimony they are about to give, we'll be sure. Thanks, ma'am. You may see. Ma'am, please say and spell your name. Wendy Adelson, W-E-N-D-I-A-D-E-L-S-O-N. Where are you from, Ms. Adelson? I'm originally from Coral Springs, Florida. And where do you live now? I currently live in..."
[00:00:00] Speaker 1: For a further testimony they are about to give, we'll be sure. Thanks, ma'am. You may see.
[00:00:10] Speaker 2: Ma'am, please say and spell your name.
[00:00:13] Wendy Adelson: Wendy Adelson, W-E-N-D-I-A-D-E-L-S-O-N.
[00:00:19] Speaker 2: Where are you from, Ms. Adelson?
[00:00:21] Wendy Adelson: I'm originally from Coral Springs, Florida.
[00:00:24] Speaker 2: And where do you live now?
[00:00:25] Wendy Adelson: I currently live in Miami. How are you employed? Now kind of part-time. I do asylum work and I fundraise for non-profit organizations.
[00:00:39] Speaker 2: Are you an attorney? By training, yes. Okay. How long have you been a member of the Florida Bar?
[00:00:46] Wendy Adelson: Since I graduated and took the bar in 2006.
[00:00:52] Speaker 2: And are you here today pursuant to a subpoena? Yes, ma'am. All right. And that subpoena confers use and derivative use immunity to you, so nothing you say could be used against you in the future. That is correct. That doesn't mean you have full immunity from prosecution, but nothing you say here and nothing derived from it could be used in that prosecution. Is that your understanding?
[00:01:17] Wendy Adelson: That is my understanding.
[00:01:20] Speaker 2: Did you know Daniel Markell? Yes. How did you know him? We were married. When did you meet Mr. Markell?
[00:01:29] Wendy Adelson: We met in the fall of my second year of law school, so fall of 2004. And where did you meet? We met in Washington, D.C. He was working there, and I was looking into a summer job in Washington.
[00:01:47] Speaker 2: And when did you get married?
[00:01:49] Wendy Adelson: In February of 2006.
[00:01:52] Speaker 2: And when did you live here in Tallahassee?
[00:01:56] Wendy Adelson: We lived in Tallahassee my third year of law school, so from August of 2005 until I think around maybe May or June of 2006. And then we moved to Miami for a year because Danny was interested in working at the University of Miami. He did not get the job at the University of Miami, and so we moved back here in 2007 and lived here until 2014.
[00:02:28] Speaker 2: And where were the two of you employed during the time you lived here in Tallahassee?
[00:02:32] Wendy Adelson: I was employed at the FSU Center for Human Rights, and Danny was employed at FSU Law School.
[00:02:40] Speaker 2: Were you both professors at FSU College of Law? Yes. And were you living on Trescot Drive at that time?
[00:02:52] Wendy Adelson: When we were married, we lived, I think we rented a house before that, but at some point, maybe in 2008,
[00:03:02] Speaker 2: we moved to Trescot Drive. And is that the home that he was still living in at the time that he was killed? That is correct. Okay, and you were no longer living there, is that correct? I was no longer living there. All right, at the time he was killed, you two had children together, yes? Yes. And how many children did you have? We have two children. And what are their ages now? They are 13 and 14. What about at the time of their dad's death?
[00:03:25] Wendy Adelson: At the time of their dad's death, they were four and three.
[00:03:30] Speaker 2: When did you separate from Professor Markell? In the fall of 2012. Whose decision was it to separate? It was my decision. And was part of the reason for the separation, the two of you having differing views on how to raise your kids as far as within the Jewish faith? I mean, it was a small part, but it was part of it. Okay, that seemed to be something that came up a lot in your communication, so that's why I ask about it. What was the difference of opinion on that?
[00:04:02] Wendy Adelson: I mean, when we first met and started dating, Danny wasn't as observant or as religious as he became over time. And so the difference in our perspective on raising kids was about dietary choices and attendance at synagogue, things like that.
[00:04:21] Speaker 2: So in general, he wanted to raise the children more strictly in terms of the faith than you. That is correct. Did you move out of the marital home while Mr. Markell was away on a business trip? I did, yes. All right. And did he know that you were moving out when he left for the business trip? No, he did not. Where did you go when you left the marital home? I rented a home in Tallahassee. Where was that? Do you remember the address? Aqua Ridge Way. 3303, sound right?
[00:04:57] Wendy Adelson: That's right.
[00:04:58] Speaker ?: Okay.
[00:04:59] Speaker 2: And what was the custody arrangement once you moved out of the marital home?
[00:05:03] Wendy Adelson: I mean, in the beginning, until we had a formal custody arrangement, we were just finding ways to share custody. I remember that first weekend his parents came, so I made sure he had the children all weekend while his parents were visiting from Canada. But eventually, we had a 50-50 shared custody arrangement.
[00:05:24] Speaker 2: All right. And do you remember exactly what that looked like? Was it week on, week off, or something more complicated?
[00:05:30] Wendy Adelson: It was something more complicated. In the summertime, it was week on, week off. During the weeks, it was, I think, what they called a two-two split with Wednesday night being an overnight, and then the weekends being every other weekend.
[00:05:48] Speaker 2: All right. But roughly 50-50. 50-50, but that was the split. And I want to show you what's been introduced into evidence, States Exhibit 56. I know you've had a chance to take a look at this before, but if you'll just kind of
[00:06:07] Speaker ?: thumb through it and tell me if you recognize it. Sure.
[00:06:40] Speaker 2: Do you recognize the exhibit? I do. Is it a fair and accurate copy of your divorce file? It looks like it, yes. All right. And is it fair to say this was a contentious litigation process that you had with your ex? It was. And I want to ask you about a specific filing in there. It begins on page 43, and it's in reference to a filing on January 14th of 2013 where you were looking to relocate with the minor children. Do you recall that particular filing?
[00:07:38] Wendy Adelson: I recall the filing. You said 43. I'm not sure I'm... Oh, okay. Yes, ma'am. On the bottom, there should be page numbers for you. Yes. Yes, I recognize it.
[00:07:57] Speaker 2: Okay. And that's the filing in reference to your motion for relocation? Yes. Okay. And did you file this motion with the intent to not be successful? I'm sorry. I don't understand the question. It's been suggested that you never thought that was going to be successful. Did you?
[00:08:14] Wendy Adelson: I thought there was a small chance that it would be successful, but not very likely, no.
[00:08:19] Speaker 2: Okay. And weren't you thinking, well, maybe Danny would be happy working somewhere else because he's mentioned applying elsewhere, so maybe he'll allow the relocation? Were you thinking that?
[00:08:32] Wendy Adelson: Well, he and I talked about the relocation. So when we talked about it, he thought, well, if I can live nearby in Miami, that might work, and then I could commute to FSU. I didn't mean for him to leave FSU, but he wanted to leave FSU at some point. So that was just a matter of time.
[00:08:48] Speaker 2: So you thought it might be successful?
[00:08:50] Wendy Adelson: Sure.
[00:08:50] Speaker 2: I mean, I thought it was possible, but not likely. All right, and page 46 of that document, paragraph E, references the job offer. The wife also desires to relocate to South Florida in order to provide a better quality of life for the children by increasing their access to close family and providing more stability and consistency. Who is the close family in South Florida?
[00:09:19] Wendy Adelson: The close family would have been my mom and my dad and my brother. And which brother is that? My brother that's here today. Charlie Adelson? That's correct.
[00:09:28] Speaker ?: Okay.
[00:09:29] Wendy Adelson: What's your mom's name? My mom's name is Donna. Donna Adelson? Yes, that's her name. What about your dad? My dad's name is Harvey.
[00:09:39] Speaker 2: And where did Donna and Harvey live back in the time frame between 2012 and 2016? They lived at the home I grew up in, in Coral Springs.
[00:09:48] Wendy Adelson: And how far do they live away from you currently as we sit here today? Currently, depends on Miami traffic, but anywhere between 15 minutes and an hour.
[00:10:00] Speaker 2: All right. And what kind of a relationship do you have with your parents as we sit here today? I have a good relationship with my parents. And has that always been the case?
[00:10:08] Wendy Adelson: I would say so.
[00:10:10] Speaker 2: Can you describe the relationship that your mom has with your boys? I think it's very loving. I think she's a very dedicated grandmother. She spends a lot of time with them, doesn't she?
[00:10:20] Wendy Adelson: She does, yeah.
[00:10:21] Speaker 2: And when they were little and you first moved there after Danny's death, how much time was she spending with them?
[00:10:27] Wendy Adelson: When I moved there after Danny's death in 2014.
[00:10:31] Speaker 2: How much time was your mom spending with the boys?
[00:10:33] Wendy Adelson: I mean, we were all living together at that point. So, I mean, we were spending every day together. How were your parents employed? Are they retired now? They're retired now. What are they retired from? My dad was a dentist, and my mom used to coordinate, kind of be like an office administrator at his practice.
[00:10:56] Speaker 2: And did she write the checks at the practice, paychecks?
[00:10:59] Wendy Adelson: Yes, she handled all the bookkeeping. What was the name of the practice? The name changed over the years, but probably the name when they retired was the Adelson Institute.
[00:11:12] Speaker 2: And were your parents wealthy at the time that your husband was murdered?
[00:11:16] Wendy Adelson: I mean, my parents worked their whole lives to support us, right? So, I think the business did well for a period of time.
[00:11:25] Speaker 2: About $2 million in profit each year between 2013 and 2016, sound right?
[00:11:29] Wendy Adelson: They never talked to me about money, so I have no idea how much the business made at any given point.
[00:11:35] Speaker 2: Did you discuss your marital problems with your mom at all? I did, yeah. Okay, what about the resulting legal issues? Was your mom read in on those things?
[00:11:46] Wendy Adelson: I mean, I definitely updated her about the results of the relocation when that petition got denied, but not kind of the ins and outs of every part of our divorce.
[00:11:56] Speaker 2: What about your dad? Was he invested in your divorce status?
[00:12:02] Wendy Adelson: I think the same as my mom, just worried about me and worried about the boys.
[00:12:07] Speaker 2: What about your brother? Did he take an interest in the ins and outs of your divorce? No, not really. Did he need to protect you from Dan Markell? No, I mean, I don't think I need protection. Were you physically in danger from Dan Markell? Did the litigation revolving around the divorce and the subsequent issues that arose, did that impact your family back in South Florida?
[00:12:36] Wendy Adelson: I mean, only to the extent that I think they felt bad for what I was going through.
[00:12:41] Speaker 2: I want to show you an exhibit that I've marked as State's Exhibit 59. Sorry, 57, Your Honor. I didn't see this one before as well. Does that one look familiar?
[00:13:02] Wendy Adelson: I don't remember it, to be honest. It's from 10 years ago.
[00:13:06] Speaker 2: Take a moment to look through it.
[00:13:08] Wendy Adelson: Sure.
[00:13:13] Speaker 2: When you're done, I'll let opposing counsel take a look at it. But go ahead and let us know when you're done reviewing it. Let's go ahead and let's go ahead and see what you're doing.
[00:13:24] Speaker ?: Let's go ahead and let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing here. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Let's go ahead and see what you're doing. Okay.
[00:15:33] Speaker 2: All right, are those emails between you and your mother? I don't think I responded. I think they're just emails from my mom to me. Okay. Mostly all from your mom. Yeah. Okay. And the email address says, I think it's something like Wendy Harvey. Can you tell from the content that it's your mom typing rather than your dad? Yeah.
[00:16:19] Wendy Adelson: The email is Donna Harvey, my two parents' names. So they've been married over 50 years. So they have a joint email address. So it's from both of them.
[00:16:27] Speaker 2: Okay. So what I want to draw your attention to is page two of that exhibit. That first paragraph there above the word response. Did you have an opportunity to read that? I read it real fast, but I can read it. And what I want to draw your attention to is specifically the part that reads, your father has made numerous trips by plane for weekends and changing the patient schedules around so he can continue to spend significant time with the children. Um, did you?
[00:17:04] Speaker 4: Are your objections around? I just didn't hear it get admitted into evidence.
[00:17:08] Speaker 2: Judge, at this time I'd ask to move this exhibit into evidence.
[00:17:12] Speaker 4: Which? Is that where I'm at? 57? No objection.
[00:17:16] Speaker 2: It's 57.
[00:17:17] Speaker 4: 57 has admitted.
[00:17:18] Speaker 2: Go ahead. So that paragraph, isn't that paragraph going into detail about how the issues surrounding your divorce and litigation is financially impacting in a negative way your parents' business? That's what my mom says here, yes. Okay. And it also says, "Additionally, this loss of income affects my family because my older brother, also a dentist, purchased the practice from my father in mid-July 2012. He has a monthly payment to make to my father based on the sale of the practice. It isn't fair to him to have decreasing monthly income statements from the practice due to my parents spending so much time here in Tallahassee." So this is an argument that your mom is proposing, right, to help you, give you an idea of what might persuade the courts to allow the relocation. Do you agree with that? Yes. That's what she was doing, yes. Okay. And she's indicating that both your parents as well as your brother have suffered financially as a result of you not being able to relocate. Yes. Okay. And on page, do you have page numbers in the bottom right corner of your exhibit? I have them in the top so I can see. Okay. So five of, well, let me look. Give me a moment. So it'll be the second email in your packet, page one of three. Okay. Do you see that? I see that page. Okay. And there's a rest of your life highlighted or underlined in the center and in bold. Do you see that? Yes. It reads, however, the rest of your life and consequently dad's, mine, and yes, even Charlie's will be affected by how well you can perform slash act before July 31st. You need to be a good actress when you, or you can be a good actress when you want to. I've seen you in action. You need to put on the performance of your life. Jibbers hasn't beaten the Adelson family yet. Who's Jibbers? Jibbers, she's referring to Danny. And what is, was Jibbers a name he went by or just something you called him behind his back?
[00:19:43] Wendy Adelson: Jibbers was a silly nickname that I gave him during the divorce proceedings when he was being pretty scary and threatening and it kind of made me feel less scared of him.
[00:19:53] Speaker 2: Okay. So not something you called him to his face. No. But that was a word that was only used to describe him. Yes. It was a nickname. Okay. So in this, again, your mom is referencing how everyone's life is being affected by this relocation, including your brother, Charlie. Do you agree with that? That is what she said. Yes. All right. Is your mom overprotective of you? Yes. All right. Is it fair to say she's, you know, a little on the controlling side? I don't think she's controlling, but she's definitely overprotective. Did she ever try to micromanage your life?
[00:20:34] Speaker ?: Maybe.
[00:20:35] Speaker 2: Yeah. Did she have an interest in who you were dating and who you weren't dating and who you should be dating when you were single? I think she was usually disappointed that I wasn't dating more. Okay. For example, isn't it true that she would, like, not let you drive to and from Tallahassee to South Florida?
[00:20:57] Wendy Adelson: Well, I used to drive before I had the boys, but they were young and she preferred to come with me and give me some extra support.
[00:21:04] Speaker 2: So what would that look like if you were going to take a trip to South Florida? Would they come up here and get you or...?
[00:21:11] Wendy Adelson: No, sometimes I would go myself with the kids, but I was breastfeeding both of them, so it usually looked like me breastfeeding a child while I entertained the other in the Okahumka rest stop. Okay. So it was pretty... It was a lot. It was helpful to have some backup.
[00:21:27] Speaker 2: All right. And so that timeframe you'd be referencing as, like, the 2013 timeframe? Because not around the time of Danny's death, you wouldn't have still been breastfeeding, would you?
[00:21:36] Wendy Adelson: If Lincoln was three? No, I would have stopped maybe the year before.
[00:21:40] Speaker 2: Okay.
[00:21:41] Wendy Adelson: Maybe 2012, 2013. Okay.
[00:21:44] Speaker 2: And wasn't it true that around the time of the death they were still doing this practice where they would prefer to drive you to and from South Florida?
[00:21:52] Wendy Adelson: I mean, not every time, but sometimes.
[00:21:54] Speaker 2: Okay. And would your mom sometimes enlist your brother Charlie to convince you to do certain things in your personal life? I can't really think of an example of that. Well, dating Dave was a big one on some of the materials I had. Yeah. People like Dave. All right. And your mom really liked Dave. Yeah. Everyone liked Dave, but we were just friends. Okay. Did she try? So she would try to get Charlie to convince you to date a certain person. I don't think she was getting Charlie to convince me to date Dave. I think everyone liked Dave. All right. And would she try to get Charlie to convince you to do certain things as far as your professional life? What jobs to take? No, I don't think so. She didn't do that. Would she try to get Charlie to do certain things like advise you on investment decisions, whether or not you were going to buy a house, for example?
[00:22:49] Wendy Adelson: I don't think so. I don't remember that. Danny and I made that decision together.
[00:22:55] Speaker 2: Once you had left Dan and you were living separately, did you look into purchasing a home here in Tallahassee? I did.
[00:23:05] Wendy Adelson: Yeah.
[00:23:06] Speaker 2: Did your brother Charlie convince you not to do that?
[00:23:09] Wendy Adelson: I don't remember him convincing me not to. The only reason why I didn't was because I was waiting on the money from Danny from the settlement and he didn't pay it, so I couldn't afford the house. And your mom didn't want you to buy the house, did she? That's not true. My parents were looking to buy a house in Tallahassee as well.
[00:23:24] Speaker 2: Okay.
[00:23:25] Wendy Adelson: Did you have...
[00:23:27] Speaker 2: Sorry. Generally speaking, does your mom manipulate the personal lives of her children? No. Is your mom... Like if she's really upset about something or worked up about something, is that something that your brother Charlie is going to hear a lot about? Who's going to hear more of it? You or Charlie?
[00:23:48] Wendy Adelson: Well, if my mom's upset with me, probably Charlie. And if she's upset with Charlie, probably me. Okay.
[00:23:55] Speaker 2: So do you get a lot of that? Do you hear a lot about, let's go back. Let's go to before the murder. Did you get a lot of Donna just giving you an earful about what Charlie needs to be doing? Probably at some point. What was Charlie doing with his personal life? What did his personal life look like? At what point? Before the murder. I mean, at what period of time before... All of them. Wasn't it just a revolving door of girlfriends? Right. But my mom didn't complain to me about that. She didn't mind that with him. I don't understand the question. She didn't mind if he went from girl to girl to girl. That was acceptable. She didn't really weigh in on it, no. Who talked to her more, you or Charlie? Charlie. A lot more, right? Yeah. At the time of Dan Markell's murder, were your parents extremely angry with Dan?
[00:24:49] Wendy Adelson: At that point, no. They were in a much better place.
[00:24:52] Speaker 2: I want to direct your attention to an interview that was conducted on... I think this was your law enforcement interview. So July 18th, 2014. And I'm specifically for court and counsel looking at page 27, lines 11 and 12.
[00:25:22] Speaker ?: And I've got it open to the page, but you can flip around if you need to, to familiarize yourself. Sure. And I'll take that exhibit if you want.
[00:25:44] Wendy Adelson: Do you want me to flip through or just look at this one page? If you'll just look at that one page. If you'll just look at that one page.
[00:25:52] Speaker 2: 27. Thank you. Let me get to where you are. So page 27 there, lines 11 and 12, and I've got it highlighted for you. Yes, ma'am. It says, Ms. Adelson, "You know my parents are, you know, very angry toward him." Is that true? Was that true? Isn't that what you said? Your parents were very angry toward Dan.
[00:26:27] Wendy Adelson: Can I read the rest of the sentence? Sure. So I say, you know, my parents are very angry towards him, but even when they're around my kids, they would never say a bad word about my kid's father.
[00:26:39] Speaker 2: And then on page 288, line 24, through page 289, line one, and that's going to be, yeah. Didn't you say, you know, it's like my parents have more reason to dislike Danny than almost anyone else. Is that what you said? That is what I said.
[00:27:15] Wendy Adelson: And that's because they hurt, he hurt you, right? And I was saying that in the context of talking to law enforcement for hours and hours and trying to help them figure out who might be responsible. Right. And who did you tell them might be responsible? Well, I told them many, many people. But are you asking about this particular moment right here? You told them your family might be responsible. Or potentially someone to do with a former student or his current girlfriend. I mentioned lots of people that I thought could be responsible.
[00:27:46] Speaker 2: Okay. And of the lots of people that could have been responsible, your family as well. Yup. Because they might have done this thinking it would help you. I mean, that's what happened, right?
[00:28:00] Wendy Adelson: I'm sorry, I don't understand the question.
[00:28:02] Speaker 2: Your family had your ex-husband killed to try to help you, didn't they? No, that's completely untrue. And back to the divorce, the petition where Danny is responding to your petition for the motion to relocate. Are you familiar with that filing or do you need to take a look at it? I need to take a look at it. All right. It's going to be page 79 through 101. And this is back to our exhibit 56. And again, that was the filing begins on page 79. I'm specifically interested in 82. And in this filing, doesn't Mr. Markell say, quote, "The husband affirmatively alleges that the wife helped herself to non-marital assets, including money and stocks owned prior to marriage, as well as numerous personal non-marital belongings of the husband, such as luggage, bicycle, tennis racket, and family heirlooms. The wife has refused to return these items or to allow the husband into her home to see what other personal belongings were taken without his permission or acquiescence." So my point is, he's accusing you of theft in this paragraph. Those are the words that are here, yes. Yeah. And he's very adamantly objecting to your relocation, right? On page 82, it says, "The sole stated reason the wife seeks to relocate is so that she can be closer to her parents." Was being near your parents the sole reason that you wanted to relocate? No. It wasn't the sole reason stated in your petition?
[00:30:22] Wendy Adelson: It wasn't the sole reason stated in my petition, and it wasn't the sole reason that he and I talked about before I filed the motion to relocate.
[00:30:31] Speaker 2: Why was he so adamant and so confident that this was the real reason you wanted to be down there?
[00:30:37] Wendy Adelson: I think there's a lot of things in these pleadings that are not true. So just because it says something doesn't make it true.
[00:30:45] Speaker 2: Sure. But did he know that your mom was just grinding on this issue of trying to get you down there?
[00:30:51] Wendy Adelson: He would have had no idea.
[00:30:53] Speaker 2: That wouldn't have been known to him? I don't think so. Hmm. But he was accusing you in these pleadings of all kinds of stuff, right? I mean, I'm not saying it's too, but hiding financial assets, failing to disclose things, kidnapping his kids in the middle of his business trip, all those sorts of things, right? Yes, he said lots of things. All right. And you said a lot of things too. There's filings going both ways that are pretty venomous. Would you agree with that? I would not agree with that. Yours were pleasant.
[00:31:24] Wendy Adelson: I'm not saying divorce filings are pleasant, but mine were not venomous. Okay.
[00:31:29] Speaker 2: Did your mother, Donna Adelson, review the filing in which Dan Markell is accusing you of this theft and all this stuff? I don't remember if she did. What about the one where Dan Markell is asking that your mother not be permitted to have unsupervised visitation with the kids?
[00:31:54] Wendy Adelson: My mom never saw that because after he filed that, he then asked my parents to babysit the kids. My mom baked him banana bread, gave him a hug goodbye. So there was nothing truthful about that pleading that he filed and my mom never saw it.
[00:32:07] Speaker 2: Why do you think he filed that? He was really angry at me for leaving him. Okay. So he didn't really want to limit your mom's visitation with the kids. No. And that's evidence. Baby said after he filed that. Evidence by the banana bread. That's good. And so she didn't even know about that filing. She never knew about it.
[00:32:28] Speaker ?: Okay.
[00:32:29] Speaker 2: And when she laid all those options out in that email to you about other options that you could take to secure the relocation as far as bribing. Remember that? Converting the Christian children to Christianity. Remember that suggestion? I sure do. Okay. Um, what did she put in there that she viewed as your most non-negotiable and most important part of your divorce? I don't know. Do you have something I can see? States exhibit 57. And it is page one. Page one, paragraph two.
[00:33:29] Wendy Adelson: So you want me to read what she said here? I want you to answer the question.
[00:33:40] Speaker 2: What was the most important part?
[00:33:42] Wendy Adelson: Of the divorce for my mom. Yes.
[00:33:45] Speaker 2: It says here that for her it was relocation. All right. And did you have two eight-hour mediations in your divorce?
[00:33:53] Wendy Adelson: We had two very long mediations. I don't remember exactly how long they were, but they felt like a very long time. Did they result in a resolution?
[00:34:00] Speaker 2: No. Was Mr. Markell seeking to depose your mom as part of the divorce?
[00:34:07] Wendy Adelson: I don't remember that. I don't remember that.
[00:34:09] Speaker 2: Do you know if it ever happened?
[00:34:11] Wendy Adelson: I don't think it happened. I don't remember it. Was the prospect of that upsetting to your mom? I don't think so. I don't remember it. So I don't remember talking with her about it or...
[00:34:22] Speaker 2: Did your mom call Dan any disparaging names around this timeframe?
[00:34:28] Wendy Adelson: Well, I just read them in the emails, but I don't remember them independently. Okay.
[00:34:34] Speaker 2: Did she call him an asshole? Yes. A narcissist? Yes. A bully? Yes. Religious zealot? Yes. Bastard.
[00:34:44] Wendy Adelson: That I don't remember. Page five. Okay. Is it page five from the first email?
[00:34:52] Speaker 2: Yes. If you'll just go through by the physical pages.
[00:34:56] Speaker ?: I see. Yes. I'm sorry. What was your answer?
[00:35:00] Wendy Adelson: Yes. Fucker?
[00:35:02] Speaker ?: Yes.
[00:35:03] Speaker 2: But in all the filings made on your behalf by the different lawyers that you had, and all of the emails that your mom sent, he was never described as abusive. I mean, he was described as emotionally abusive, yes. Can you show me where he was described as emotionally abusive in any of those items? Well, not by my mom, but in the pleadings. Okay. Show me that. It's going to take me a while to find it. Okay. Well, it's not in there, but you can get back to me with it. Well, it is in there.
[00:35:47] Speaker 4: The comment. She's not testifying. Hold on. Please approve.
[00:35:51] Speaker 2: So would you have to review the whole file in order to find that, or could you give us a starting point of which filing it might be located in?
[00:36:04] Wendy Adelson: It might be under the petition to relocate. It might be under the initial divorce proceedings. Okay. It wouldn't be in emails from my mom, but it would take a while to find it. It might be in the depositions. Okay.
[00:36:20] Speaker 2: Did you view yourself as being stuck here in Tallahassee once the relocation was denied? I didn't.
[00:36:26] Wendy Adelson: I mean, I had a really nice life here. I did not view myself as being stuck.
[00:36:33] Speaker 2: Would you please turn to page 176 in that exhibit in front of you? I think it's highlighted for you. Did you describe yourself in that filing as being stuck in Tallahassee?
[00:37:02] Wendy Adelson: I don't see it. You said it was highlighted, but there's nothing highlighted.
[00:37:06] Speaker 2: Okay. 176 on my page. I see the word stuck. I found it. Okay. So did you describe at least in one occasion being stuck in Tallahassee? No. Can I read the sentence? Sure.
[00:37:38] Wendy Adelson: So it says the husband has made it difficult for the wife with her colleagues at her current position due to his statements and actions. And the husband's intent is to relocate to a larger area at some point. So the wife is merely stuck in Tallahassee until the husband decides that the time is right for him to leave. All right.
[00:37:59] Speaker 2: And had he accepted a job anywhere else by the time that he was murdered?
[00:38:04] Wendy Adelson: No, he hadn't yet been offered a job, but he was always looking.
[00:38:07] Speaker 2: Okay.
[00:38:08] Wendy Adelson: So he was just going to move and just let you have the kids at that point? He probably would have done what I did, which is have a conversation and see if it was a place that made sense for both of us to live.
[00:38:19] Speaker 2: And would you have moved to wherever he got a great job and started a new life there? Potentially, yeah. Okay.
[00:38:26] Speaker ?: Okay. Okay.
[00:38:28] Speaker 2: Did you like Tallahassee? I did. And you said, I think you did say this, but let me clarify. Was your mom aware of the order denying relocation?
[00:38:40] Wendy Adelson: My mom was aware of the order denying relocation.
[00:38:43] Speaker 2: And what about your brother, Charlie? Was he aware of that as well? I'm sure my mom would have said something to him. All right. So did your mom suggest any ways that you might coerce Dan Markel to let you move with the kids to South Florida? Yes. I think we, we talked about that before. We did. And for this, I'm referring back to those emails and in particular, the bribe. So another bribe to get him to allow relocation on page five of five of the first email for the defense, another bribe to get him to allow relocation should be the offer of plane tickets. So that he can fly back and forth, right? So you're going to potentially offer this big monetary benefit that would allow him to fly back and forth to work. Is that the idea? I never said that I was going to do any of that. Okay. Was that the idea that your mom had? That was the idea. All right. And the amount of the bribe is going to be, or was at least discussed as being a million dollars. Is that right? That is what they said. Okay. And did you agree with that? No. It would have worked.
[00:39:59] Wendy Adelson: I have no idea if it would have worked, but.
[00:40:01] Speaker 2: You think he might have taken a million bucks to let his kids go?
[00:40:05] Wendy Adelson: Well, he wasn't letting his kids go. He would have moved to South Florida and he would have commuted back and forth to his job. So maybe.
[00:40:14] Speaker 2: Well, then why wasn't it offered?
[00:40:17] Wendy Adelson: Because I didn't want to do it.
[00:40:19] Speaker ?: Okay. All right.
[00:40:21] Speaker 2: All right. What about the idea that you could try to threaten Dan to convert the kids to Christianity so that they can fit into the Bible Belt here in Tallahassee? Is that something your mom suggested in these emails? Yes. My mom did suggest that. Okay. And specifically, this is on page seven of the exhibit. let Jibbers know that your children will be baptized in the Catholic Church, have a picture made of them in front of the church, all that kind of thing. That's what your mom suggested at one time? She did, yes. Okay. And did you do any of those things? No, I don't even think I responded to it. Do you know whether the defendant, your brother Charlie, was supportive of the plan to convert them or pose as converting them to Christianity? I have no idea.
[00:41:25] Wendy Adelson: I don't think he was particularly involved in this round of my mom's emails.
[00:41:31] Speaker 2: On page 11 of the exhibit, there's an indication from your mom that Charlie at least has discussed this with her and maybe is somewhat supportive. Charlie brought up a good point when he said that Americans were dropped behind enemy lines during World War II wearing Nazi uniforms to get what they wanted. They had a job to get done and they did what they needed to do to accomplish it. You have a job to get done in a very short time frame to accomplish it. If you dressed your kids up in Hitler youth uniforms and brought them down here, I could care less if it was an act of defiance that would show Jibbers that he's, all caps and bold, not in control. So it just seems like your mom was pretty extreme about this situation of getting you relocated. Can you agree with that?
[00:42:22] Wendy Adelson: Yeah.
[00:42:23] Speaker ?: All right.
[00:42:24] Speaker 2: And Charlie was at least consulted on it or had offered some information about it.
[00:42:29] Wendy Adelson: Well, that was my mom's rendition, so I don't know if that's what actually happened or that was her perception.
[00:42:35] Speaker 2: Sure. Were you involved in the effort to consult a lawyer about the bribe and whether that was going to be legal? I wasn't the lawyer consulted in that. No, no. Were you involved in consulting a lawyer with your mom? No.
[00:42:50] Speaker ?: Okay.
[00:42:51] Speaker 2: Do you know for sure if any financial offer was or was not made to Dan Markell?
[00:42:57] Wendy Adelson: I couldn't say for sure if they made it to Danny without me knowing, but I don't think so.
[00:43:03] Speaker 2: Is that something they would do is try to negotiate with him behind your back or deal with this situation behind your back? I don't think so. I think I would have known. Danny probably would have told me. But you definitely didn't extend any of these offers or threats. No. When was the divorce final?
[00:43:26] Wendy Adelson: This summer of 2013. All right.
[00:43:31] Speaker 2: I'm going to switch gears for a minute and talk about phone stuff. Was your cell phone collected by the police in this case after Dan was shot?
[00:43:44] Wendy Adelson: I gave the police my cell phone and asked them to search it if it could be useful. All right.
[00:43:49] Speaker 2: And around the time of the murder, was your number 954-803-0079? It was. And can you agree that the numbers... Let me show you an exhibit. 59, I believe.
[00:44:04] Speaker ?: Sure. We'll stick right here if you want.
[00:44:15] Speaker 2: You will? Yeah. Okay. Well, I want to explain what it is. Sure. Okay. Yeah. So I talked a lot about converting to Christianity, but I didn't mention what religion you are. We talked about Dan being more religious than you are, but we didn't talk about what religion you are. So could you explain that to the jury, please? Sure. I'm Jewish. And Dan was as well, right? And Danny was Jewish as well. Okay. Um, so I had, uh, this exhibit 59. This is not 59.
[00:44:47] Speaker ?: One. One. Yes. That's what we did. One moment. All right.
[00:44:53] Speaker 2: You may not be able to do this, but states 59, I've got five members attributed to your family members.
[00:45:05] Speaker ?: Obviously, you don't know the other people. Are those other people, please? Yes. Yes, that's what we did. One moment.
[00:45:12] Speaker 2: Yes, that's what we did. One moment. All right, you may not be able to do this, but states 59, I've got five members attributed to your family members. Obviously, you don't know the other people. Are those phone numbers accurate, if you know, for the timeframe around the murder? Yes. Okay. All right. And then you are also familiar with the wiretap that was conducted in this case? Yes. And did I provide you a disc labeled disc 107 and ask you to review some calls and see if you could authenticate the voices on those calls? Yes. All right. And for that, I made you a little spreadsheet, which I've marked as 61. And were you able to initial by each call indicating that the highlighted names are the voices of the people they purport to be? Yes. Judge, at this time, I ask if we have an evidence of state 61. Any objection?
[00:46:11] Speaker 1: Any objection?
[00:46:12] Speaker 2: No objection.
[00:46:13] Speaker 1: No objection. Yeah.
[00:46:15] Speaker ?: State 61 is admitted. All right.
[00:46:18] Speaker 2: And if we can shift back to, we talked about your divorce being final. Once the divorce was final, weren't there still a lot of filings that went back and forth between both you and Dan Markell? Yes and no.
[00:46:36] Wendy Adelson: The divorce was final. We had a final settlement agreement. The agreement was, I take my name off the title to the house. He pays me half the value to the house. So for within the first week, I went and took my name off the title to the house. And I waited until October when he was supposed to get back to me. He never paid me the money. And so I called and I asked what happened. That was the deal. And he said, I have compelling reasons. I'm not going to pay you. And so I made one filing a motion to enforce the settlement agreement because he didn't do
[00:47:10] Speaker 2: it. Right. So you believe that he owed you money pursuant to the settlement agreement. Yes. And he was in violation of the settlement agreement. Yes. And he was of the belief that you had withheld some financial things from your affidavit and maybe he didn't owe you the money that you had previously agreed on because you had not been honest in the initial disclosures, right?
[00:47:33] Wendy Adelson: He accused my attorney of having unclean hands and committing a crime.
[00:47:39] Speaker 2: Yeah. And assisting you in withholding this money from the disclosures. Okay. All right. All right. So I want to ask you about the motion to enforce marital settlement agreement and hold Dan Markell in contempt of court. That was filed. You may need to refresh your memory. October 31st, 2013. I'll give you the exhibit 56 and have you take a look at this is going to be on 338. Thank you.
[00:48:23] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:48:27] Speaker 2: Thank you. The title, the caption of that filing.
[00:49:00] Wendy Adelson: Motion to enforce marital settlement agreement and to show cause why the former husband should not be held in contempt of court. What does it mean to be held in contempt of court? It means not to be doing what the court has asked you to do.
[00:49:15] Speaker 2: What can happen to you if you're held in contempt of court? I don't know, really. Could you be jailed? I don't know. All right, and when was this file? This was you filing it, right? I mean, you're the client. Right. You're asking that he be held in contempt, and you don't know what that means?
[00:49:36] Wendy Adelson: I mean, at the time I filed, which was 10 years ago.
[00:49:39] Speaker 2: Oh, okay. We'll refresh your recollection with the document. It goes through 340. Okay, I have it. Okay. So, what was it you were asking for in this motion?
[00:50:10] Wendy Adelson: It was what I just mentioned. So, basically, I took my name off the title to the house. He never paid. This was asking him to pay.
[00:50:19] Speaker 2: Cough up the money or be held in contempt?
[00:50:22] Wendy Adelson: Yep.
[00:50:22] Speaker 2: Okay. And what day was this filed? This was filed on October 31st, 2013. All right. So, Halloween of 13, and that's the same day that you backed out of the contract to purchase the house in Tallahassee, right? I don't remember what day that was. Okay. Do you remember that it was your brother, Charlie, that specifically convinced you to back out of that particular house deal? I don't, actually. I don't remember that. I don't remember that. I don't remember that.
[00:51:52] Speaker ?: That's your recollection. Okay.
[00:51:54] Speaker 2: And you may have to look around for context, but I'm specifically looking at this one. Okay. Does that refresh your recollection?
[00:52:31] Wendy Adelson: Honestly, I mean, I can read what's here, but I still don't remember it. You don't really remember.
[00:52:35] Speaker 2: And after pulling the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug on the plug, but now you don't remember it.
[00:52:51] Wendy Adelson: Well, it's been a lot of, you don't remember it.
[00:52:52] Speaker ?: Sure.
[00:52:52] Wendy Adelson: Sure. So a lot of terrible things have happened since then. It's hard to remember. I don't recall. I really liked the house and was excited about it, but it was more than I can afford at the time. That's what I remember is talking with the real estate agent and having her say we would just,
[00:53:09] Speaker 2: we'd find another house and it wasn't the right one. Would you have any reason to dispute that that occurred on Halloween of 2013? No, I'm, it probably did. I just, I just don't remember. Okay. And then a few months later on February 14th of 2014, there was another filing. And then I want to draw your attention to page 379 and ask you what that document is.
[00:53:41] Wendy Adelson: Do you want me to read the title of the document? Yes, please. Former husband's counter motion to enforce marital settlement agreements, financial provisions and incorporated motion for sanctions.
[00:53:55] Speaker 2: Do you remember this filing?
[00:53:58] Wendy Adelson: I don't remember this filing, but in anticipation of my testimony today, I refreshed and re-read
[00:54:03] Speaker 2: it. Okay. And he accuses you in this filing of breaching the marital settlement agreement in various ways, right? That's correct. Okay. And committing a fraud upon the court by omitting the $200,000 in assets from your financial affidavit. Is that in there? That is what he was alleging. And asked the court to sanction you.
[00:54:23] Wendy Adelson: Yes. That's what he said.
[00:54:25] Speaker 2: Okay. Okay. So, again, you're both seeking the court to sanction each other. I mean, them's fighting words in lawyer terms, right?
[00:54:35] Wendy Adelson: Well, I was filing a motion to enforce a settlement agreement, so I don't think that's really fighting words. That's just asking the court to complete what it already said it wanted to do. Okay.
[00:54:46] Speaker 2: And on page 379, Dan suggests that the court send a strong message about your malfeasance by awarding him the entirety of the undisclosed assets of over $200,000, right? That is what he asked for. Okay. And then on March 10th of 2014, on page 437, do you respond with your motion to dismiss the former husband's counter motion to enforce the marital settlement agreement that we just talked about?
[00:55:18] Wendy Adelson: Okay. I'm sorry. What is the page number?
[00:55:21] Speaker 2: 437. Thanks.
[00:55:23] Wendy Adelson: I'm not familiar with this, but do you want me to read through it? Could you read the caption aloud, please? Sure. Motion to dismiss the former husband's counter motion to enforce marital settlement agreements financial provisions, an incorporated motion for sanctions for failure to state a cause of action, and motion to strike is a sham pleading, and motion to strike is redundant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous pleading.
[00:55:57] Speaker 2: And then if you'll go to page 439, do you see a paragraph that begins, the vast majority of the former husband's motion? I actually don't see that.
[00:56:12] Wendy Adelson: On page 439?
[00:56:14] Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am.
[00:56:15] Wendy Adelson: I think I have it pulled out. On number eight.
[00:56:21] Speaker 2: Yeah, the vast majority of the former husband's motion contains allegations that are redundant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous. Yada, yada. He's making false and immaterial statements against you. His pleadings only prove that he is a disgruntled former husband who cannot move past this disillusion. So it's getting personal. Would you agree with that?
[00:56:45] Wendy Adelson: My attorney here is responding to his pleading, which was over the top.
[00:56:50] Speaker 2: And this is over the top, right? I don't think so, no. Then six days later, Dan files another motion seeking action against your mother, and that's the one we've already touched on. That's page 441. Is that right? Page 441. Yes, ma'am. Yes, that's what we talked about. Okay. Former husband's counter motion for enforcement of marital settlement agreement on parenting issues and motion for contempt and sanctions. Here he's alleging, again, more violations of the marital settlement agreement, including communication between he and the boys. He wasn't happy with how much communication was happening, failing to keep him informed of where his kids are, failure to communicate about parenting decisions like the kids' schooling, diet, and extracurricular activities, and refusal to provide him access to the kids on their birthdays. So he's complaining about a lot of things associated with this, not just money stuff. It's parenting stuff, too, right? That's right. And isn't it in this motion that... Hold on. Yes, sir. Oh, I said that. That's right. Isn't it in this motion that Dan Markell seeks to enjoin you from allowing your mother from spending time with the kids without supervision?
[00:58:15] Wendy Adelson: Can you please show me which page that's on?
[00:58:17] Speaker 2: 450. Do you see a paragraph beginning on three specific occasions?
[00:58:32] Wendy Adelson: Yes, I do.
[00:58:34] Speaker 2: Could you read that, please?
[00:58:36] Wendy Adelson: 8A. On three specific occasions in November 2013, the children informed Mr. Markell, Abba, Dad, Grandma says you're stupid. When queried as to why Grandma, the maternal grandmother, would say such things, the children replied jointly that it is because she says you are trying to take her sunshines away from her.
[00:58:56] Speaker 2: Continue, please.
[00:58:58] Wendy Adelson: In December 2013... You don't have to say the name. Your child. My child, the younger son, further stated to Mr. Markell in front of the former wife, Abba, Grandma says she hates you. The children were visiting with their grandparents at that time.
[00:59:13] Speaker 2: Mr. Markell is concerned that continued exposure to such negativity forms a foundation for parental alienation. Is that what he was alleging about your mom?
[00:59:24] Wendy Adelson: That is what he is alleging in this document, yes. And this was filed in court? He filed this in court. On what date? It will be at the front of the document, right?
[00:59:36] Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am. Page 441.
[00:59:44] Wendy Adelson: This was filed on March 26th, 2014. And this was the filing that never got ruled on, right? I don't believe there was any ruling on this.
[00:59:54] Speaker 2: And that's because Dan Markell was killed before the hearing, right? I don't know when it was scheduled for. It wasn't even scheduled yet. Okay. It was waiting to be scheduled when he was killed. If, if, is it fair to say your mom was worried about this motion?
[01:00:11] Wendy Adelson: No, my mom never knew about this motion. And as I mentioned before, Danny asked my mom to babysit after filing this motion. So I don't really believe anything that's written here.
[01:00:21] Speaker 2: Well, you forwarded this motion to your mother. I don't believe I did. In fact, you forwarded this motion to 12 different people. Your mom, Jeffrey Lacoste, Renee Griggs, Tova Walsh, Morgan Honeycutt, Gary Cohen, Miguel Edmondson, Trey Hubler, Robert Adelson, Rachel Frank, Jared Reich, and some M-E-H-U-L-N-Y-C at yahoo.com. So if you weren't worried about this, why'd you send it to all these people? I couldn't really say. It's been a long time. And then a couple days later, we know what happened.
[01:01:05] Wendy Adelson: So this was in March. So a couple days, I filed it, I sent it to people in July when Danny was killed.
[01:01:13] Speaker 2: You sent it, I'm sorry, you sent it a couple days later.
[01:01:16] Wendy Adelson: I sent the, I sent.
[01:01:17] Speaker 2: That email to 12 different people. In March. Yes.
[01:01:21] Wendy Adelson: Maybe you're perfect.
[01:01:22] Speaker 1: You're married. Campbell, Ben, you can resume your examination.
[01:01:31] Speaker 2: Thank you, Your Honor. I want to talk a little bit about your brother, Charlie. Is he an older brother or a younger brother to you?
[01:01:37] Wendy Adelson: I'm the youngest of three, so I have two older brothers. They're both older than me.
[01:01:42] Speaker 2: All right. And he's the middle child, Charlie? That's right. All right. And are you closer to Charlie or to the other brother?
[01:01:47] Wendy Adelson: I'm closer to Charlie.
[01:01:49] Speaker 2: How much time were you spending with Charlie back in 2013 and 2014?
[01:01:54] Wendy Adelson: Not a lot of time. I was in Tallahassee. He was in South Florida.
[01:02:02] Speaker 2: Did he work a lot? He worked a lot, yeah. Did he work at one location or travel around? He would travel around.
[01:02:10] Wendy Adelson: He worked at multiple locations.
[01:02:12] Speaker 2: Was he pretty successful in his job?
[01:02:15] Wendy Adelson: He came up with a great business model for what he did, and he worked really hard and was very successful. Was your brother known to carry a lot of cash? I mean, he had cash on him sometimes. I never saw large sums of cash. Did you ever see stapled cash?
[01:02:34] Speaker 2: I never saw stapled cash. Were you familiar with his practice of stapling cash together in stacks? No, I never knew about that. Was your brother, Charlie, protective of you?
[01:02:47] Wendy Adelson: I mean, when I was a little kid, yeah.
[01:02:49] Speaker 2: What about as an adult?
[01:02:50] Wendy Adelson: As an adult? I mean, not particularly.
[01:02:56] Speaker 2: Is it fair to say that during the year or so leading up to the murder of Dan Markell that your brother did not like your ex?
[01:03:05] Wendy Adelson: I mean, I don't think he, yeah, he probably didn't like him, but I also think he didn't spend a lot of time thinking about him. Did he ever like him?
[01:03:14] Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think they got along fine. Did your brother ever mention hiring a hitman to kill Dan Markell? No. I'm going to turn your attention to your law enforcement interview, and I'm referring to page 25, lines 13 through 15.
[01:03:45] Speaker ?: Yeah, I'm going to tap one.
[01:03:49] Speaker 2: So this is the tab here. Okay. All right, so page 25. Did you find it? Yes. Quote, it was always his joke. He said, I looked into hiring a hitman, and it was cheaper to get you this TV. Is that what he said? That was a joke that he made, yes. And hiring the hitman, that was to kill Dan Markell, right? That was the joke. That was the joke that he made in poor taste, yes. Not to kill someone else.
[01:04:30] Wendy Adelson: No. Well, he never used his name.
[01:04:33] Speaker 2: Okay. Well, he's hiring you the TV because it's cheaper as a divorce present than a hitman. Who else would he be hitting with the hitman?
[01:04:43] Wendy Adelson: I never really thought about it because it was not a thing that he meant. He just made a bad joke.
[01:04:48] Speaker 2: Well, you repeated the joke, didn't you? He repeated the joke. Didn't you also repeat the joke? To other people? Yes, like Jeff Lacoste. I never said that to Jeff Lacoste. You didn't tell Jeff Lacoste that your brother got you that TV as a divorce present because it was cheaper than hiring a hitman.
[01:05:04] Wendy Adelson: I may have repeated that joke in the context of the TV, yes. All right. And who is Jeff Lacoste?
[01:05:11] Speaker 2: Jeff Lacoste was a person I dated in 2013. And did you tell Jeffrey Lacoste shortly before the actual murder that your brother really had looked into hiring a hitman? I did not. Did he buy you a TV as a divorce present? Did my brother buy me a TV as a divorce present? Yes. Sorry, I should have clarified that. And was the TV that your brother bought you as a divorce present the same TV that was being repaired on the morning of the murder? Yes. Did your mom text you that morning that the repair guy was coming to repair the TV? I don't remember that. Why would your mom have been involved in your TV repair appointment?
[01:05:59] Wendy Adelson: Because I didn't purchase the TV. The TV was a gift that my brother paid for, but my mom went and got it, and he reimbursed her. So the contract would have been under her name and her number. So when the repair guy was coming, they may have called or texted the number on the account instead of my number.
[01:06:17] Speaker 2: And after the murder, do you recall going to a dinner where you got sick at the table?
[01:06:26] Wendy Adelson: It was about a month later, and yes, I remember.
[01:06:30] Speaker 2: Where did that dinner occur? Was that here in Tallahassee or somewhere else?
[01:06:33] Wendy Adelson: No, it was in Miami.
[01:06:34] Speaker 2: All right. And was it like out at a restaurant? It was at a restaurant. All right. And when we say you got sick at the table, did you actually vomit at the table? I threw up at the table. All right. And did you ever hear your brother refer to that particular dinner as a celebratory dinner? No. Did you tell Jeffrey Lacoste that your brother called that a celebratory dinner? I did not. Was that a...
[01:06:58] Speaker 1: One moment was gone. Yes, sir. One moment was gone. Here's me. Overruled.
[01:07:04] Speaker 2: Was that dinner a celebration of the murder of your ex-husband?
[01:07:09] Wendy Adelson: Absolutely not. That dinner was the first time I left my house after over a month because I was terrified. And if it was a celebration of anything, it was a celebration that I was willing to leave the house and eat a meal.
[01:07:23] Speaker 2: Do you know Catherine McVanua or have you ever met her? I have met her. Did you have an independent friendship with her or did you only know her through your brother? I only knew her through my brother. What was her relationship to your brother? They dated at some point. Was there anything unusual about her as a girlfriend from your viewpoint at the time? No. So she seemed like a typical kind of girl that he would date? She did. Did you meet all his girlfriends? I don't know. I met many girlfriends. Okay. Did you meet Whitney Kick? I did. Okay. And Whitney Kick was after Catherine McVanua, correct? I believe so. All right. And there's a photograph, I'm sure you recall, of you on the beach with Catherine McVanua. Do you recall when that photo was taken?
[01:08:18] Wendy Adelson: I do.
[01:08:18] Speaker 2: So it was Father's Day 2014, so nine years ago. June 15th of 2014? That sounds right. So about a month before the murder? That sounds right. Where was this photo taken?
[01:08:33] Wendy Adelson: It was in Miami. I went down to visit my dad for Father's Day.
[01:08:39] Speaker 2: Approaching and showing you what I've marked as states 35. Is this that photograph and I've attached the data associated with it? Yes. Okay. Is it a fair and accurate copy of that photograph? Yes. Judge, I'd ask to move into evidence states 35.
[01:08:54] Speaker 1: No second. No second. States 35, number seven.
[01:08:58] Speaker 2: Do you have a motion to publish?
[01:08:59] Speaker 1: Do that. I'm going to publish 35. Do you have a motion to publish?
[01:09:31] Speaker 2: Oh, it's a shot. Yeah. All right, is that you in the center? That's me.
[01:09:42] Wendy Adelson: Which one's Catherine McVanua? The one on the left, our left in the picture.
[01:09:47] Speaker 2: How long had Ms. McVanua been dating your brother at the time this photo was taken?
[01:09:52] Wendy Adelson: I have no idea.
[01:09:53] Speaker 2: How many times had you met Ms. McVanua at the time this was taken?
[01:09:57] Wendy Adelson: I think once before.
[01:09:59] Speaker 2: Okay. How many times did you hang out with her total?
[01:10:02] Wendy Adelson: Just these two times. Once at the dinner when I met her and then once at the beach for an hour.
[01:10:13] Speaker 2: Was the relationship between your brother and Catherine McVanua serious, if you know?
[01:10:19] Wendy Adelson: I don't know. I mean, 10 years ago, was it serious? Not too serious.
[01:10:27] Speaker 2: It never stood out to you during that time frame as like, oh, this is the one. No. All right, so you mentioned you thought Whitney Kick was after Catherine McVanua. What about June Umchinda? Do you know which one that is? When you say, do I know which one that is?
[01:10:48] Wendy Adelson: She's not in the picture.
[01:10:49] Speaker 2: No, ma'am. One of your brother's girlfriends, June Umchinda. Do you know her? I met someone named June. Okay. And would you agree that was also after Catherine McVanua? Yes. That would have been after. When did you learn that Catherine McVanua was blackmailing your brother for the murder of your ex-husband? Today. So he never told you? No. You testified in Catherine McVanua's murder trial last year, didn't you? I did, yes. And she was convicted? She was convicted, yes. Of murder? Yes, of murder. Of murdering Dan Markell? Of murdering my children's father, yes. A crime for which she apparently is innocent because she was just a conduit for Sigfredo Garcia. Did you learn that today along with all of us? Well, I learned that someone made that argument. I don't know whether it's true or not true. Okay. You have no knowledge of it? I have no knowledge. In all the years this has been pending? In all of the years this has been pending. Your brother has known who killed your child's father and you didn't know? I did not know. Do you know why Catherine McVanua was on the payroll at the Adelson Institute? I believe that she worked there.
[01:12:10] Wendy Adelson: What did she do there? I know my brother met her at a dental office so I'm guessing administrative work of some kind.
[01:12:17] Speaker 2: Did you ever observe her doing administrative work there? No. How did the killers in this case know that Dan Markell was planning to leave town the day after the killing? I have no idea. You knew he was planning to leave town the next day, didn't you? I did, yes. Did you convey that information to anyone? Absolutely not. To your knowledge, did your brother have that information? I don't know why he would have known that. So if the killers were told it has to be done today because he's leaving town tomorrow, we don't know how they knew that. I have no idea how they knew that. But it would have to come from someone familiar with Dan Markell's schedule, wouldn't it? They would have to find out somehow. I don't know how. Prior to Dan Markell's murder, when were you last in South Florida? Was it this trip that's pictured here?
[01:13:14] Wendy Adelson: No, because it was my dad's 70th birthday in early July, so I would have gone down to celebrate his birthday.
[01:13:21] Speaker 2: Okay. When's dad's birthday?
[01:13:23] Wendy Adelson: July 5th.
[01:13:26] Speaker 2: How long were you down there for that July 5th trip?
[01:13:31] Wendy Adelson: I don't really remember offhand, but my guess is about a week. Did you see Charlie Adelson on that trip? Yes. We celebrated my dad's birthday, the whole family and friends, everybody.
[01:13:43] Speaker 2: Did you see Catherine Magvanawa on that trip? I don't remember if she was there or not. Did dad have a birthday party?
[01:13:50] Wendy Adelson: Dad had a birthday party.
[01:13:52] Speaker 2: Was it a big birthday? It was his 70th birthday. And was Catherine Magvanawa at the party? I don't remember seeing her there. Do you remember seeing June Umchinda at the party? I don't. Or Whitney Kick at the party? I don't. So it could have been any one of them or none of them?
[01:14:07] Wendy Adelson: Or none of them. I don't remember there being a girlfriend with him at the party. All right.
[01:14:12] Speaker 2: So you said the birthday was what? July 5th? It would have been July 5th. Okay. And do you know on what day you celebrated?
[01:14:21] Wendy Adelson: Maybe his birthday if it was, I felt like it was a weekend. So maybe if July 5th was a Saturday, then it was on his actual birthday.
[01:14:30] Speaker 2: Okay. Tell me about the event. Who, you said there were family and friends there? About how many people?
[01:14:34] Wendy Adelson: Maybe like 50 people.
[01:14:39] Speaker 2: What was on the menu?
[01:14:41] Wendy Adelson: We had paella.
[01:14:49] Speaker 2: Were you responsible for securing the paella or was that your brother's job or someone else?
[01:14:54] Wendy Adelson: I didn't arrange it, but I speak Spanish and no one else could communicate with him. So I spent some time helping him. That's why I remember what we ate.
[01:15:04] Speaker 2: Okay. Did your dad get any big gifts for his 70th? I don't remember. Did you, so there was no big lead up and discussion about some big gift that you were involved in at least? I don't remember. I don't remember if I gave him a present. I hope I did. Do you remember what anybody gave him for that birthday? I really don't. Was the murder of Dan Markell your dad's big gift? I mean, that's, of course not. That's a horrible thing to say. What about the, well, what about the grandchildren getting full unfettered access to the grandchildren? My parents had full unfettered access to their grandchildren always. Not when they lived in Tallahassee.
[01:15:50] Wendy Adelson: Well, whenever they could come up and see them, they did. They were 50% of the time with Dan Markell, right? Sure, but whenever they were with me, they had full unfettered access.
[01:16:00] Speaker 2: On the occasion that we're talking about dad's birthday, was that one of the times that when you came back to Tallahassee, your parents rode with you and then rented a car and drove home in the rental car? It was. And how long a drive is that? It's about seven hours. During that seven-hour trip, or at any time when you were in South Florida, was there any discussion of a murder at all? No, absolutely not. Any discussion of what to do about Dan? No. Any further discussion about bribing, converting to Christianity, any of those strategies? No. That ship had long sailed. Any discussion on that trip about the pending motion to preclude your mom from having contact with the kids? No. What was wrong with the TV that was repaired the morning of the murder?
[01:16:59] Wendy Adelson: I think one of my boys might have thrown something at it. There was like a little crack in the TV.
[01:17:06] Speaker 2: How long had the TV been broken at the time that it got repaired? I honestly don't remember. Could it have been quite a long time?
[01:17:13] Wendy Adelson: No. It could have been. I mean, I would be completely speculating. I don't remember how long it was broken for.
[01:17:20] Speaker 2: Do you remember who repaired the TV?
[01:17:22] Wendy Adelson: Yes. It was called the Geek Squad.
[01:17:25] Speaker 2: Do you remember the window that the Geek Squad gave you for when they were going to be at your home to do this repair? I do.
[01:17:33] Wendy Adelson: I think they said it was 8 to 12 or 9 to 1, something like that.
[01:17:38] Speaker 2: Okay. Would you agree with me if I told you it was 8 to 12? That sounds right. All right. And do you recall what time the repairman actually arrived? No, but I remember they came on the early side. Okay.
[01:17:49] Wendy Adelson: And was the repair done? No. Why not? Because I called my brother to find out how much a new TV would cost versus how much the repair cost, and it didn't make sense to repair it. It's cheaper to buy a new TV.
[01:18:03] Speaker 2: Yep. The records indicate the repairman was there for about 45 minutes. Does that sound accurate to you?
[01:18:12] Wendy Adelson: Sure. That's my best sure.
[01:18:15] Speaker 2: Why was he there for that long just to tell you, like, this thing can't be repaired or it's cost prohibitive to repair?
[01:18:22] Wendy Adelson: Do you remember? I don't. My guess is he was there to try to see how he could repair the TV, and then he gave me an estimate, and then I found out what the estimate compared to the cost of a new TV would be.
[01:18:33] Speaker 2: Who paid the repairman?
[01:18:35] Wendy Adelson: I did.
[01:18:37] Speaker 2: The repairman, you're familiar with his statement that you seemed really upset that day. What were you upset about?
[01:18:44] Wendy Adelson: I have no idea.
[01:18:46] Speaker 2: Were you upset that day?
[01:18:49] Wendy Adelson: I don't remember being – oh, yes, I was upset that day. I was upset. I remember Danny wanted to take the kids swimming, and I wanted to pick them up earlier in the day. Okay, so nothing to do with the TV. I don't think so. I probably wasn't that upset about the TV.
[01:19:16] Speaker 2: Did you ever use the TV as code for the murder? No. Did you ever hear your mom do that? No. Do you remember on July 13, 2014, seeing Jeffrey LaCossa at your place on Aqua Ridge? Do you even remember that evening?
[01:19:39] Wendy Adelson: I don't remember seeing him at my place because by that point we were kind of broken up, so I don't think I would have seen him at my place. All right.
[01:19:46] Speaker 2: So on that occasion, you couldn't have told him you wanted to share something with him in confidence? I think that would be very unlikely. We had kind of broken up at that point. And you couldn't have told him at that time the statement about your brother really did look into hiring a hitman.
[01:20:01] Wendy Adelson: I can't imagine I would have said that.
[01:20:05] Speaker 2: And when did you break up with Mr. LaCossa, or when did the two of you break up?
[01:20:10] Wendy Adelson: It would have been end of June, 2014.
[01:20:15] Speaker 2: So not four days before the murder? No. All right. So end of June, 2014, would have been the last time you saw him.
[01:20:25] Wendy Adelson: No, no, no. I saw him after that. We were talking and kind of figuring out what we wanted to do. But we had gone on a trip to Gainesville the last weekend in June, at which point we had a big argument, and I really didn't want to be with him after that. So at that point for me, I was pretty much done. But there were more discussions until it formally ended. And when was the formal end? I remember seeing him that Monday night and telling him I wanted to have some space. Okay. So four days before the murder? So four days before Danny was killed.
[01:21:02] Speaker 2: All right. And that was, was that the end, end of your relationship with him?
[01:21:06] Wendy Adelson: The last, when I told him I wanted some space, yeah.
[01:21:08] Speaker ?: Okay.
[01:21:10] Speaker 2: Where did you go after the TV repair man left?
[01:21:15] Wendy Adelson: After he left, I stayed at the house for a while, and I was working on some pieces of writing. I was talking with various friends. I had a friend in town interviewing for a job at FSU. I was making plans to go meet her. The time got too close before her interview. And then I had two friends that I would often meet on Fridays, just kind of last minute. And so we made plans to go have lunch. All right. So what time did you leave the house to go have lunch? I really didn't remember offhand, but I refreshed my memory and saw it was sometime around 1245.
[01:21:50] Speaker 2: Okay. So it makes sense that you might have left your residence at about 1230? Sure. Okay. And did you go to the crime scene or very near the crime scene on your way from your residence to, I guess, to lunch or to wherever you were going next?
[01:22:08] Wendy Adelson: No, I did not.
[01:22:08] Speaker 2: So you never turned on Trescot Drive that day?
[01:22:12] Wendy Adelson: I went to turn on Trescot Drive, but I saw that it had been blocked off by some tape, and so I just kept driving on Centerville.
[01:22:18] Speaker 2: Okay. And you had to turn around at the tape, right, to go back out?
[01:22:22] Wendy Adelson: I think I tried to turn right, and it couldn't turn, so I would have made like a kind of turn, like a K-turn and kept going.
[01:22:30] Speaker 2: Was there a roadblock there? There was tape. Yeah, and an officer was there? I didn't see an officer, but I did see a car. A law enforcement marked vehicle? Okay. Did you have any contact with the officer?
[01:22:42] Wendy Adelson: No.
[01:22:43] Speaker ?: Okay.
[01:22:44] Speaker 2: Did you do anything after that to try to find out what was going on down that roadway?
[01:22:50] Wendy Adelson: No, I just assumed it was weather or maybe a tree fell.
[01:22:53] Speaker 2: Had there been bad weather that day?
[01:22:55] Wendy Adelson: No, but it was summertime, and there's electrical storms and trees fall, so that would have been pretty normal for summertime.
[01:23:01] Speaker 2: Where were your kids supposed to be at the time that you encountered that roadblock?
[01:23:05] Wendy Adelson: They would have been at school.
[01:23:07] Speaker 2: And that's at the creative preschool? That's right. Who took them to preschool that day? Danny. And who was supposed to pick them up from preschool that day? Me. All right, so did you know for sure that they had made it to preschool that day at the time you encountered the roadblock? I just assumed. I mean, if they hadn't made it to preschool, Danny would have let me know, but...
[01:23:27] Wendy Adelson: Did you attempt to call Dan Markell when you encountered the roadblock? No, I didn't think anything of it. I didn't think it was related to the house.
[01:23:34] Speaker 2: Had you talked to Dan Markell or your kids that morning?
[01:23:37] Wendy Adelson: My kids, no, but that would have been normal, and Danny and I tried to get in touch with each other, but we left. We were trying to figure out where Ben was going to go to kindergarten at the time, and we left voicemails for each other but didn't get to talk.
[01:23:51] Speaker 2: Okay. Did he leave you a voicemail message that morning? He did.
[01:23:55] Speaker ?: Okay.
[01:23:57] Speaker 2: We talked... I asked you earlier about him being scheduled to leave town the day after he was killed. Do you know where he was planning to go? He was going to New York to see his girlfriend. The message that he left you that morning, do you remember what he told you in the message? I mean, I think it was about our son's school.
[01:24:18] Wendy Adelson: Other than that, I don't really remember.
[01:24:21] Speaker 2: Okay. Included in that was... Was it included in that message that he was heading to the gym and was going to be at the gym between 9.15 and 10.30 that morning?
[01:24:31] Wendy Adelson: I really don't remember, but that sounds like it could be what he would leave. Okay.
[01:24:43] Speaker 2: Would it refresh your recollection to review the transcript of that voicemail? Sure. Just need a moment to review that and let me know when you're done.
[01:25:13] Speaker ?: Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.
[01:25:13] Speaker 2: So did he say in that voicemail that he left you what his plans were in regards to the gym that day? He did. What exactly did he say about the gym?
[01:25:43] Wendy Adelson: About the gym, he said, I'm going to be at the gym probably between 9.15 and 10.30, but I'm happy to chat or meet with you. Maybe we can go for a walk at school or something like that. Let me know.
[01:25:54] Speaker 2: Okay. So that particular voicemail doesn't sound very emotionally abusive.
[01:26:00] Wendy Adelson: Would you agree with that? No, by this point in time, we were parenting really well, and we were doing just fine.
[01:26:06] Speaker 2: Getting along great.
[01:26:09] Speaker 4: Objection, Your Honor. Move the strike.
[01:26:14] Speaker 2: I'll strike the comment, Your Honor.
[01:26:17] Speaker 4: Please move on.
[01:26:18] Speaker 2: Did you talk to your brother on the day of your ex-husband's murder? I did. And about what time of day did you speak to him?
[01:26:26] Wendy Adelson: It would have been right after the repair guys were there because that's when I called him to tell him, ask him whether I should get the TV repaired or buy a new TV. So it would have been morning.
[01:26:37] Speaker 2: How long did you talk to him? I don't remember. Does 18 minutes sound incorrect? That sounds reasonable. Okay. Did you talk to him about other things other than just the TV?
[01:26:50] Wendy Adelson: I really don't remember what else I talked to him about, but probably maybe I would have asked him about his work or we would have caught up.
[01:26:57] Speaker 2: Did you happen to mention Dan Markell's plans to go to New York the next day?
[01:27:01] Wendy Adelson: I don't see why I would have.
[01:27:03] Speaker 2: Did you have WhatsApp on your phone at that time?
[01:27:07] Wendy Adelson: I don't know if in 2014 I had WhatsApp. Now we use it for all the parent chats at school. So everybody seems to have it, but I don't know if everybody had it back in 2014. What is WhatsApp? WhatsApp is kind of an app you would use for texting.
[01:27:24] Speaker 2: Do you know if your brother Charlie had it at that time? I have no idea if he had it at that time. Did you ever communicate with Charlie through WhatsApp?
[01:27:32] Wendy Adelson: Maybe. I mean, I don't know. If I had it at that time or if I had it later, I probably would have. Just not sure.
[01:27:39] Speaker 2: Yeah. Did you have any contact of any kind with Catherine Magbanawa on the day of Dan Markell's murder? No. Did you ever communicate with her through WhatsApp?
[01:27:51] Wendy Adelson: No, I never communicated with her at all.
[01:27:53] Speaker 2: All right. Let's talk about, well, you communicated with her on the beach.
[01:27:57] Wendy Adelson: I saw her in person, but I'm saying I never texted with her, called her. I never communicated via a device other than in person.
[01:28:04] Speaker 2: Okay. What about when you were talking to your brother? Did she ever get on the phone and speak to you? I don't think so. Okay. I want to talk about where you went when you left your residence on the day of the murder. You tried to turn on to Trescott, and then you ended up where?
[01:28:21] Wendy Adelson: I went, I was supposed to go to a party that night, a stock the bar party. So I went to a liquor store to pick up what they had asked for as the present for their party. So I went to the liquor store, I picked up the alcohol, I stopped, I think I got gas, and then I went to lunch to meet my friends.
[01:28:41] Speaker 2: And the liquor store purchase appears to have occurred at 1249 based on the receipt. Do you have any reason to dispute that timing? No, that sounds right. Okay. And then from there to the restaurant? Yes. And where was the restaurant located?
[01:28:56] Wendy Adelson: Mosaic. I actually don't remember. I just remember I would go north on Thomasville Road. All right.
[01:29:04] Speaker 2: And is the restaurant where law enforcement came to speak with you, and you ended up going with them to the police station, right? That's correct. All right. Do you agree or disagree that there have been some financial benefits to you and your boys as a result of Dan's death? I disagree. When did you decide to change the names of your children from Markell to Adelson?
[01:29:41] Wendy Adelson: So after Danny's murder, there was a lot of news. It just hit the media, and there were news stories everywhere. And Nancy Grace on CNN put pictures of my boys with their faces unblurred, just pictures of them. And I was terrified. And so when they started school, I started school with my last name, thinking that would keep them safe, that they wouldn't be associated with the murder. Wasn't the Adelson name in the press?
[01:30:10] Speaker 2: It was not in the press. Not yet. Do you agree that you legally changed the kids' names on July 6th of 2015? That sounds right. So it was actually a year after the homicide? A year after. When was the last time you talked to your mom? Did you talk to her today, yesterday? I talked to her yesterday. In her emails, and we referenced one of them while you've been here on the stand, she talks about you giving performances and playing roles. Did you discuss anything about what you would do here today in court with your mother? No. Were you involved in any way in the plot to kill your ex-husband? Absolutely not. Did you know what was going to happen, but maybe you don't know the details? I knew nothing. Is that why you went to the crime scene on the day of the homicide? I did not go to the crime scene on the day of the homicide.
[01:31:29] Wendy Adelson: Do you know who all was involved in the murder? Well, I learned today, but at the time, no. Okay.
[01:31:39] Speaker 2: Have you ever privately confronted your brother about his role or possible role in the murder?
[01:31:44] Wendy Adelson: My attorney has advised me not to have conversations with anyone in my family about the case.
[01:31:53] Speaker 2: But you had a close relationship with your brother at the time of the murder, right? I absolutely had a close relationship with my brother. And how soon after the murder did your lawyer advise you not to talk to your family about it? In 2016. Okay. So what about the two years in between?
[01:32:13] Wendy Adelson: Did you talk to him about it then? I mean, I talked to him about the fact that a murder occurred, but I guess I don't understand the question.
[01:32:21] Speaker 2: But you never talked to him about the suspicions you raised in the law enforcement interview that your brother might have done it? No, I did not. You suspected your brother could have been a part of this, right?
[01:32:38] Wendy Adelson: I suspected lots of people could have been a part of it.
[01:32:40] Speaker 2: But he was one of the people, right?
[01:32:44] Wendy Adelson: While I was talking with law enforcement for six hours, terrified out of my mind, I offered them every possible idea I could come up with.
[01:32:51] Speaker 2: Right. And one of the possible ideas was that your brother could have murdered your child's father. I didn't really believe that was possible. Was part of the plot for you to be able to have plausible deniability about this? Absolutely not. Is it better for both you and your brother if you don't know the details of this?
[01:33:20] Wendy Adelson: I don't even understand the question that you're asking me.
[01:33:23] Speaker 2: When did you first become aware that you might be a suspect in this case?
[01:33:28] Wendy Adelson: I mean, as the ex-wife, I assumed I was a suspect from the beginning.
[01:33:37] Speaker 2: What was your first thought when you were asked if anyone might have murdered Dan Markell for your benefit?
[01:33:44] Wendy Adelson: I thought, oh, my God. Maybe if I hadn't divorced him, he would still be alive. Maybe this is my fault because I complained to the wrong person. Maybe Danny gave a student a bad grade and they came after him. I just was trying to think of who possibly could have wanted to hurt him.
[01:34:04] Speaker 2: But you didn't say any of that before. I mean, the first thing you said was Charlie, right? I don't think so. Page 25 of your interview, line 5 through 15, do you have any reason to dispute? Page 25, not five hours into it, you say Charlie might have done it, right? Can I see, please? You may. I think this is going to be tab 1, page 25.
[01:34:37] Speaker ?: Page 25.
[01:35:02] Wendy Adelson: What I say here is that he would never do it. Right under the highlighted part, I say, no, he would never.
[01:35:23] Speaker 2: Page 25, line 5 through 15. I mean, my brother, the one, his name is Charlie, the one I'm really close to. He makes a lot of jokes in that taste and it was a joke he made. He bought the TV for me this morning that got broken and then I was talking to him about whether it made sense to pay or fix it or whether I should get a new one. And it was always like, it was always his joke that like, he knew that Danny always treated me badly and it was always his joke. He said, I looked into hiring a hitman and it was cheaper to get you this TV. So instead, I got you this TV. And you do say you don't think he would do it, but can we agree? You brought up his name on page 25 of the interview. I did. When asked, would you ever ask someone to do something like this? You say, not in a million years. When asked, okay, do you think someone would do this for your benefit without asking you? You say, no. And when ISOM starts to ask you, what good does it serve? You say, I mean my brother, the one, his name is Charlie. Isn't that how it went?
[01:36:38] Wendy Adelson: This is the transcript, but I think there's also inaccuracies in the transcription. Oh boy. All right.
[01:36:52] Speaker 2: Do you want the culpable parties held accountable for murdering the father of your children? Absolutely. I'm grateful they're already in jail. But not if it's your family. It's not my family. I mean, somebody hired them, right? Not necessarily. Somebody paid them. I learned something this morning. Yeah, me too. You didn't want them held accountable if it was your family members. Didn't you tell law enforcement that? That's not what I told law enforcement. What did you tell law enforcement?
[01:37:20] Wendy Adelson: I told them that the person who did this should be held responsible and that I had nothing to do with it.
[01:37:26] Speaker 2: Page 122, lines 7 through 12. If somebody tried to kill my ex-husband, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The investigator says, regardless of who it is, and your answer is, I mean, it would be different if I thought it were my brother. But I don't think it was my family, is what I'm saying. It's different now, isn't it?
[01:37:47] Wendy Adelson: No, it's not different. That's exactly what I said right here. No, that's not right. No further questions.
[01:37:54] Speaker 1: Judge, may we get a sidebar, please? Very briefly. Very briefly.
[01:38:24] Speaker ?: Judge, may we get a sidebar, please? Thank you. Appreciate it. Please, may we get a sidebar, please? Please, may we get a sidebar, please? Please, may we get a sidebar, please? Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar.
[01:39:31] Speaker 1: Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar.
[01:39:33] Speaker 4: Please, may we get a sidebar.
[01:39:34] Speaker ?: Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar.
[01:39:51] Speaker 4: Please, may we get a sidebar.
[01:39:52] Speaker 2: Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar.
[01:39:54] Speaker ?: Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar. Please, may we get a sidebar.
[01:40:12] Speaker 4: Good afternoon.
[01:40:13] Wendy Adelson: Good afternoon.
[01:40:14] Speaker 4: Ms. Adelson, we've met before, right? Yes. We've met two or three times in our life, right?
[01:40:20] Wendy Adelson: That's correct.
[01:40:21] Speaker 4: We initially met in 2016 after the arrest of the killers in this case.
[01:40:27] Wendy Adelson: That's correct.
[01:40:29] Speaker 4: During that meeting, we had no conversation whatsoever about the substance of this case, right?
[01:40:35] Wendy Adelson: That's correct.
[01:40:37] Speaker 4: We met again in April of 2022 on the day that your brother was arrested, correct? Correct. You were at your parents' house and we were figuring out where he was, right?
[01:40:49] Wendy Adelson: That's right.
[01:40:50] Speaker 4: Again, nothing was discussed about the case other than his arrest. Correct. In fact, before right now, we have never discussed your testimony at all.
[01:41:02] Wendy Adelson: Correct.
[01:41:03] Speaker ?: Okay.
[01:41:04] Speaker 4: With that in mind, let me ask you the most important question. You're aware that the state has named you as an unindicted co-conspirator in the murder of your ex-husband, right?
[01:41:17] Wendy Adelson: Correct.
[01:41:18] Speaker ?: Correct.
[01:41:19] Speaker 4: They believe that you, along with your brother, along with your mom, along with your dad, conspired with those three killers, including Katie Magbanewa. They believe you all conspired with them to kill your ex-husband. You understand that, right?
[01:41:42] Wendy Adelson: I understand that that is what they believe.
[01:41:45] Speaker 4: You understand they put up a chart in their opening with pictures of all of you?
[01:41:49] Wendy Adelson: Yes. I saw the chart.
[01:41:51] Speaker 4: Ms. Adelson, did you have anything to do with the murder of your brother, of your ex-husband?
[01:41:56] Wendy Adelson: Absolutely not.
[01:41:57] Speaker 4: It's fair to say the state has it wrong?
[01:42:00] Wendy Adelson: Absolutely.
[01:42:01] Speaker 4: Were you in a conspiracy with any members of your family to kill Professor Markell?
[01:42:07] Wendy Adelson: No.
[01:42:08] Speaker 4: Okay, with that starting point, let's get into your background a little bit. I'm going to try to skip through stuff that's already been done. Growing up, you were pretty close with your parents?
[01:42:25] Wendy Adelson: Yes.
[01:42:26] Speaker 4: Fair to say they were middle class?
[01:42:29] Wendy Adelson: Yes.
[01:42:30] Speaker 4: You went to a public high school?
[01:42:33] Wendy Adelson: I did.
[01:42:34] Speaker 4: You did pretty well in high school, right?
[01:42:38] Wendy Adelson: I was valedictorian.
[01:42:41] Speaker 4: But around a year or two before you went to college, your father was a victim of a Ponzi scheme, correct?
[01:42:51] Wendy Adelson: It was actually when I was in eighth grade.
[01:42:53] Speaker 4: And he lost much of his wealth?
[01:42:56] Wendy Adelson: He lost his whole life savings.
[01:43:00] Speaker 4: You still went to a prestigious college up in Boston, right?
[01:43:03] Wendy Adelson: I got a full scholarship.
[01:43:06] Speaker 4: And then when it came time to go to law school, did you pay for law school?
[01:43:12] Wendy Adelson: I got a full scholarship.
[01:43:15] Speaker 4: Now, you got asked a lot of questions about divorce law in your direct examination. Are you a divorce lawyer?
[01:43:26] Wendy Adelson: I am not.
[01:43:27] Speaker 4: What type of law did you specialize in?
[01:43:30] Wendy Adelson: Immigration.
[01:43:31] Speaker 4: All those filings, and we'll get to them. Did you write those filings? No. So, the words that Ms. Kappelman were reading, they were for you. You reviewed them, correct?
[01:43:45] Wendy Adelson: I did.
[01:43:49] Speaker 4: Did you draft them?
[01:43:50] Wendy Adelson: I didn't draft any pleadings.
[01:43:52] Speaker 4: That motion for contempt. She asked you if he could be put in jail. You have no idea, right?
[01:44:00] Wendy Adelson: I didn't remember whether that's what contempt meant, but...
[01:44:04] Speaker 4: You were just seeking the court to enforce its previous order, right? That's correct. Now, remember you said that during these filings, this is the same exhibit, that you thought you talked about some other things and Ms. Kappelman said, "Nah, it's not in there." Remember that?
[01:44:29] Speaker ?: I do.
[01:44:30] Speaker 4: I'm gonna...
[01:44:31] Wendy Adelson: Can I borrow that binder?
[01:44:32] Speaker ?: Yes.
[01:44:33] Speaker 4: I'm gonna...
[01:44:34] Speaker ?: Can I borrow that binder?
[01:44:34] Speaker 4: Yes. This is it.
[01:44:36] Speaker ?: This is it. This is it.
[01:44:38] Speaker 1: This is it. This is it.
[01:44:40] Speaker ?: I'm gonna draw your attention. This is State's Exhibit 56. I'm gonna draw your attention to page 187. I want you to read this paragraph for the jury. Okay.
[01:44:55] Speaker 4: "The wife has been very unhappy in the marriage and filed her petition for dissolution of marriage
[01:45:02] Speaker ?: in August 2012.
[01:45:02] Speaker 4: The husband continues to characterize this as an abandonment of the family.
[01:45:03] Speaker ?: At no time has the wife abandoned the children. She is divorcing the husband due to her unhappiness with him and the marriage. And she only moved out of the home until she was divorced. I want you to read this paragraph for the jury."
[01:45:05] Speaker 4: Okay.
[01:45:06] Wendy Adelson: "The wife has been very unhappy in the marriage and filed her petition for dissolution of marriage in August 2012. The husband continues to characterize this as an abandonment of the family. At no time has the wife abandoned the children. She is divorcing the husband due to her unhappiness with him and the marriage. And she only moved out of the home because she knew the husband would not. The husband's statement of abandonment are unfounded and not supported by fact or law. He is simply having difficulty accepting her decision. In fact, he is having so much difficulty that he has told several of her colleagues and friends that she must have mental health issues." You should stop there. Okay.
[01:45:57] Speaker 4: "Do you remember telling Ms. Kappelman that you remember filing something like that?"
[01:46:02] Wendy Adelson: "Yes, I do." "You can set it aside.
[01:46:04] Speaker 4: We're going to move on." "Okay." "When did you meet Professor Markell?"
[01:46:12] Wendy Adelson: "We met in Washington D.C. in the fall of 2004 when I went up to D.C. to interview for a job."
[01:46:29] Speaker 4: "Where were you living at the time?"
[01:46:31] Wendy Adelson: "I was living in Miami."
[01:46:32] Speaker 4: "When did the relationship get serious?"
[01:46:36] Wendy Adelson: "Well, because it was long distance, it kind of got serious pretty quickly because it's a commitment to date someone long distance." "So we started dating and then I think over Thanksgiving he came and spent Thanksgiving with my family and by then it felt pretty serious."
[01:46:55] Speaker 4: "Do you recall if you introduced him to Charlie?"
[01:46:58] Wendy Adelson: "I would have at that point. I don't remember introducing him before that time, but he would have met my whole family then."
[01:47:05] Speaker 4: "What did Charlie think of Professor Markell?"
[01:47:08] Wendy Adelson: "I honestly don't remember his reaction, but..."
[01:47:13] Speaker 4: "Were they buddies?" "No." "They really had nothing in common, right?"
[01:47:19] Wendy Adelson: "No, they had nothing in common."
[01:47:22] Speaker 4: "Now, you got engaged pretty quickly. Is that fair to say?"
[01:47:27] Wendy Adelson: "We did, yeah."
[01:47:29] Speaker 4: "And I think you described how you ended up in Tallahassee, how you did your last year of law school in Tallahassee." "Is that correct?" "That's correct." "And then you had two children?" "We did." "During the marriage, did Professor Markell get along with your parents?" "Yeah." "Now, skipping a little bit ahead and then we'll go back. Do you remember Ms. Kappelman asking you about your parents not liking Tallahassee and not having access to the kids in Tallahassee? Do you recall those questions?" "I don't remember her asking whether my parents didn't like Tallahassee, but I remember her asking about not having unfettered access to the kids."
[01:48:16] Wendy Adelson: "Do you remember talking about how your parents were looking for real estate in Tallahassee?" "Yeah, my parents were trying to buy a house here."
[01:48:33] Speaker 4: "Do you recall that after you got divorced, they contacted a real estate agent named Tim Kelly to buy that house?"
[01:48:42] Wendy Adelson: "Yes."
[01:48:43] Speaker 4: "During the course of your marriage, I think you said you were close to your brother, Charlie."
[01:48:51] Wendy Adelson: "Yes."
[01:48:52] Speaker 4: "How often did you speak to each other?"
[01:48:55] Wendy Adelson: "Maybe once a week or a couple times here and there."
[01:49:02] Speaker 4: "Now, in all the years you lived in Tallahassee, is it fair to say that Charlie only came up two or three times?"
[01:49:09] Wendy Adelson: "Yeah, he came up for the birth of both boys, so definitely twice." "And then I think he had an internship or a job in Alabama for a little while, so he came by then." "So maybe three times?"
[01:49:25] Speaker 4: "Now, you described that there came a time when you and Professor Markel started to have some marital issues."
[01:49:31] Wendy Adelson: "That's right."
[01:49:33] Speaker 4: "And some of these issues had to do with religion, correct?" "Yes." "And some of them had to do with just the fact that you two were growing apart." "Is that fair to say?"
[01:49:45] Wendy Adelson: "Yes."
[01:49:47] Speaker 4: "But you got marriage counseling, right?"
[01:49:49] Wendy Adelson: "We did."
[01:49:50] Speaker 4: "How long were you in marriage counseling for?"
[01:49:52] Wendy Adelson: "I think about six months, maybe."
[01:49:55] Speaker 4: "Now, as close as you are with your mom, while in marriage counseling, did you tell her you were in marriage counseling?"
[01:50:05] Wendy Adelson: "I don't remember telling her I was in marriage counseling."
[01:50:09] Speaker 4: "And until the end, did Charlie know that you were in marriage counseling?"
[01:50:16] Wendy Adelson: "I don't know if I talked to my family about being in counseling."
[01:50:20] Speaker 4: "Do you recall a time when you and Charlie, you were down in South Florida and you told them that you were having marital problems?"
[01:50:30] Speaker ?: "I do."
[01:50:31] Speaker 4: "And what was Charlie's reaction to that?"
[01:50:36] Wendy Adelson: "I mean, he was supportive of me." "I remember him saying, you know, life is short, so if you're unhappy, then you know, you can make a different choice."
[01:50:47] Speaker 4: "Do you recall a dinner at the melting pot where you told Charlie that you had decided to file for divorce?" "I do." "And when you told Charlie that you were going to file for divorce, did he have anger and hatred towards Professor Markel?"
[01:51:08] Wendy Adelson: "No."
[01:51:09] Speaker 4: "Was he sad because he knew that this was going to affect his nephews?"
[01:51:14] Wendy Adelson: "I don't think he was really sad." "I mean, I think, honestly, I think a lot of people wondered why I got married to Danny in the first place." "And my friends were very supportive when I decided to end the marriage."
[01:51:25] Speaker 4: "Now, you actually filed for divorce in September of 2012, is that right?"
[01:51:31] Wendy Adelson: "That sounds right."
[01:51:33] Speaker 4: "And when you filed for divorce, let me say this, when you left the home, I think that was discussed in the direct." "Professor Markel was out of town, right?"
[01:51:47] Wendy Adelson: "He was. I called him and let him know that I had filed."
[01:51:50] Speaker 4: "You're a non-confrontational person, right?"
[01:51:56] Wendy Adelson: "That's not my best quality, yes."
[01:52:00] Speaker 4: "But you had been in marriage counseling for quite some time before you left the home, right?"
[01:52:05] Speaker ?: "Yes."
[01:52:10] Speaker 4: "Before you left the home, did you have a place to live?"
[01:52:13] Wendy Adelson: "I did."
[01:52:15] Speaker 4: "So there was some planning, correct?"
[01:52:17] Speaker ?: "Yes."
[01:52:19] Speaker 4: "But Charlie had nothing to do with those arrangements, right?"
[01:52:22] Speaker ?: "No."
[01:52:24] Speaker 4: "And that's when you moved into the Aqua Ridge House?"
[01:52:27] Speaker ?: "Yes."
[01:52:48] Speaker 4: "I'm showing you what's marked as Defense Exhibit One, for identification purposes only." "May I approach your honor?"
[01:53:03] Speaker ?: "You may." "Do you recognize the e-mail addresses on this document?" "I do." "Is that your e-mail address in Florida?"
[01:53:26] Speaker 4: "Do you recognize the e-mail addresses on this document?"
[01:53:30] Wendy Adelson: "I do."
[01:53:31] Speaker 4: "Is that your e-mail address in July of 2012?"
[01:53:35] Wendy Adelson: "It was my work e-mail address, so that makes sense. That must have been my e-mail."
[01:53:44] Speaker 4: "Does this look like an e-mail that you could have received from your mom?"
[01:53:47] Wendy Adelson: "It does. I don't remember this e-mail, but it does look like an e-mail I could have received."
[01:53:52] Speaker 4: "Judge, I would move this into Evidence's Defense Exhibit One at this time." "Is there an objection?" "Objection here, Sam." "This is an e-mail between your mom and you in July of 2012, right?"
[01:54:08] Speaker ?: "Yes."
[01:54:09] Speaker 4: "I'm just pointing to just under paragraph two." "I just need to know that I can legally take my children and move to another location." "There was concern that you wanted to make sure that you weren't breaking the law, right?"
[01:54:24] Speaker ?: "Correct."
[01:54:26] Speaker 4: "What can I legally remove from the house to the new location?" "There was concern that you wanted to do everything within the law, right?" "Now, we've heard a lot about this TV already, so let's just clear this up right now." "Charlie bought you the TV, right?" "Yes." "Charlie had your parents buy the TV and he paid them back."
[01:55:02] Wendy Adelson: "Yes."
[01:55:04] Speaker 4: "And they bought the TV from Best Buy, right?"
[01:55:07] Wendy Adelson: "Yes."
[01:55:08] Speaker 4: "Have you ever bought anything from Best Buy?"
[01:55:10] Speaker ?: "I'm sure I have."
[01:55:11] Speaker 4: "When you buy from Best Buy, they always try to get the Geek Squad warranty, right?"
[01:55:15] Wendy Adelson: "Yeah, they do."
[01:55:17] Speaker 4: "And people like me always fall for that, right?" "But when you call and you need to repair on the TV, it's got to be registered to your name, right?"
[01:55:29] Wendy Adelson: "I think so."
[01:55:31] Speaker ?: "Do you know if the Geek Squad was registered to your mom and dad?"
[01:55:48] Wendy Adelson: "I don't know offhand, but if they're the ones who bought the TV, then they probably bought the Geek Squad policy that went with it too."
[01:56:05] Speaker 4: "If I showed you the receipt, would that refresh your recollection?"
[01:56:09] Wendy Adelson: "I don't really have an independent recollection, so I don't think so."
[01:56:19] Speaker 4: "Now, Charlie made that joke many times, right?" "He did." "He never told you he actually looked into hiring a hitman, right?" "No."
[01:56:33] Speaker ?: "Did you think he was serious?"
[01:56:36] Speaker 4: "No." "By the way, the state has you as a co-conspirator with Charlie Adelson, right?"
[01:56:44] Wendy Adelson: "I believe so."
[01:56:46] Speaker 4: "But they also have you, according to them, blurting out during an interview that your alleged co-conspirator did the murder." "Does that make any sense?"
[01:57:00] Wendy Adelson: "I don't understand the question."
[01:57:01] Speaker 4: "Let me rephrase." "They have you guys as co-conspirators. They think you did a murder together."
[01:57:08] Speaker ?: "Right?"
[01:57:10] Wendy Adelson: "I think so. That's what they believe."
[01:57:12] Speaker 4: "If you did a murder together, why would you have blurt out a statement like that?"
[01:57:18] Wendy Adelson: "I clearly would not."
[01:57:20] Speaker 4: "Do you know if Charlie repeated that joke?" "In March of 2014 when you went to Yardbirds with Jeff Lacoste?"
[01:57:33] Wendy Adelson: "He may have, if I was mentioning the TV was broken or something like that."
[01:57:39] Speaker 4: "Do you know who else was at that dinner?"
[01:57:42] Wendy Adelson: "Katy."
[01:57:44] Speaker 4: "During your divorce, you spoke to your mom daily, probably, right?"
[01:58:06] Wendy Adelson: "I would usually call my parents on my way to drop kids at school. We'd have a short conversation, so that sounds right."
[01:58:15] Speaker 4: "It's fair to say that your parents were involved in some of the decisions that you were making in the divorce. You were asking their advice?" "For some of the time." "Did you often speak with Charlie about what was happening in the divorce?"
[01:58:31] Wendy Adelson: "Not too much, no."
[01:58:33] Speaker 4: "But fair to say Charlie was supportive of you, right?"
[01:58:37] Wendy Adelson: "Yeah, I mean, he was always supportive of me."
[01:58:40] Speaker 4: "Is Charlie kind of self-centered?"
[01:58:44] Wendy Adelson: "I don't think so."
[01:58:46] Speaker 4: "At the time of your divorce, though, he had a lot going on in his life?"
[01:58:51] Wendy Adelson: "I mean, his life was going great. He had a great business, he always had lots of girls, he had friends."
[01:58:59] Speaker 4: "The divorce was settled in July of 2013." "Correct." "How did you feel after it was settled?"
[01:59:10] Wendy Adelson: "I felt better. I felt a sense of relief that we could just move on with our lives."
[01:59:16] Speaker 4: "Now I want to talk a little bit about this relocation issue." "Okay." "Isn't it true that your attorney told you that there was very little chance for you to win that motion?"
[01:59:32] Wendy Adelson: "I believe so, yes."
[01:59:42] Speaker 4: "Where were you working in Tallahassee?" "Let's go backwards, actually." "In 2007, when you were married, where were you working in Tallahassee?"
[01:59:55] Wendy Adelson: "At that time, I would have been working at the FSU Center for Human Rights."
[02:00:01] Speaker 4: "And you were lobbying for anti-human trafficking legislation?"
[02:00:06] Wendy Adelson: "I was primarily representing victims of human trafficking, but I did a little bit of lobbying too."
[02:00:13] Speaker 4: "But the funding for your job ran out and you lost your job, right?" "At the time of the divorce, you had gotten a job at FSU." "What was that job?"
[02:00:26] Wendy Adelson: "At the time of the divorce, I was adjunct teaching a few classes at the law school." "I had a number of different jobs at FSU, but by that point, I was probably running something called a medical-legal partnership." "Where I would work with the law school, the medical school, and the social work school to help the students work together to try to help solve legal problems that clients had."
[02:00:53] Speaker 4: "Did you like that job?"
[02:00:54] Wendy Adelson: "I did, yeah."
[02:00:56] Speaker 4: "So if you liked the job so much, why were you looking to relocate?"
[02:01:01] Wendy Adelson: "I mean, relocation was not a big issue for me. I probably never would have thought of it. A friend suggested it to me that it might be helpful. Maybe I would get more time with the kids if I could relocate." "But I wasn't really focused on it. I didn't think it would happen, and I was pretty happy being at my job."
[02:01:24] Speaker 4: "Now, you were a non-tenured clinical professor in that job, right?"
[02:01:29] Speaker ?: "That's right."
[02:01:30] Speaker 4: "It meant that you could lose the job at any time. Is that fair to say?"
[02:01:33] Speaker ?: "Sure."
[02:01:34] Speaker 4: "And you had a lot of responsibilities now being divorced, even more responsibilities with the kids?" "Sure." "You had a job at a prestigious law firm in Miami, is that fair to say?" "It was, yes." "And that job was going to have a pretty big salary increase?"
[02:01:53] Speaker ?: "Yes."
[02:01:54] Speaker 4: "And it was going to give you an opportunity for more stability, fair enough?"
[02:01:59] Speaker ?: "Yeah."
[02:02:00] Speaker 4: "You were also going to have the benefit of family in South Florida who could help you with the kids, right?"
[02:02:06] Speaker ?: "Yeah."
[02:02:10] Speaker 4: "Now, even with this relocation request, was it ever your intention for Professor Markell to be absent from your boy's life?"
[02:02:19] Speaker ?: "Never, no." "Okay."
[02:02:29] Speaker 4: "When you lost the relocation motion, I think it's fair to say that your mom and dad were pretty upset."
[02:02:41] Wendy Adelson: "That's right."
[02:02:43] Speaker 4: "It's fair to say that your mom came up with some crazy ideas."
[02:02:49] Wendy Adelson: "Totally bonkers, yes."
[02:02:51] Speaker 4: "We saw the email about conversion of the kids, right?" "Yes." "By the way, did you ever do any of that?"
[02:03:03] Speaker ?: "No." "No."
[02:03:06] Speaker 4: "So you never dressed the kids up? You never baptized them? You never took a picture of them?"
[02:03:11] Speaker ?: "Okay."
[02:03:18] Speaker 4: "Did your mom keep bugging you to do any of that stuff?"
[02:03:21] Wendy Adelson: "No, I think it was just one crazy email."
[02:03:24] Speaker 4: "By the way, in all of these emails, did your mom ever tell you to do something violent?" "No."
[02:03:34] Wendy Adelson: "To Professor Markell?"
[02:03:36] Speaker 4: "I don't have ever any discussion of threats of violence in any way."
[02:03:41] Speaker ?: "No, never."
[02:03:46] Speaker 1: "Mr. Ashbaugh, I'm going to ask one more question, and from there, we're going to go into recess for the evening, but your examination of the witness will go into tomorrow."
[02:04:02] Speaker 4: "Have you ever heard of the prof's blog?"
[02:04:04] Speaker ?: "Sure."
[02:04:05] Speaker 4: "Member those questions that Ms. Kappelman asked you about how people could know about Danny traveling on the weekend of his murder?"
[02:04:17] Wendy Adelson: "Do you remember those questions?" "I do, yes."
[02:04:21] Speaker 4: "What is the prof's blog?"
[02:04:24] Wendy Adelson: "It was a blog that Danny started with some friends to talk about the law and legal theories and to kind of have conversations and space with other law professors."
[02:04:35] Speaker 4: "I'm showing you it's marked as Defense Exhibit 2." "And this will be quick, Your Honor." "I promise."
[02:04:42] Speaker 1: "I was going to say I went from one to five real quick." "It'll be quick." "I'm going to take a look at the exhibit from the witness."
[02:04:49] Speaker 4: "Does this look like a posting from the prof's blog?"
[02:05:01] Wendy Adelson: "It does, yes."
[02:05:02] Speaker 4: "Judge, I'd admit Defense Exhibit 2 into evidence at this point in time."
[02:05:06] Speaker 1: "Any objections from the state?"
[02:05:09] Speaker 2: "I'd like to take a look at it first, Your Honor."
[02:05:12] Speaker 4: "Okay, go."
[02:05:13] Speaker ?: "Okay, go." "Okay, go."
[02:05:42] Speaker 1: "I'll ask one last question and then we can, if you would, we can handle it."
[02:06:00] Speaker 4: "One means one." "Do you know if Professor Markell would frequently post his travel schedule on his prof's blog?"
[02:06:10] Wendy Adelson: "He would post it on his prof's blog and on his Facebook."
[02:06:14] Speaker 4: "That's my one question, Your Honor."