We have been following the investigation of the murder of Florida State Professor Dan Markel – a case that has cast suspicions on the family of his ex-wife and fellow professor Wendi Adelson. Much of this suspicion has been drawn to Adelson’s brother, Charlie Adelson. Charlie Adelson was reportedly romantically involved with Katherine Magbanua, who just happened to be the mother of two children with Sigfredo Garcia, one of the two accused hit men (with Luis Rivera). Magbanua was arrested recently and then Rivera has cut a deal to cooperate in a guilty plea. Rivera has reportedly given evidence that further implicates the Adelson family. Rivera pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and told police that the motive for the murder for hire was because “the lady wants her kids back.” In a truly chilling added element, Rivera said that he saw Wendi Adelson before killing her husband and that she stared directly at him and Garcia. Now there is new evidence from the former boyfriend of Wendi Adelson where he immediately directed police to investigate Charlie Adelson and other accounts of witnesses saying that the Adelsons acted curiously after the murder. In the meantime, it turns out that Wendi Adelson wrote a book based on her relationship and revealed the depth of the hostility toward Markel.
First a recap to bring you back up to speed.
Adelson and Markel married in 2006 when she was a third-year law student at the University of Miami and he was a criminal law professor at FSU. News accounts say that Markel returned from a business trip to find the kids and his wife gone with divorce papers left on the bed — the start of a highly acrimonious divorce.
Police say that Garcia and Rivera were “enlisted” to kill Markel in connection with his divorce from Adelson. Police traced a rental to the scene of the crime. The police have made little secret of their suspicion of Charles Adelson and his mother Donna Adelson. The family wanted Wendi Adelson to move with the children near them. Police became suspicious after learning that Magbanua is connected to Garcia and that she spoke more than 2,000 times to Garcia in the weeks leading up to the slaying. Prosecutors now say Charlie Adelson paid for half of a $6,000 to $7,000 breast implant surgery done by Dr. Leonard Roudner, also known as “Dr. Boobner.” That surgery occurred notably in October 2014, roughly three months after Markel’s killing. Police sought the medical records despite the insistence of Charlie Adelson’s lawyer that it was “a fishing expedition.” The court did not see it that way and granted the subpoena to confirm the surgery and payments.
Magbanua’s warrant says that Wendi’s mother was particularly upset after Markel had filed a motion to require that the children’s visitation with Wendi’s mother be supervised. He cited allegations by the children that she had called Markel “stupid” and asserted he was “taking her sunshines away from her.” Moreover, the cellphone records show that after Magbanua spoke with Charlie Adelson, he would often call his mother, Donna. For her part, Magbanua would call Garcia. Indeed, police cite “a flurry of communications between the alleged conspirators.”
Police also suggest that Magbanua was given a “significant increase” in cash bank deposits after the murder and she received paychecks from the family dental business. The thrust of the warrant is clearly more about the Adelson family than Magbanua. Indeed, her arrest may be an effort to flip her against the Adelsons. She has children to care for and a valuable piece of any prosecution to bargain with. At most, she is believed to have been a facilitator in the conspiracy — making her the ultimate cooperating witness to tie in the main players. If that is the tactic, it could well succeed. What is clear is that the case is entering a new and more threatening stage for the Adelsons.
Rivera has stated that he and Garcia (who reportedly pulled the trigger) saw Wendi Adelson, eyeing their car. When Garcia asked why the woman with the children was staring at them, he says that Garcia told him “Oh, that’s the lady. That’s Wendi.”
We previously discussed the police station interview of Adelson. The videotape is very emotional and at times bizarre.
In the 2014 interview, the detective tells her “That’s what this is about. There was a shooting at your home, or your ex-husband’s home. [He] has been taken to the hospital. He’s not going to survive.” Adelson bursts into tears and exclaims “Oh, my God,” Adelson says, sobbing throughout. “What happened. …I just don’t understand? How could this happen?”
Wendi tells the detective “I’m scared. I don’t know why this would happen . . . It really scares me because, I mean, if there’s someone out there that’s willing to do this to him. … I’m scared for the kids.”
Given the focus on her brother, a couple of statements stand out. She says that she is “scared someone maybe did this – not because they hate Danny but because they thought this was good somehow.” She then admits that her brother joked with her earlier that day about how a television might be cheaper than a hit man to deal with the problems in her life.
“And I was talking to him about whether it made sense to pay to fix it or I should get a new one,” she said. “And it was always his joke that, like, he knew that Danny treated me badly, and it was always his joke, he said, I looked into hiring a hit man but it was cheaper to get you this TV.”
She then repeated the joke with a repair man.
“[H]e’s my big brother, and he’s been taking care of me since I was little,” she continued. “But he would never – and I told that to the repair guy that this morning. He asked me how much it cost, and I said I didn’t know because it was a gift because my brother said it was cheaper than a hit-man. It was my divorce present. Such a horrible thing to say. I’m so, so sorry.”
She emphasizes that, while she was allegedly abused, no one would kill Markel: “But even my family who felt like I had been mistreated would never do something like this. Never.”
Adelson did not improve things for her family later in openly discussing her fear that a family member killed her estranged husband. According to news reports, she told a victim’s advocate about her mother’s surprise reaction: “My parents sounded really surprised, so that’s at least a relief. I’m just trying to think who would be angry enough to do something to him. My parents would be angry, but they’re not capable of this. Thank God. I really couldn’t handle that right now.”
Rivera has now placed Adelson near the hit men and staring directly at them. He further implicated Magbanua as acting as a go-between in the murder for hire. Rivera also indicates that Magbanua conveyed information about the travel plans of Markel and, in reference to Adelson, said “She’s making sure everything’s fine.”
We can now add the testimony of Jeffrey Lacasse, the FSU professor and ex-boyfriend of Wendi Adelson. Lacasse appears to have fingered Charlie Adelson without prompting, according to the records. Lacasse said that Charlie ran with some fairy dubious people and could easily arrange a hit: “He’d get his buddy in the special forces to do this, or he’d get some seedy guys down in the Cuban neighborhood or something like that.” Lacasse said that Charlie lives two lives on both the high society and seedy sides: “He’s a dentist and he’s very wealthy, but he kind of hangs out with people from both sides of the tracks . . . You know, he goes boating in South Beach with his rich buddies and he also goes to his gym with some other kinds of characters.” Lacrasse offers a new witness to say that Wendi Adelson recounted how Charlie took steps to look into a hit and even got a price of $15,000 for the job. It also by extension implicates Wendi who only discussed the joke with the police and not any knowledge of any effort to secure a hit man: “Wendi had reported to me that Charlie had considered all the options possible to take care of this problem. She said it in a dead serious, chilling, uncomfortable way.”
Another new character in this expanding saga is Tamara Demko, Dan Markel’s long-time friend, who raised her own suspicions about the Adelson’s and said that when she went to the house the day after the murder she was struck by something that was not right (though in fairness nothing would seem normal after such a murder). Demko however reported to police that there was something more: “There’s just things that don’t feel right to me. [Wendi Adelson] opened the door and she looked really calm. . . . [Her mother] seemed appropriately upset, then her dad, who I’ve met a couple dozen times in Coral Springs and up here, he gave me this look. … It was awkward and it never had been before. That really bothered me.”
Wendi it turns out is also an author. She wrote a novel, “This is Our Story,” that she told people was based on her story. She stated “I, selfishly, wanted you to know a bit about my story, which has much – but not all – in common with Attorney Lily” (i.e. the main character in the novel). Adelson, Wendi (2011-09-12). This is Our Story (Kindle Locations 3948-3949). Kindle Edition. …” It is reportedly not very good but it is likely to sell more copies to the investigators circling around the Adelsons.
Does it legally matter who is the mastermind? Or is it only important who knew when (before or after the murder) and didn’ t try to stop it and/ or inform police. Are most people under the impression that Katherine and Garcia are talking with same dates in December for next hearing. Will next arrests come just before that hearing and after a grand jury reviews whatever tney have reportrd?
the question is does wendi have any legal culpability if she didn’t plan. yes if she gave info to his whereabouts but in a hypo where she didn’t know, is she culpable for letting it go ahead? if anyone knows FL statute in this regard, pls share.
Well?
The latest ATL is very revealing. Donna is looking more and more like the mastermind, more so than Charlie.
There is so much compelling circumstantial evidence for arrests of Charles and Donna. Wendi, too. The only reason for the delay is affluence. Dan Markel and his family deserve justice.
it’s Friday. another week. no arrests. contrary to those who were sure something would go down.
Linda, you may be right that someone of fewer resources with Charlie’s circumstances would have been arrested, but not necessarily Wendi.
Anyway, you will probably appreciate this user comment:
“Having deep pockets means that you can buy a collection of fact-twisting, manipulative sharks to serve as your defense team… ”
www [dot] wctv [dot] tv/content/news/New-Suspect-arrested-in-Dan-Markel-case-395541631 [dot] html
Of course, his attorney may offer other explanation; he had only been dating Magbanua a short time and she offered this up as a present.
{Cue the drums: Step will absolutely lose it and accuse me of delusions in 3,2,1…..}
It took 3 months to negotiate Luis Rivera’s plea deal.
Rivera could afford to take his time. He was already in a fed pen, serving a 12-year sentence. Magbanua is a first-time offender with two kids at home with no parent to take care of them. She must be very anxious to cut a deal.
Guys fret not I am already out and with my kids…
I told investigators that Charlie masterminded the plot and Donna paid for it. Wendi knew ahead of time and Pops ex post facto.
Thank you for the dose of common sense, Travis. Step isn’t too up on issues affecting women, so hopefully this enlightens him as well.
Today is Charlie’s 40th birthday, probably the last one spent outside of a prison.
My gift to Charlie:
Charlie here is ur gifts:💸☠️👮🏻🕵️♀️⛏⚖️⛓⚰️💉🔑🗓🔐🏳️🌈
A lot of smart people here who haven’t read the basic documents available.
A lot of strong opinions formed without reading much of anything. My guess is these opinions are unlikely to change no matter what comes out.
I don’t get why everyone keeps saying Katharine is “singing”. she merely got reduced from 1 degree murder to 2 degree murder. That hardly sounds a change that signals she ratted on anyone. it sounds like they certainly don’t have enough to charge her with murder 1.
She is protecting Charlie and she says she is innnocent. Everyone ready to see the Adelsons bought in are acting prematurely.
Also, from the Department of the Obvious to “Anonymous”, obviously people are talking. I for one can see the Adelsons walking away from this. That won’t change the fact that there will always be a cloud on them for hanging out with people and or talking to people who are low life street trash.
Writer–tell Charlie hello for me. We are watching him.
Sure. Next time we double date. The Markels displayed a lot of hubris with that foster care, arrests email to the prosecutor. Wendy will never see the inside of a jail cell and will be unlikely to forget it or let Markels see the grandkids till they are over 18 and can decide for themselves.
They would need to prove that someone other than Rivera and Garcia told Katherine that the deed was done (i.e. Wendy or someone up in Tallahassee). They won’t prove that.
That is so cute. You plan on sharing the cell with him?
There has been some discussion about who told Magbanua about the hit being done if she didn’t get from Wendi via Charlie. However, the only person who claims Magbanua knew is Rivera, no fount of credibility. So, unless Magbanua and Rivera both claim that Magbanua knew about it before Rivera AND Garcia called, there is no reason to believe Wendi reported the road being cordoned off to let Charlie know a hit was done.
Does anyone have a timeline of all this?
I still say what I have been saying, the person who told that Spaghetti story reports a husband who is selfish, who irks her, not a husband she wants whacked. It is a long road to go from disliking you husband and divorcing him to sanctioning his killing.
I think there is no proof and I also think that there is no proof because she did not know.
I missed the “Spaghetti story”. Please enlighten me,
Thanks.
typical textbook npd spouse story. something along lines of he asked her what she wanted for dinner whilst having already made spaghetti. so she didn’t have a choice. a pretend choice, a feigned attempt at being “helpful” and “generous”, but it would have been more honest to say, I made spaghetti. general description of him acting like he scaled mt. everest when she makes dinner every night without acting like it is a big deal.
Thanks.
So much of the bickering/Wendi’s badly written novel with thinly veiled portraits of Tallahassee and her husband would be rather funny if it hadn’t all culminated in murder,
@ AMS: “So much of the bickering/Wendi’s badly written novel with thinly veiled portraits of Tallahassee and her husband would be rather funny if it hadn’t all culminated in murder,”
totally agree.
also, AMS, I believe Wendi was fed up as a spouse. I believe Charlie may have had some ego attack by the disdain Dan showed him. And the grandmother saw herself as a co-parent of these kids. Didn’t see her place. Is Wendi willing to sanction all of this to get out of Tallahassee and please her mother and have permanent childcare? (and risk it on half @ssed hitmen) REALLY? maybe. maybe not. sometimes, I think it is possible with her litany of white lies. but lying and defending your family (or not ratting them out) do not necessarily a murderess make. assume too she had nothing to do with it and then found it. they are her family. is she going to turn on them? no.
Yes, the family was insanely lacking in boundaries.
I still feel Wendi is more likely to have known than not, though I’m not sure she got her hands dirty directly by helping with the planning. But I agree with you that she was used to being taken care of, and didn’t question too carefully just how it was managed so long as she got what she wanted.
Reading the PCA, I have to wonder, what did Charlie call Wendi about for 18 minutes when Dan was at the gym? If he really kept her out of the loop, maybe it was to make sure she wasn’t headed over there. It does *seem* more likely than not that he gave her some advanced information.
The Markels displayed a lot of hubris with that foster care, arrests email to the prosecutor.
Yeah, taking an interest in the welfare of your grandchildren is such hubris.
It’s unintelligent and a failure to see the big picture. Never put something like that in writing. If Wendi doesn’t go to jail, can you imagine being the Markels calling up Wendi for visitation? How likely do you think she is to grant it? I’m going to have to back up Writer 100% on this one.
Step, you get too emotional about all of this!!
Perhaps the email was leaked on purpose to rattle the Adelsons. The prosecutors thus have used the Markels. The whole, “Love, Shelly, Ruth and Phil” to Georgia Cappleman shows stupidity.
Cappleman’s bundle of interests are not coterminous with the Markels’. The Markels would do well to remember that.
It’s curious you’re so contemptuous of the Markels’ warmth in the face of their tragedy.
Greg it is ez. It is some one close to the As or them and pun intended.
It’s not curious. He loathes the Markels. He just hasn’t revealed his precise relationship to the Adelsons.
In the delusional construct of Step, Wendi had no possible valid reason to part company with Dan (black and white thinking AGAIN), and this contributes to his weltanschauung that Wendi was a bad, bad person, period.
Take his pronouncements with a grain of salt.
Wendi had no proper reason to sue her husband for divorce that she’s deigned to reveal. Generic consumer dissatisfaction is not a proper reason.
Steps – Arizona has no fault divorce. The court will even supply the paperwork for you.
So what? I’m critiquing culture and conduct. I’m aware of what the law allows. The law is an ass.
her book describes things that are definitely grounds for divorce. not pulling his weight, some emotional issues.
her book describes things that are definitely grounds for divorce. not pulling his weight, some emotional issues.
No RV, those are ‘grounds’ only in the idiot woman-child’s world we have allowed the legal profession and elements of the mental health trade to create in this country. Among my mother’s contemporaries, a woman who sued for divorce for these reasons would have suffered a severe loss of standing in her social circle if not excluded from it. (And, while we’re at it, he was the primary earner in that household and it’s a reasonable wager she had a job at FSU because he pulled strings to get her name in the hopper).
step, news flash, we are well into the 21st century, women can stand alone apart from the prestige/economic power of their spouse if they feel emotionally abused or otherwise unfulfilled in a relationship.
tep, news flash, we are well into the 21st century, women can stand alone apart from the prestige/economic power of their spouse if they feel emotionally abused or otherwise unfulfilled in a relationship.
News flash. Traveling in time from 1999 to 2001 does not alter the content of personal obligations or make puerile dispositions and behavior any less puerile than they were to begin with.
These conversations are tedious. Rv could clearly kick StepStepSteponToads rear end in a courtroom. The cherry on the cake is StepStepSteponToads is reactionary and sexist and totally clueless.
I can say the latter part is the same for CA and WA.
http://www.vice.com/read/hit-man-murder-dan-markel-florida
Conspiracy theorists, perhaps I didn’t say it as gently as writer, but it would be easier to build a bridge to Wendy later so they can see the kids if they hadn’t done that. Their lawyer must not be very good, because a good one would have advised them that silence is golden and to leave no paper trail. No Relationship to A’s here… I believe David Lat’s description of Dan in his last post is balanced and that he has been fair to Wendy also. Wendy has many interesting observations. The tar and feathering crowd would do well to think outside the box.
Guys the mere is an unmarked car outside my practice what should I do?
Hello Charlie, I suggest you watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxSrNdHqrMs
[How to Avoid Rape in Prison – Men’s | Full Documentary HD]
RV, also, it would have been prudent of the Markels not to inflame the Adelsons when they are under siege and have possession of the kids.
The Markels told the prosecutor in a confidential communication that she needed to have contingency plans in place for the children. They are not under any obligation to not plan for contingencies. Certainly Wendi’s agita imposes no obligations on them.
NEWS FLASH: email is not confidential. Ask the Democratic National Committee about that if you are confused.
This was a private correspondence. To inflame would have been to launch a civil action.
Still, I’m surprised by the rancor directed at the Markels.
They did it ‘blank’ them!
Their lawyer is Orin Snyder.
http://www.gibsondunn.com/lawyers/osnyder
If Wendi doesn’t go to jail, can you imagine being the Markels calling up Wendi for visitation?
Even if she’s not personally involved her family killed their son over her. What could possibly make this relationship worse?
Obviously they didn’t expect that email to become public. Why is that so hard to understand?
She’s a participant in an ongoing effort to prevent the perpetrators from being brought to justice. The Markels know this and she knows they know. (If she isn’t liable for anything which happened prior to 18 July 2014).
People should have ZERO expectation of email being private. The Snowden revelations, The DNC via “Guccifer”, etc.
if You want a private convo, landline is better than email (and out in the woods is better than phone).
here is a scenario. wendi not convicted, keeps custody. you are the markels. do you want to have an open line of communication with boys even though you think they are living with someone who is at least morally culpable for helping perpetrators (after if not before) or are you pre-resigned to not seeing them until you can make contact after they are 18 (and even then, maybe not till they are 22. if not pre-resigned, let process play itself out. it’s just common sense advice, nothing more, nothing less.
We get it. You’re a collateral relation of the Adelsons. You’re also a terrible bore.
so boring, that you feel compelled to try to one up almost every comment I make. black and white thinking, of which you are a perfect case, is on display yet again with your insistence I have a connection to the A’s.
I’m a big believer in not tarring and feathering ppl unless 100% clear what they did and say or at least “beyond a reasonable doubt” no matter how much they are disliked. many here pin the scarlet letter on wendi.
your backwards analysis that since wendi is tied in with her family and has at the very least guilt by association, it follows her reasons for disliking Dan and leaving the marriage were illegit. that is a thinking error.
so boring, that you feel compelled to try to one up almost every comment I make.
You’ve felt compelled to offer windy, silly and cack-handed psychiatric diagnoses of the deceased and are now in the business of attacking his family for giving their opinion about where their grandchildren should be placed. Strange as it may seem to you, someone might offer a response to that sort of effrontery now and again.
I shouldn’t bother responding, but this hatchet job begs for it. I didn’t attack his family “for giving their opinion about where their grandchildren should be placed”. I suggested that such communication should not have been over email and that if their goal is to have contact with their grandchildren, they should look at the big picture which is that Wendi is likely to retain custody and unlikely to do time for this crime and that writing an email that suggests yanking the kids away from her, is not the way to go. You and others may not like it, but there is no proof; Wendi was not in touch with Magbanua, Garcia and certainly not Rivera. This issue is independent as to whether Wendi did or did not know in advance (which, too, is a different level of culpability than actively conspiring).
Surely even you can appreciate the point that the prosecutor and their office are not the Markel personal family lawyers and that their interests are not 100% aligned.
You’ve maligned the victim and his family, which is deplorable.
Just because law enforcement hasn’t released any info on Wendi’s involvement doesn’t mean there isn’t any. Most likely it will be in the PCA as with her co-conspirators.
Charlie just got picked up in Boynton Beach.
… even Charles Manson has supporters.
>Mario
>1, November 2, 2016 at 3:53 pm
>Charlie just got picked up in Boynton Beach.
He got picked up 4 hours ago and it hasn’t made the news?
Troll.
Hey Wendi your next.
I heard Charlie is done either way. He is on the LKs most wanted list.
Writer, the reward reduction was due to the Adelsons pulling the money they would have paid it is probably going to you or KMs defense.
She is singing. I saw her transported to an interrogation room at the jail.
So, you think that a woman with two kids and no priors is going to take a 30-year prison sentence to protect a guy like Charlie, especially when the father of her kids is looking at a capital murder charge?
My belief is they don’t have enough to nab her on murder 2 and if she stays quiet, she may walk on that and even Charlie does not get charged.
Apparently, I was not far off as her lawyer told ATL she hasn’t cut a deal with the state.
http://abovethelaw.com/2016/10/the-dan-markel-case-insights-from-wendi-adelsons-novel/
Writer-ATL Brooke the story first via media. The attorney called him. He did not have too. It’s a bluff.
LOL and Rivera’s lawyer said the same thing after the 20/20 expose and we see how that turned out.
I know Katherine personally and we have mutual friends. Make no mistake she is scared and wants the best deal.
Right you are, Greg. We will see.
1. Professor Markel is dead.
2. We have an excellent idea from electronic data and a confession who did that.
3. And we have from the confessing perpetrator the identity of the person who hired them.
4. Who was on the phone with the perpetrators a great deal
5. Including a point in time just after the murder, as the perpetrators were headed back to Miami.
6. And her financials indicate she was receiving cash payments and in-kind gifts from a dental practice she visited only infrequently (per security cam footage).
All of which should suffice for a lesser included offense, at least.
What could she possible plea down to and how many years?
The Florida penal code offers elaborate options should she end up in a jury trial.
What her lawyer said and what the state has in terms of sufficient evidence for a conviction are not even in the same universe.
That won’t change the fact that there will always be a cloud on them for hanging out with people and or talking to people who are low life street trash.
No, there will always be a cloud over them for the same reason there was a cloud over OJ Simpson: their guilt is understood by the public.
In this country we do not convice people based on “their guilt is understood by the public.”
Writer – I would disagree about guilt hanging over people. I think OJ was convicted because he did not get convicted the first time. And I think they turned down his parole because of the same thing. They are punishing him for the murder of Nichole.
I think he was convicted in Nevada because he committed a felony in Nevada.
Steps – I think he would have been found not guilty had it not been for the cloud hanging over his head.
I think you meant, “had it not been for the overwhelming evidence of guilt.”
Fixed it.
‘Convice’?
The prosecutor’s task is to demonstrate that particular individuals undertook particular acts. It’s the failure to do that which may keep one or another Adelson out of prison. That having been said, if this murder was not a family hit, it makes no sense whatsoever. They have ample electronic data and eyewitness testimony to place this pair of Miami gangbangers in Tallahassee and trailing Prof. Markel. Now they have a guilty plea and a window into the content of some salient conversations between the perpetrators and between the perps and Katherine Magbanua. One or another Adelson commissioned a hit on Prof. Markel. Those not implicated in the hire are keeping information from law enforcement about those who did participate.
Step, it’s good to hear you entertain the possibility that perhaps not all Adelsons necessarily commissioned the hit.
I’ve never said all the Adelsons were necessarily involved. I said your fantasy that Katherine Magbanua cooked this all up to have Donna Adelson over a barrel was silly.
All of the Miami Adelsons are implicated in shielding perpetrators. The murkiest question is what Wendi and Harvey knew beforehand. The phone tree and the checks implicate CA and mama.
My recollection was you thought Wendi was guilty as sin.
There are two separate issues: what one believes and what is provable. 1) Wendi knew about it ahead of time and but it cannot be proven via the phone tree, testimony, evidence that is robust in a courtroom and 2) Wendi did not know about it ahead of time. (I suppose 3, Wendi knew about it ahead of time AND it can be proven is another possibility).
Ditto Harvey.
The “fantasy I cooked up” was not mine. It was suggested by Ralph Adamo. In any event, it is a defense that Charlie could use. Crikey, I did use the word “thought experiment”! you are so literal-minded.
Remember it’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove.
My recollection was you thought Wendi was guilty as sin.
You’re confusing me with another commenter. It wouldn’t surprise me if they have unrevealed dirt on her. We know from Rivera that her knowledge of the plot was assumed by Rivera and Garcia and Magbanua and we know from Jeffrey Lacasse that this sort of thing had been discussed with her. We’ll see if Garcia and Magbanua are willing to offer their $0.02
The “fantasy I cooked up” was not mine. It was suggested by Ralph Adamo.
No, it was yours.
I’m not getting into it with you anymore because you are very confused, Step. You consistently turn things around.
The first person to suggest this was Ralph. And, News flash, you are admitting that you think Wendi is guilty when you say you think there is unrevealed dirt on her. I confuse you with NO ONE.
Your m.o. is last-word itis. goodness forbid anyone disagree with your black and white thinking, a trait of oh, nevermind……
and it continues to amuse that you put so much stock in Garcia and Magbanua, such pillars of society.
Pillar of society or not, what Garcia said agrees 100% with the data investigators got
from surveillance. That data alone without Garcia should be enough to convict Charlie.
They have him ordering hits in a person-to-person with Magbanua FFS, from direct
physical surveillance.
Abe Johnson: what is FFS? I have to read the probable cause aff. There are still some outstanding questions about Wendy noticing the road blocked off. Is there proof that she called home after the road was blocked off before lunch with her friends and before Garcia and Rivera called Katherine? I tend to think the prosecutors do not know the answer to this question.
Writer, I read the probable cause. Wendi and Charlie spoke in the morning an hour and a half before the murder. There is no evidence of communication from Wendi to home after the murder, before the police let her make a phone call. If Rivera is telling the truth that Magbanua knew about the murder before he called her, he is either lying, or Wendi communicated some other way (email)? or Garcia called Magbanua and Rivera is talking out of his but.
Speculation will abound as to what Wendi and Charlie discussed that morning but that is all it will be, speculation.
or Wendi communicated some other way (email)?
They’re called pay phones. Not so many around anymore. There are disposable cell phones as well. You just have to be sure you’re disguised when you buy them or the security cam footage will burn you later.
Pay phones are practically nonexistent. I do not know the situation in Tallahassee, but in major cities, they are merely decorative, and serve as urinals essentially.
it would not make sense that she communicated on a burner when she talked to him that morning on the real line. if they were smart enough to use burners for that supposed phone call (confirming the hit), they would have been smart enough to use burners for the rest of it.
I don’t buy it.
there was some talk about her going to a packing store. perhaps an email like our former CIA director used to use, the drafts folder? it still doesn’t follow when other precautions were not taken.
http://www.payphone-project.com/numbers/usa/FL/TALLAHASSEE/
Step. try calling them. at least some have been re-assigned to peoples’ personal numbers.
Commentators ultimately and correctly say “I don’t know.”
But accuse the principals of narcissism.
While writing thousands and thousands of words of speculation about people they’ve never met.
Oh, the irony.
Donna I read the affidavit. You are guilty. Hey cut me a check before you can’t… $1,000,000 I will not at anything!😜
Perhaps Wendi shouldn’t have trash talked her ‘latex husband’ on that podcast and in her lousy semi-autobiographical novel if she didn’t want to enter the public discourse.
They are all going down including Wendi me reckons. How stupid does one need to be in order
to believe Wendi didn’t at least know of the scheme?
Do you think her family would plan the hit without her knowing? They would *need to know* if she’d be ok with it otherwise she could prove to be too much of a loose canon and turn them all in when she found out (and of course she was bound to find out).
Why would her family take that risk? No, it’s preposterous that Wendi did not know what was going down.
Her interview at the police station also looks fake and practiced. Nobody reacts in that manner with that sort of news. Too controlled and acting-like.
I wouldn’t put much stock in what can be learned from the target’s demeanor. People’s reaction to bizarre outlier events is not predictable in a precise sort of way.
Your other point is well taken, though. Wendi, per the probable cause affidavit, had put the kibosh on one of her mother’s schemes to induce Markel to relent, making her mother ‘extremely upset’.
that would cut for Wendi putting the kibosh on this if she knew. of course she could have put the kibosh on it *if* she decided it wasn’t worth inducing Dan to move down South and just get rid of him.
I’m not sure that I agree that if Wendi “put the kibosh” on trying to bribe Dan with a million dollars it necessarily follows that she would then also put the kibosh on the hit, if that is what you’re saying. They are two completely different plans of action. The first would require Dan’s consent, the second… not at all.
I imagine she disagreed with the idea of trying to bribe Dan because she knew that he could not be bribed into giving up his children to the Adelsons. I suppose some low life fathers would take the money, but that doesn’t sound at all like something Dan Markel would do regarding sons to whom he was reportedly devoted. Especially since he had already expressed in court documents his anger at the way Donna Adelson disparaged him to the boys. Also there was the very real possibility that such a crass offer could backfire against her in the custody battle.
But as for a hit? Very different plan. Getting rid of Dan and his motions and custody battles and Tallahassee forever.
In the podcast I remember Wendi makes the claim that in the aftermath of her husband’s death she lost a dream job or job that she loved at the Law school in Tallahassee. But she’s clearly being disingenuous. She may have liked the job but by all reports, including from former boyfriend Lacasse, she loathed Tallahassee and couldn’t stand living there. Dan was the obstacle that kept her from moving with her children to South Florida.
Of course she knew of her family’s plan. She and the family made sure that she had an alibi and stayed as far away from the nuts and bolts planning with Katherine M (phone calls, payments, etc.) as possible. I think big brother Charlie, (Wendi: “he’s been looking after me since I was little”.What grown woman talks that way? ) saw it as his job to punish and get rid of the man who hurt his little sister and their Mom. Unmarried, emotionally still attached to the nucleus of the family, his dad the patriarch weakened by brain cancer, psychologically Charlie’s kind of a Freudian buffet.
But it is hard to understand the carelessness and arrogance of not using burner phones, paying KM directly from the dental business and Harvey’s old Lexus, etc. etc. Intelligent people can do very stupid things when they are acting out of emotion and passionate anger.
step seems to think that if Wendi put the kibosh on the $$ plan, saw her mother upset, wouldn’t want to be at odds with her and wouldn’t let her go ahead with the hit without her blessing.
I think it could cut for the opposite that if W put the kibosh on payment, she could stand up to her mother…. and maybe the mother was going to do whatever she wanted- esp. since she couldn’t get W’s cooperation to bait Dan in that way, or perhaps saw W’s point that Dan wouldn’t go for the “buy-out”.
she put the kibosh on the $$ plan either b/c she had made peace with staying in Tallahassee and knew Dan wouldn’t go for it as you say OR she figured- to heck with that, I don’t want him around Miami, so don’t bother. Let’s go for plan b (the hit).
I think your insights are good. I still cannot imagine that the four of them sat there and all agreed to this without one of them being like, WTF are you (we) thinking. It is possible that Wendi sees herself (wrongly) as not guilty b/c she knew but stayed out of the line of fire (meaning the planning – no pun intended).
I don’t know Wendi, have never observed her so I just don’t know. If she was in on it they.are.ALL.so.dumb !!!!!! Clearly she had a penchance for dissociation (see my comments on the last thread from the other week- they overlap with some of your observations about her emotional dishonesty. But….
Hubris. People who commit crimes do not expect to get caught.
I’m not sure that I agree that if Wendi “put the kibosh” on trying to bribe Dan with a million dollars it necessarily follows that she would then also put the kibosh on the hit, if that is what you’re saying.
She put the kibosh on Donna’s tell-’em-the-kids-are-reading-the-Baltimore-catechism gambit. Wendi was not completely on board with her mother’s schemes, which does suggest she could not be trusted to just go along with a hit on her husband and would be a loose cannon after he was dispatched – if she had not been sounded out beforehand. That’s the best argument I’ve seen to date that the supposition that she gave her assent is the most plausible.
The catechism stuff is just bizarre. Perhaps there is proof in an email, but in what universe does Donna think that can even work? If in Tallahassee, they are farther from Donna. Wendi isn’t Catholic. Dan isn’t Catholic, there is no Catholic influence. Donna wouldn’t even want them to be Catholic so….
I think a more likely explanation would be to keep Wendi out of it so she didn’t know. By the time Wendi was back in Miami, with Donna providing childcare (and co-parenting) so Wendi could hold down a clerk job (more labor intensive than a law prof job). Two years into the whole thing (by the time the story broke), Wendi was not going to turn on her family.
I can see it both ways; she knew, she didn’t know. 60-65% on the latter; 40-35% on the former.
This is murder we are talking about, in a state with death penalty.
How can you be so sure Wendi would not turn on her family, if suddenly informed or when she eventually found out? This make no sense whatsoever. Assume a completely innocent Wendi that suddenly finds out what her family did. The future of her kids could be at stake and she’s now an associate to murder.
No, it is unfathomable that they did not get her permission.
95% she knew, 5% she didn’t.
In a sense she did leave a trail of breadcrumbs towards them re: her words to the victim’s advocate and her comment about the hitman and tv that morning and charlie. why turn on them any earlier than you have to, and if they have kept her out of the phone and email loop, she has plausible deniability. in any case, she hasn’t turned on them yet. and if she suspected, I doubt she would ask directly. note in her podcast how she said she and her mother barely have time for conversation. they are both working or taking care of the kids or doing dishes. it doesn’t appear they have caught wendi saying anything incriminating over the phone.
anyway, we all agree that we are not 100% sure either way and I don’t think we will ever know what went down.
100 percent she knew. This is a very smart family. And Wendi the smartest. She would immediately ( like most of us) know that it was her family. She was in from the very beginning. This was a family orchestrated plot where everyone wanted Danny out of the family picture.
No, the smartest live in Albany, NY. Alternatively, you could argue the smartest is papa Harvey, self-made man. Wendi was demonstrably less impressive than her husband, and it seems to have rankled her. That fellow Lacasse was closer to her level.
Garcia was picked up driving Harvey’s Lexus.
suspecting immediately after and knowing before hand are two separate things.
and no, the family isn’t very smart.
Wendi lacks emotional intelligence.
Charlie does not know how to plan a hit
Donna should not have been writing checks, just dealing in cash.
Harvey’s bt may have compromised him. he shouldn’t have been okay with his cars being in his name and driven by other people (in any scenario).
Well the other scheme involved paying Dan $1MM and this one was significantly cheaper $100K before all the other goodies got tacked on with KM’s requests.
I do not think that Willie Meggs can charge the in-laws because he knows their high priced attorneys would eat him alive
High priced attorneys aren’t going to save Donna and Charles Adelson if Katherine Magbanua rolls over on them. If this wasn’t family hit, it makes no sense whatsoever. The phone tree runs from Garcia to Magbanua to Charles Adelson to his mother and includes a large mass of calls. The mother signed the checks to Katherine Magbanua. Magbanua’s precise role has been delineated by Luis Rivera. Security camera footage demonstrates that her employment with the dental practice was fictional. Katherine Magbanua’s interests now lie in copping a plea.
Agreed. Meggs is playing the long game, here. He can afford to bide his time.
@bam bam, October 22, 2016 at 7:01 am
“You can’t be serious.”
I know it seems counter-intuitive to overlook violently criminal acts inflicted on innocent people, if for no other reason than the fact that it would seem to invite future criminal violence against innocent people, but having the wisdom to “look forward and not backward” is why President Obamabush gets paid the big bucks, and you and I don’t.
I too am interested to find out what really happened. I can see a possibility where we never learn the full truth. If the prosecutors can’t prove which Adelson was involved (a possibility) they walk. Or maybe some walk. (or maybe there is a far-fetched scenario where KM engineered this, but given that her MO seems to be cash (for boob jobs and other) that seems unlikely).
Re: Wendi, as I said the other day she is either delusional about her family members (or covering for them), totally checked out of reality or as was pointed out, perhaps the master conspirator.
She definitely has a slippery relationship with the truth and reality (see post from the other day where I gave concrete examples); at the same time, she has some self awareness. Her comment in that podcast about how she finds it easier to write about her emotions rather than process her emotions in real time rang true. She openly acknowledges she has inappropriate reactions to traumatic situations. She made an interesting comment about how she wishes she could merge her writer self and her verbal self “so they could be less of a weirdo”.
This to me would cut for some interpretation where she was more of a passive actor in this crime- as someone noted, per King Henry II, made plaintive cries of “won’t someone rid me of this meddlesome pest” with no concern that someone might heed her words.
I do see per Travis above where Magbanua was extremely manipulative — she appears to have preyed on extreme emotions of Garcia (fixation on her) and Adelson (extreme dislike of brother-in-law). I do not excuse Charlie (accounts suggest he mixed with a bad element long before the crime), but I can see that Magbanua may have gotten him to cross a red line so she had an annuity for life. She probably wasn’t too into Charlie either, but since he wouldn’t marry her, with this scheme, she got the benefit of his money without having to be married to him.
There you go again. This is absurd.
listen step- you see black and white and are intolerant of any view other than your own. I see shades of gray. Charlie appears to be up to his eyeballs. I think travis is on to something- KM saw a biz oppty. charlie may not have had that many connections to facilitate this insanity. she no doubt, encouraged it. think about it. charlie talked about doing it and may have prospected. KM could have pushed him over the line. I go back to what I have been saying, why would a failry educated and prominent family be stupid enough to set themselves up for blackmail. it boggles the minds of many.
I’m intolerant of utter idiocy, whether it’s Morgan Reynolds insistence that thousands of people on the ground in lower Manhattan cannot tell the difference between a jetliner and a Cessna or whether it’s your insistence that Katherine Magbanua cooked up this scheme to be able to blackmail Donna Adelson, who then shoots herself in the foot by actually paying blackmail rather than turning KM & co. over to the cops.
you are misrepresenting what I am saying. at any point, any party could have said, this is an idiotic idea. there is circumstantial evidence that KM whipped SF into a frenzy and listening to CA going on and on, she could have egged him on. I am not denying agency with one or more of the A’s. if they were paying her it is almost certainly because they agreed to this. shades of grey. KM is a pretty ruthless character, not merely poor mary in the middle.
CA is even more ruthless. KM is a manipulator.
I know for a fact that the Adelsons are reading these threads.
Hey Charlie. Bad boys bad boys….
since they have trouble perceiving how they are viewed (Wendi: I hope the Rivera and Garcia arrests bring closure (even though Garcia is the father of the kids of the woman who dated my brother and was on the phone with him and took checks from the family business) what better source to get feedback than blog comments.
in any event, so far it doesn’t look like anyone posing as them have posted- maybe “Art Deco” but probably not.
You bring up an interesting set of points. I watch the video and can see different interpretations of her demeanor and behavior. It feels like she has a guilty conscience though.
Thanks. Let’s go to your different interpretations of the tape for a sec:
#1) WENDI HAD ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN THAT DAY
* this would mean she made the quip to the tv repairman on purpose, knowing she would be telling it to an investigator later in the day with some kind of reverse psychology that she hopes the fact that she said it shows she isn’t guilty because who would say such a thing if they were planning it? She drove by the house before going to lunch with girlfriends and sat through lunch looking present and in the moment so no one can later say she looked like anything had just happened and acts this way at lunch knowing the cops may find her at any time to talk to her and that lunch may be over at a moment’s notice.
* she knew what was going to happen, fingers her brother and lacasse in one fell swoop just in case anyone thinks of that. but also says there is no way her brother would do that, just for good measure, just so she looks forthcoming.
* told Lacasse about her brother and a hitman earlier because she figured, again, reverse psychology, she would be unlikely to talk about it and then actually have something to do with it.
#2) WENDI HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN THAT DAY.
* Her brother made a joke about the tv and the hitman, she repeats it to tv guy THAT MORNING. (later when interviewed, she makes sure to mention it so the repair man doesn’t finger her later because she realizes this could make her look suspicious. she muses out loud that her whole family didn’t like Dan, the way he treated her, but says her family wouldn’t do such a thing. She suggests Lacasse because that is what pops into her head. She can’t imagine what just happened.
* she previously told Lacasse her brother was thinking of hiring a hitman (why say it if it utimately is going to happen or does happen (or even if it was a passing thought, why admit to it) knowing Lacasse will tell the cops about the conversation later?
—————————–
I keep coming back to this: In what universe do all 4 Adelsons sit and plot this thing. Does not one say, hey maybe murder isn’t a good idea. Hey, maybe it’s not worth jeopardizing Wendi’s legal career? And if Wendi is involved, does she not have the wherewithal to say, no phone calls, nothing traceable? Don’t call back to Miami or to the link between the hitmen and our family- namely KATHERINE. And oh, by the way, use burner phones if you do.
It would have to mean she is THAT STUPID.
Or maybe Wendi is so spoiled and self-absorbed that she thinks everyone wants to commit murder for her.
She certainly sounds that way, doesn’t she?
Hot off the press:
http://abovethelaw.com/2016/10/the-dan-markel-case-is-katherine-magbanua-cutting-a-deal/
we have been getting info faster on this site than on ATL. nothing too exciting here. We know Katherine said SOMETHING. ironically, I don’t think they would have had nearly that much on her if she had said nothing whatsoever as it would have just been the say-so of Rivera.
Rv: So KM is squealing is the thought?
Of all her comments, “maybe someone somehow thought this would be good for me” (I paraphrase here) was the whoa Nelly. Well Wendi who would that be now?
I think they were all enamored with CA’s access to the seedier side of town. They totally misjudged the people they hired. For all we know KM told CA that her boyfriend was a real pro hitman. But in reality he is a thug, bad guy criminal etc. But he wasn’t a pro.
He was a pro at drinking, drugging, longing for KM and fixing auto fuel lines. Hit man not so much. KM realizes CA is not gonna ever be with her long term. So she out of desperation does this for her Sugga daddy.
I think she did it for the money. Period. well and the boob job.
And to keep that D in her life.
I believe that the clinical term for someone who reacts inappropriately to traumatic situations is “sociopath”.
I don’t agree. There are people who react inappropriately to traumatic situations who are not killers and have inappropriate affect. Amanda Knox, (Burke Ramsey, ostensibly). etc.
Sociopaths are cold blooded and calculating. If they are very intelligent, they avoid implicating themselves.
The more that dribbles out I feel there was some kind of dysfunction in the Adelson family, triggered by excessive rage. I can also see a scenario where Magbanua manipulated both Garcia and Charlie per the above.
I see Wendi as having some dysfunction, but not necessarily to point of directing a hit. (Again, if she was really saying that, Lacasse should have talked her off the ledge and immediately terminated his relationship with her)
It is possible that she was in it up to her eyeballs, but I can see another scenario where she leaned on her family heavily, they had their own interest in this (and their own dysfunction) and something unthinkable was set in motion.
Being a sociopath does not mean that you are a killer, or even a potential killer. But Wendi’s behavior seems to fall pretty neatly into the pattern of a sociopath.
See here:
http://hubpages.com/health/True-Sociopath-Responses-Its-All-About-Me
you may both be right,. I had seen her as potentially a victim of her screwed up family dynamics. the question is, are all 4 Adelsons sociopaths?
I’ve written before that the crime was the function of Dan having NPD and that conflciting with the sociopathy of one or more of the A’s
the proverbial what happens when an immovable object meets an irresist-able force.
but also- being in denial, self absorbed does not mean one is a sociopath necessarily. I am willing to suspend some doubt- but I suspect even if Wendi were up to her eyeballs in it, her family will protect her (she never made the phone calls after all) and no one will be able to prove it.
She spoke to her brother over the phone for 20 minutes the morning of the murder. By some accounts, she took a circuitous route to her lunch date that day which took her right by that neighborhood. The manual operators in this plot certainly were of the opinion that she was cognizant of what was up. If KM pleads, we may see what’s under the Wendi rock.
Do you know if Wendy went to the lunch date and drive by the scene before or after he was murdered? Did she speak to her brother before Daniel was murdered? Even if Katherine fingers Wendy, the prosecutors may still not have enough for a conviction. If the Adelsons never confess and Katherine has no proof of discussion with them, if they have a sharp lawyer, they may be able to wriggle out of this. Was Katherine not working for them before all this happened? She may have had some legit paperwork function at the Adelson institute.
The police are of the view that there is sufficient evidence to convict Charles Adelson and his mother. The district attorney disagrees. If Katherine Magbanua is willing to give a precis of the content of those calls between her and Charles Adelson, I cannot imagine they’d be acquitted unless her account could be discredited under cross examination. About Wendi, do not know.
She drove by the scene after the murder and spoke to Charlie before the murder. Rivera says in his confession that he was curious how Magbanua had already known that Dan had been killed when Garcia called her. I wonder why Wendi drove 9 miles out of her way to Dan’s neighborhood shortly after the murder.
see 2 scenarios comment above. if she drove by to check on hit and verify it had really happened, that would mean she sat through lunch with her girlfriends relaxed as an open clam, knowing at any time it might end when police find her to inform her.
if that’s true, she is cold as ice. the other interpretation is she really had NO IDEA.
I doubt it was 9 miles. The city averages about 11 miles across and there’s little or no tract development in Leon County outside city limits.
The 9 miles is from Wendi’s place on Aqua Ridge Way to The Market Place at Timber Lane, via Centreville Rd. If you track Wendi’s place on Aqua Ridge Way to The Market Place where she had lunch, you’ll see there’s a much more direct route (around 4 miles) than the one she took by Trescott to go to the ABC liquors on Thomasville. If she was in Dan’s neighborhood to get a bottle of booze, she could have just gone to Market Place Liquors where she was having lunch.
John – one thing that men do not understand is that women do not shop where it is convenient, they shop where the best deal is or where they can get exactly what they want. Women shop, men buy. My wife can spend 2 hours grocery shopping and only buy $20 worth of stuff. I would have picked that up in 15 minutes.
According to Google maps, the swing by Trescott Dr. adds an extra 3.2 miles. Something to think about in context, but not 3x the direct route.
Correction, adding the liquor store adds 4.4 miles. The whole trip is 9.1 miles rather than 4.7 miles.
Troll
Wendi is an attorney and even though she was under stress I do not think she would make the statements she did if she was aware of the plan. The parents are smart enough to leave her out of the circle. Of course, you have to be stupid to think you can get away with this…
Wendi’s experience with criminal practice was just about nil.
A naive, self-absorbed person who lacked familiarity with criminal defense practice (and hadn’t practiced law in any real sense of the word) might have thought it was a good strategy for deflecting suspicion.
Her specialty has been immigration law. Lately she’s been clerking for a judge in south Florida.
It is suspicious that Wendy decided not to be in California with Jeffrey Lacasse. Almost like she found out when the hit was going down, she needed to be in town to pick up the boys after the hit. In the interview is when the police said Daniel was shot, she didn’t get upset until they said not going to survive. There is a part in the video where she motions for the policeman to keep telling the story almost as if she knew what he was going to say. It is suspicious too, that when she first heard about him being shot that she didn’t immediately say “where are my boys”, are they okay? The policeman had to tell her later that there was police at the nursery school. That would have been the logical first reaction.\
To some extent, I think you’re connecting dots which are just dots. There’s reason to believe this woman is bloody guilty, but these data would reinforce other proofs. Nothing more.
Agree with your observations.
Wendi wrote a book bashing her husband and then publicly and vocally complained that her husband never read the book in which he was bashed. Stupid + self-absorbed.
Amanda Knox was doing stretching exercises while waiting in the police station and asked to demonstrate some by a police official on duty. She wasn’t at a requiem Mass.
Burke Ramsey? He was interviewed by police officials. Nothing remarkable there. They cleared him in part because he let slip nothing which indicated he had any idea his sister had been killed. They hadn’t told him they’d found her body in the basement. He thought she was missing.
Sociopath is apt. Somebody in Paul Caron’s comment section mentioned that Dan told him Wendi’s picture is on the cover of the book.
Sociopaths do not tend to be self-deprecating. and people can do crazy things even if they aren’t a sociopath. at least one person in the family is, probably.
trolling trolling trolling
Sociopaths can try to mimic self-deprecation. But it usually comes out sounding weird and self-indulgent. Think of Wendi’s attempted quip about “late-ex spouse” sounding like “latex spouse”.
Per my source at TPD next week at the Adelson practice should be very busy. And what about the staff who will be out of a job?
I believe thehy will get Charlie but not the others. The Adelson family will survive and the Markels are having a pipe dream they will all be in jail and they can have their children.
The Markels’ “pipe dream” would be to have their son back. Don’t forget that, even if one or two of the Adelsons dodge going to prison, there will still be a civil aspect to this. The Markels could bring a wrongful death suit (much lower burden of proof) on behalf of the children, or ask to be appointed the children’s guardians. I’m sure there are more possibilities.
Wendi is guilty as sin.
I tied to book an spot and CA is out of the office indefinitely. I asked is he trading in his scrubs for some orange ones?
Donna signed the checks. Cannot believe they can collar the son and not the mother. Also, the no-show job KM had with the Adelson practice would have been under Donna’s nominal supervision.
I don’t think it’s a pipe dream. Family court is a court of equity. No clue what a judge would do, but a custody determination would not require a criminal conviction of Wendi. Still, when you say ‘the law is an ass’, you’re most likely thinking of family court.
it’s an interesting point. could the Adelson’s be found together to be liable civilly for the death of Dan Markel…. I would think Wendi would have to be as well to lose custody.
There seems to be more plausible deniability (superficially) for Wendi. Can’t convict her just on basis of being an @sshole for the name change.
I don’t think there are enough phone conversations connecting Wendi to the others. The biggest red flag is that the other A’s knew Dan’s schedule from Wendi- the gym, when he was leaving town, when he had custody.
They will protect her.
It all depends on what comes out from these other “conversations” but I tend to agree with Writer that Wendi will keep custody. I wonder what the law is on grandparents’ rights in Florida. If there are any, the Markel’s could petition for visitation, and I can only think that if there is no law and they haven’t done so, that they wanted to avoid tangling with Donna whilst the investigation was going on.
You forget that Magbanua will sing and will surely implicate Wendi Adelson, she’s done it already according to Garcia thru Sigfredo over the phone, now she’ll just do it directly.
LOL as if Wendi’s going to make bond after they arrest her and her family. What do you think that leaked email was about.
The question would be whether KM communicated with WA. KM certainly recognized WA from a description and could readily have crossed paths with her during WA’s visits to south Florida. Jeffrey LaCasse knew things about Charlie Adelson’s circle of friends which suggest direct observation while on trips to south Florida (though he could be just offering a precis of what Wendi had to say about her brother’s friends). Again, there’s some indication that KM may have been kept apprised of events in Tallahassee by an informant other than Sigfredo Garcia. There’s only one candidate for that role.
OJ Simpson was found civilly liable for the death of Nicole Brown. The Browns did not get custody of Sidney and Justin – OJ did. I do believe Wendi will maintain custody and the Markels will not get it.
The Browns had a guardianship over the children, but not physical custody. No one in OJs social nexus was implicated in Nicole’s murder, just OJ himself. That’s California, not Florida, and some of the decisions favorable to OJ were slapped down by appellate courts in California.
in the WorldAccordingToStep, OJ did not have custody of his kids after he was acquitted. Sheesh.
Do tell?
My source only told me KM has sat down with investigators and fingered some or all of the Adelsons. Source would not tell me who or how many. Suffice to say source told me to check my Markel google search this upcoming week.
It doesn’t matter if katherine fingered Wendy. The family will circle the wagons and say that she had nothing to do with it. How would Katharine know as she and Wendy do not appear to be calling each other. They don’t have a case against Wendy.
They don’t have a case against Wendy.
Or their cards are close to the chest re Wendi. (who was talking to her brother that very morning). Magbanua’s report of what CA told her re Wendi would, I suspect, be defined as hearsay. It might be an interesting piece of information for a family court to consider, however.
I am surprised Charlie did not off Katherine since he had since May and she was demanding a boat and a Ferrari.
My spouse and I have posted on other thread that her life was in imenant per my sources. Thus, they picked her up asap after LR turned states evidence.
What an expletive deleted mess.
Jen it will be interesting to see. I still think that even if Wendi is arrested she will never be convicted. I still think magbanua had a hold on charlie- she was probably his sole link to finding a hitperson. The smart money would have been on him cutting her loose over the summer if he could have. maybe he thought he could pay her enough money to let sigfredo fry in prison. but once they were taped meeting – all bets were off.
RV—I agree with you. The Leon county court site is down!!! Possibly a flood of web traffic.
I bet the Marshalls are at the practice now.
Well well Magbanua’s court docket was updated today with murder-second degree.
Hmmmm……
As I said she is signing and arrests coming.
Greg. Can’t get into site are you serious ?
I know some news reports said 1st degree murder she was charged with. Did the docket say “Murder – First Degree”? (It now says “Murder – Second Degree”, but with a “file date” of “10/4/2016”)
Laz – for real
Step – MAGBANUA, KATHERINE DIANA
HOMICIDE-WILFUL KILL MURDER PREMEDITATED
David Lat remarked what it said on the docket as originally entered. It has, in fact, been changed.
Well?
Be patient homeboy.
Based on the evidence that’s been disclosed, so far, ASA Cappleman’s biggest challenge will be linking this plot to Wendi. Magbanua will be able to drop the dime on Charlie and Donna, but it doesn’t seem likely that Magbanua would have first-hand knowledge of Wendi’s involvement. Only Charlie and Donna (and maybe dad) are likely to have that knowledge, but I don’t see them turning on Wendi.
But it is interesting how this plot involves three self-absorbed women – Magbanua, and Wendi and Donna Adelson. Since Wendi’s psyche has been the focus of this discussion, on the basis of the evidence that’s been disclosed to date, and applying a bit of armchair psychology, I’ll spin out some thoughts I’ve been having on Katherine Magbanua and Donna Adelson:
Magbanua’s motive seems to have been pure greed. She was a wanna-be social climber who saw a long-term meal ticket in Charlie, but perhaps Charlie was too much of a dedicated playboy bachelor to take her seriously and marry her. Of course, I’ve never known a previously unmarried man who was enthusiastic about having to raise someone else’s children. For Magbanua, it must have come as a hard realization that her window of opportunity for social-climbing was over.
Magbanua became familiar with Wendi’s situation and the Adelsons’ feelings towards Dan, and she saw an opportunity to give Charlie something for which he was willing to pay dearly. She probably told Charlie that she could arrange everything with her “ex,” Garcia. Charlie was too stupid to realize that Magbanua would be able to effectively blackmail him and Donna in perpetuity.
Magbanua also knew how to punch Garcia’s buttons. The evidence is unclear about whether they were living together prior to the murder, although it seems that they were back together after the murder. Based on Rivera’s statement, it looks like Magbanua played Garcia to the point that he was willing to do anything to get her back, and to get paid what looked to a lowlife like a good amount of cash. Charlie would be caught in the permanent position of having to keep Magbanua happy.
Donna comes off as a domineering and controlling matriarch who probably contributed to Wendi’s divorce by poisoning her mind against Dan. Donna probably saw herself as the only person in the world who was capable of making Wendi happy, and it must have driven her mad to think that she didn’t have any control over the lives of Wendi and her grandkids.
A woman like Donna Adelson is used to getting her way, completely oblivious to the emotional toll her attitude and demeanor take on those around her (think of a more sinister version of self-absorbed character Larry David plays in Curb Your Enthusiasm). In other words, it was Donna’s world; those around her were just living in it. When the opportunity to knock off Dan presented itself, I’d guess that her only questions were, Will it work, and how much will we have to pay?
The thing I have a hard time understanding is how Charlie and company would not see that they would be subject to blackmail for life. KM wouldn’t have said something absent Garcia and/or Rivera being caught (why implicate herself), but if they were… and take the fact that they didn’t use burner phones, used real name at rent-a-car place, stopped in places with security cameras on the way back….
These are things that stop people who might be inclined, from committing crimes.
A reader of the Daily Mail article expressed this sentiment well:
Simply-blue, Anywhere but here, United States, 1 month ago
Maybe if the family was educated they wouldn’t have chosen crime as the solution. Oh wait, nevermind..
www [dot] dailymail [dot] co [dot] uk/news/article-3793767/You-better-kill-chilling-calls-slain-Florida-professor-s-laws-undercover-agent-posed-hit-man-s-brother-sting-operation-investigate-murder-hire-plot.html#ixzz4Nowh5nVm
So sad for the Markel family. Dan deprived of raising his kids, remarrying a real woman ( not a conniving evil one) and living the life he deserved. Hard to contemplate the heartbreak and suffering of his family and unimaginable to think of how evil the Adelson family is.
Linda Amen. That is by far the best comment ever.
Probably the Adelsons are not “evil.” Evil would be
those who permitted, encouraged or orchestrated
the use of Wendi, Dan and their minor children as tools
in complex family litigation. Markel’s death, all these
investigations of family members, dislocation of children,
and ruination of this family and extended families, all began
apparently when a Florida family court, tragically, did not have the
wisdom, training or human decency to: treat separating/divorcing
parents (Wendi and Dan) equally, and with dignity and respect;
ensure their compliance with an inter-parent communication
plan; and above all, to require that all issues in their separation/
divorce action be handled strictly through non-adversarial
methods of dispute resolution (mediation). When it comes
to cases of separation/divorce between biological parents
of minor children, the use of adversarial litigation, while very
lucrative for family lawyers, is known, and considered by all
well-recognized modern research and studies, to be generally
extremely harmful to the family members directly impacted,
typically poverty-inducing and often deadly. Ascertain who
permitted, orchestrated or profited from use of child custody/
access litigation between Wendi and Dan, and you have
the identity of the principal perpetrators, and the primary
killers (“hit men”) in this case.
The mother of 2 little boys whose father has been murdered does NOT change their last names – nor the middle name of one of the boys which was after the father’s grandmother. There was deliberate intent in her behavior and heart to erase Dan’s existence from his sons’ lives. This is so egocentric and unfeeling. Unbelievable.
Karen S, October 21, 2016 at 2:25 pm
“I am disappointed in so many peripheral people in this fiasco. If Jeffrey Lacasse, Dan Markel’s doppleganger, heard a credible story about his girlfriend’s brother looking into a hit man against his fellow professor, why didn’t he call the police?”
Perhaps he was reluctant to do so from fear of being labeled a “conspiracy theorist.” After all, right-thinking people know that Americans rarely, if ever, conspire to perpetrate evil deeds against their fellow Americans, and no one wants to look foolish, especially in public.
What now appears to have been a “conspiracy” among these Americans to commit murder was probably just a complex set of chance events, coincidences, and/or a desire to protect the children.
Any exchange of money between the family and their acquaintances, even if acknowledged or documented, would probably be irrelevant to the unfortunate demise of Professor Markel.
Hopefully, everyone concerned, including the police, will look forward, rather than backward in this matter and put this unfortunate incident behind them and move forward in a forward-looking way, in order to keep the family members and their friends from having to look over their shoulders and lawyer up, when they were probably only trying to do their job, i.e., protect the children.
Gimmie a break.
Read the article, there was no coincidence. Dan was hunted by two gang member who traveled to Tallahassee for the purpose of killing him so Wendi could have full custody. If anyone was trying to protect the kids it was Dan who petitioned the court to have Donna Adelson’s access restricted.
You can’t be serious.
Some people need new sarcasm detectors.
The poor kids.
I am disappointed in so many peripheral people in this fiasco. If Jeffrey Lacasse, Dan Markel’s doppleganger, heard a credible story about his girlfriend’s brother looking into a hit man against his fellow professor, why didn’t he call the police? Or tell his girlfriend that should anything happen to Professor Markel, he would immediately go the police?
And Magbanua, a mother, conspiring to take the father away from 3 children is so heartless. There have been no allegations, that I know of, of Professor Markel abusing his children.
And it is inappropriate and vulgar to write a book in order to bash your ex-husband, unless he is some convicted murderer or other serious threat to public safety. But if those two did not get along, fell out of love, or began to dislike each other, she should not have embarrassed or aired dirty laundry in a book that her children will have access to when they grow up. That’s wrong. One of the cardinal rules of dating is to treat your partner with some class when you go your separate ways. Unless there was some kind of abuse, you just say you didn’t work out and move on. Sure, you can cry on the shoulder of your closest, discrete, confidants, but you don’t go broadcast what bothered you about him to the entire world. This is especially vital to teenager learning how to be classy men and women. You don’t bash some ex or make fun of him or her after you break up. You part with class and you save that person’s dignity, so you can smile and wave at each other when you pass by over the years.
As for the crime itself, I held out hope that at least the mother was not involved, because that would be such a cruel, hateful act against her own children. But it’s looking worse and worse for her. Apparently, Professor Markel’s request for supervised visits with the grandparents was entirely well founded.
I just pray that the kids have a soft place to land and try to heal from all this. Perhaps the paternal grandparents far, far away, where they can go to school without the notoriety constantly in the background. I hope they do not post photos of the kids in the news. No child victim wants that kind of recognition.
I am disappointed in so many peripheral people in this fiasco. If Jeffrey Lacasse, Dan Markel’s doppleganger, heard a credible story about his girlfriend’s brother looking into a hit man against his fellow professor, why didn’t he call the police? Or tell his girlfriend that should anything happen to Professor Markel, he would immediately go the police?
He isnt Markel’s doppelganger. He’s got sandy hair and a large nose and wears glasses and is about the same age. His speech and mannerisms are less masculine and dignified than Markels and he is a less accomplished faculty member.
He immediately dropped the dime on her after Markel was killed. One of the available interviews with him was conducted just days later with Tallahassee police. With scant doubt, he did report the conversation to police as it happened because he could scarcely believe it possible. It’s the stuff of detective fiction, not mundane life.
Btw, Markel had two children, not 3.
I had the same question on Lacasse. He generally appears credible, but if at the time he thought she was really serious, he should/would have said something. We don’t know exactly what was said at the time. Perhaps it was another, my brother was joking about hiring a hitman. Maybe he saw the comment in a new light after the murder.
Or, he’s bitter because she dumped him…..?
KMs attorney—curious about who is paying him – docket suggests he is paid counsel.
What if the Adelsons set up a secret trust for Katherine and Sigfredo’s kids. Would they be quiet for the good of their children? Their lives are probably screwed no matter what.
Source told me that the reward reduction was due to the Adelsons pulling the money they would have paid. It was their way of covering their arses.
Thanks, Jen. No point keeping up the pretense.
it’s a question!
“..If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, make an ugly woman your wife.
If you want my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you…”
(Anorexic-looking self-absorbed long haired blondes, not so much…)
Awfully large pair of jugs for an anorectic.
I am going to write KM whilst she is in prison.
It comes as no surprise that Wendi was implicated. Too credulous to think otherwise.
The good think is newpaper readage is dropping so they will be able to pick a jury.
See Paul Caron’s review of This is Our Story posted yesterday. He makes the case that the book telegraphs Wendi’s attitudes and aims (made manifest over the succeeding three years).
Wendi has been vocal about her irritation with her husband for refusing to read it. One observer speculates he did read portions of it, but decided diplomatically to pretend he hadn’t because the literary quality was low or because he recognized himself as the model for a character in the work who is flayed by the author.
One does get the impression about Wendi Adelson that she had an abnormally congenial upbringing, and that left her rather disoriented re what you can reasonably expect from your work life or your domestic life. Her mother and her brother appear to be similarly disoriented, if not about their own lives, than about little sister’s.
When do you guys thinks the Adelsons get picked up?
The police wanted to arrest and charge Donna and Charles Adelson. The DA has been more conservative, saying the time was not ripe given their information set; the prosecutor handling the case has not offered an opinion. Garcia’s lawyers are reassessing their strategy now that Rivera has pled guilty. I suspect if Katherine Magbanua pleads and tells what she knows, at least two Adelsons will be placed under arrest. The scuttlebut has been that all the Adelson’s were told to surrender their passports some months ago. They’re definitely a flight risk. It took some months to put together the plea deal with Rivera, so if KM is to plead guilty, it may be a while. OTOH, Garcia’s trial is due to open on 9 December, so perhaps everything goes down before then. Not my trade.
Charles Adelson was in Mexico in July, so I think you are misinformed about surrender of passports.
It was after that Charlie. Way to spin it murderer.
Too bad he is not in Mejico now. He is going down.
To bad he is not there now. He should have stayed and not came back. Opportunity lost.
I doubt that Mexico would protect him….he’s not one of their citizens.
He was in Cancun very recently per the discussion at Websleuths.
He might shoulda stayed. Or bone up on his Spanish. I think the Latin Kings will wanna shank and spank him.
Word on the street is that Charlie just got a new Atty and is no longer using his friend.
You mean, since August?
http://abovethelaw.com/2016/08/the-dan-markel-murder-case-the-adelson-family-speaks/
Maybe things have changed, but when I went to Mexico about 20 years ago, I didn’t need a passport. (Same with Canada.) In fact, I didn’t show anything to get into Mexico, it was only when I came back to the U.S. that I needed to show I.D. I showed them my federal employee badge and was waived in. But maybe you need a passport now…..don’t know.
You’ve been strongly opining about what happened here and you just now read the PCA?