Transcript of The After Show: Meddler or Murderer?

Hi there, everybody. Welcome to 2020 The After Show. I'm Deborah Roberts. And as always, thank you so much for spending some time with us. We are going to peel back the layers on our most recent 2020. And this one, I have to tell you, this one will really get you thinking and talking. It is the shocking case of a family down in South Florida who, and we say this all the time, but really seem to have it all. The Adelsons, they had power, they had money. They had status in their South Florida community. A number of people knew who they were. But it turns out behind closed doors, there was a dark side that was there. A murder for hire plot actually left the son-in-law of Donna Adelson dead. He was shot at point-blank range while sitting in his car, shot in the head. A really horrible story. Many of us remember this story. He was a law professor down in Florida, and I remember remember when this story broke, and so many were wondering, what could possibly happen? Who would be a criminal mastermind to want this father of two dead? Well, that was the question we posed in our 2020 episode.

Our veteran producer, Tammy Shahari, is here, and She worked on this story. Our team has been following this case for a very long time, almost a decade. And, Tammy, you brought it home here most recently. Well, first of all, welcome.

Thank you, Deborah. It's so nice to be here.

Good to have you. First time doing the podcast. It is. Yeah. Well, you and I are often talking in the hallway, in our conference rooms, talking about the stories that we're working on. And you are known, Tammy, for really getting into the details, whether it's life here at ABC News in general or whether it's our stories. You are really known for these details. And this story really required a lot of tipping off police, co-conspirators. I mean, this story had so much going on there. What was it initially? Okay, the team had been working on this for a while, and you joined in the last couple of years or so. A story that many were talking about around the country, this college professor shot dead. Clearly, it's an intriguing story because he comes from a family of some power. What were your first thoughts when you were brought into the story?

My first thoughts when I was brought into the story was, wow, this is crazy. The amount of twists and turns, the length that people would go to get what they want, especially coming from this really powerful family. They seemingly They had everything. As you mentioned earlier, they had wealth, they had status, they had a loving, tight knit family. Some of them, having resorted to murder, was just shocking to learn about. Also, as I also came into this project and joined the team of people, I learned that there are so many moments of actuality. And what does that mean to us? Actuality is undercover investigations. It's phone calls that were taped. It's trials. It's emails. You feel almost like you're really getting into these people's lives. You read their personal emails, and all of that really is voluminous to go through.

Temi, let's go back and look into Dan Markel's life. So even before he married into this family, Donna and Harvey were seemingly a happily married couple down in Florida. He's a prominent dentist. She actually managed his business. They had three children, successful by all means, Wendy, Charlie, and Rob. Wendy, they are trying to get her matched up, and she and her mom actually wind up going on one of those dating websites and find this guy. Tell us a little bit about that.

Donna Adelson was quite literally the family matriarch. She made decisions for her family. She was the office manager. She managed her children's lives. In fact, on Wheel of Fortune, she described herself as the family manager.

She was on Wheel She was, yes.

That's crazy. And the word that she uncovered was mischief maker. A little bit prophetic there. Donna really was a big part of the family's lives and running it. And yes, she sat down with Wendy. They looked at JDate, which is a Jewish dating website. They picked out a suitable husband, and sure enough, Wendy winds up marrying him.

Well, let's talk about it first. They see this guy. He's Harvard-educated. They feel like he would be a great match for Wendy. Yes. They both agree on that.

They both agree on it, and it works out. Yeah.

Two years later?

Two years later.

They wind up getting married.

They get married. They have two kids. They move to Tallahassee, to a neighborhood, a lovely neighborhood called Beton Hills. It's right by FSU, where Dan Markel has secured a job as a law professor there. Wendy also works for the college. She is also an attorney. So it seems like everything's going Great.

And life is going pretty well for them. But then as the years go on, clearly, things do not go so well. And what was it, six or seven years later, they wind up getting a divorce?

Seven years into this marriage, and This was not something Dan was expecting. He does conferences for FSU. He travels around the country. And on one of those conferences, he gets a phone call, and it's his wife, Wendy, telling him, I'm divorcing you. He rushes home.

He's like, Please don't- He's blindsided.

Totally blindsided. He rushes home to find a house half emptied and divorce papers on the bed. Wendy has rented another apartment in Tallahassee and has just moved out, leaving him devastated. He calls it his Pearl Harbor moment.

Wow. So he was really just completely jarred by this incident. So they do wind up going through the motions. And then there's some talk about custody, which is at the heart of a lot of these stories that we cover. If people are splitting up, sometimes there's a big dispute over custody, and that winds up playing a part. So they're arguing and not quite happy with the way things are shaking out.

Both Wendy and Dan, during this bitter, bitter custody battle, have a non-negotiable. That non-negotiable is Wendy wants to go back down to Miami to be closer to her family, Donna and Harvey Adelson, and her brother Charlie. Rob is already living away at that point. He has his own life up in New York as a doctor. So So what happens is Dan Markel also has his own non-negotiable, and that is to stay in Tallahassee. He wants to stay put.

He wants to stay put. And he wants the children, and she wants the children. So this is all going on, and And then July 18th, 2014, Dan is found shot in the head. He dies shortly after at the hospital. This is clearly an intentional killing. Police began questioning family, as they always do. They began questioning Wendy. Right away, there are some things that start to evolve here.

Right away, police bring Wendy into the police station for an interview, and they chat with her. And she's very forthcoming. She talks about wanting to move down to Miami. She talks about the bitter divorce and the custody battle. Wendy talks about some family members in a curious manner. In fact, one of the things she says is, My brother Charlie made a bad joke once. Charlie Adelson wanted to get his sister, Wendy Adelson, a divorce present. And he said, I was going to hire you a hitman, but it was cheaper to get you a TV. So instead, I got you this TV. And that TV becomes... It's a very inappropriate joke. And Wendy admits that herself.

Police go on with this investigation, and it goes on for a year or more before they begin to actually make arrest. Tell us a little bit more about that.

Right after Dan Markel was murdered, there was really not Not much of anything for the police to go on. A neighbor had called 911, and he reports that he may have seen a light-colored vehicle, maybe a Prius. So this is super interesting. So what the police do, and it takes them almost two years to do this, They start really investigating. They look at footage. They look at footage that's on city busses.

Surveillance cameras all over.

Correct. And they find this Silver Pine Micca green Prius that has followed Dan Markel to the gym. They find that it's seen coming into the neighborhood and leaving the neighborhood right around the time of the murder. They're able to tell that on this Prius, there's some distinguishing features, including a sun pass. That sun pass leads them all the way back to Miami. This Silva Pine Micah Prius goes through an ATM machine, and there's a clear picture of two men, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, who are the two who turn out to be arrested in in this case. And then they begin to wonder, Well, how are these...

How are these men connected and why?

Exactly. Well, as it turns out, Sigfredo Garcia has an ex-girlfriend. Her name is Katie McBanua, who happens to be the girlfriend of Charlie Adelson.

Aha. It's always interesting to me, Tammy, when we cover these stories, it almost seems like people have gotten away with something. Police are investigating for a while, and it typically comes down to that surveillance video, examining it, finding license plates, finding people. I mean, the fact of it is, their eyes out there everywhere, and people will be spotted. So these three people wind up being arrested It. One of them takes a plea. This story then starts to twist and turn in big ways. So hold on a second because the story doesn't stop there. We're going to tell you more about Charlie and what happens in that case, and also conversations that took this case to a whole different level. So don't go anywhere. This show is supported by Quince. If you're starting the year with a wardrobe refresh, Quince has got you covered. Quince offers lux essentials that look polished and feel effortlessly comfortable. Quince has something for everyone, like designer-quality Mongolian cashmere sweaters, 100% silk tops and skirts that are perfect for dressing up, and perfectly-cut denim for everyday wear. Their Italian wool coats are a standout. They're beautifully tailored, soft to the touch, and built to carry you through years of wear.

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Welcome back 2020, The After Show. We are here with Tammy Shehery, breaking down our most recent 2020 story, which revolves around Florida State University law professor who was killed, Dan Markel, father of two children. Everybody was trying to figure out why this guy would be murdered, but it turns out he had been involved in a bitter custody dispute with his wife, a very powerful family, the Adelsons. Just a very intriguing story. Tammy, we left off talking about the three people who were connected to his murder. There were two men who have been spotted on surveillance camera, and then the ex-girlfriend of one of them, who turns out to be now the girlfriend of Charlie Adelson, the brother-in-law of Dan Markel, who was killed. So they are arrested. One of them takes a plea. Ultimately, they go to court and trial. They are convicted. And then Charlie is eventually arrested as well. Police put this all together and realized he didn't act alone, and he was shocked. He was genuinely surprised that he got pulled into this and the police were onto him.

Yes. In fact, in some of the investigation tapes, Charlie says to Katie McBanua, If they had anything on me, I'd be out of here right now. So yes, Charlie Adelson was very surprised that he was arrested and charged in the murder of Dan Markel.

He winds up being convicted. So he's involved. Basically, the whole notion that he had said to his sister, I might hire a hitman, but I'll get you a TV, clearly came true. Charlie made several phone calls from prison, and we all know that those phone calls are recorded, and people let down their guard all the time, which is really surprising to me. But when we get a chance to listen to these, they're always surprising. Let's play one phone call that may police question Charlie's mother, Donna's involvement.

There's a lot of things that we have to do, and we've got a very tight time frame. We've been looking it up over and over because things change if there is extradition from Vietnam. Because we've looked at all the places. I mean, I could go to Korea and China, but there's no extradition. But we're looking for places where there's no extradition. We're going to be gone. I want her to have all this information. I have a cemetery property. I want her to see all that. I want her to have all these papers and the wills. I want her to see all this.

Temi, that phone call is really pretty shocking. So Donna is talking very freely about fleeing the country.

The interesting thing about this phone call in particular, and Deborah, there were 35 hours of phone calls in just a few days between Charlie's conviction and Donna Adelson's arrest.

Lots of chatting with his mother.

So much chatting with his mother. They talked about ex-girlfriends. They talked about Ruth Markel. There are moments in these phone calls that are very interesting and unexpected. One of the phone calls, and that's the one that we just heard, takes place after Charlie and Donna are having their normal chat, and suddenly she can't hear him anymore. Charlie, are you there? Are you there? Donna forgets to hang up the phone. That phone is recording everything.

The plot thickens during that period.

Investigators hear everything, including what we just heard. She's planning to leave- To leave the country and going to get a one-way ticket to Vietnam.

While they're talking, they use code words. Let's take a listen to another part of that phone call. They had it all. It all looked... It was like she made a TV production. Oh, wait, I said TV again.

What? Don't say that. It's the code word.

I just said TV. Don't say that. Now, what is the code word about TV? What was that all about?

So during Charlie's trial, the prosecutor, Georgia Kappelman, really hones in on how the family was using code words to communicate. Later on in the show, when we saw Donna approached by an undercover FBI agent for the bump, where they're trying to get information out of her, and they want $5,000, Donna Adelson, when she calls her son Charlie, says, You know, while this involves the both of us, and this TV is probably going to cost $5,000. So one might infer that TV is code.

It's the hit.

Yeah. And it's not only Donna Charlie that talk in code. Charlie and his ex-girlfriend at this point, Katie McBanua, also talk about real estate, which is code.

So another code word. We have an expert in our piece talking about people with this criminal behavior, first-time criminals. They think they're being very slick, they think they're being very clever, but oftentimes, they make that major misstep. And that was made in this case, too, with Donna. Donna is making this plan to leave the country. Tell us a little bit about that, because people often think they're going to get away with that perfect crime. And in this case, it certainly wasn't so perfect.

Well, she actually might have gotten away with leaving the country had she not forgotten to hang up that phone call. Once investigators hear that she's planning to leave the country, she's looking for a country without extradition, she wants Wendy to hear where her wills are, where her important paperwork is. They find out when the flight is, and they converge in this huge operation at the Miami International.

At the airport? Yeah. That had to be interesting for the other passengers walking through that airport.

Yes. And she's about to board the flight. She has her passport. She's with Harvey. She has her suitcases. And when the law enforcement comes up to her, she's like, What? She grabs her phone. She doesn't want to give up her phone. Well, that phone is going to turn out to be a very-Incriminate her. Correct.

And Vietnam. Why Vietnam?

Vietnam is a country that she discovered does not extradite, so there's no tradition.

And she figured she could go there and make a life and get away from it all.

Well, if you want to hear what her argument is for that, because she did have an excuse. There's two excuses. One, her friend testified that, well, a one-way ticket is cheaper. Going from Vietnam to the United States, why waste money? And of course, she would want to come back to be at her grandson's bar mitzvah later that year or early the next year.

So now, Donna, a 70-something-year-old woman is being implicated and now arrested in the murder of her son-in-law. And this story just gets crazier and crazier. We're going to come back in a minute, so don't go anywhere, Tammy, and don't you go anywhere, because we're going to talk a little bit about Donna's case. We're going to reveal some exclusive details. Also, you're going to hear from a juror, and you're going to hear from Dan Markel's father, who said some things in the course of this trial, too. So stay with us. More to come.

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Pole to Pole with Will Smith. Series premiere Tuesday, January 13th at 9: 00 on National Geographic. Stream on Disney+ and Hulu. Show me the way. Welcome back to 2020, The After Show. We are here with producer, Tammy Shahari, breaking down our most recent 2020 episode that has so many of us just scratching our heads. I mean, this is one that I think most people in South Florida did not see coming. Now, what's so interesting is 75-year-old, a grandmother, Donna Adelson, now is being implicated in this murder. Police are saying, along with her son Charlie, she was part of hiring a hitman to basically knock off her son-in-law. So she's arrested. And what got me in the episode is, aside from being shocked and stunned over being arrested, Donna's complaining about the conditions in the jail as if she was going to a country club, I guess. I mean, she's going on about the food and gaining weight, no privacy. I mean, that really says a lot about what her mindset was when she was arrested, right?

Donna Edelson is used to a life of luxury, right? She's living in a luxury Miami high rise, and now she's in a pod with other prisoners. A prison cell. In a prison cell, the only high rise she's in is bunk beds. So that's a very stark contrast to where her life has been. It's very different now.

And she's an older woman. At some point, we talk about two of her fellow prison inmates who actually testified against her. So this happens all the time. People are listening. They're talking. They're gleaning information from folks when they're in prison, and they actually do, too. What do they reveal about her?

Two inmates who are in the Lyon County Jail with Donna Adelson wind up testifying against her. One of those inmates was Patricia Bird. And what Patricia Bird says really shocked the court. There was a gasp in the courtroom when she says it. She says Donna told her that this whole thing with Dan Markel wasn't supposed to go that far. Everyone gasped. It was a moment.

Yeah, that was pretty damning. It was very damning. Testimony there. Donna did not testify, which she obviously had every right not to.

It's really important to remember that there's really no direct evidence linking Donna Adelson to the murder of her son-in-law. But there is lots of circumstantial evidence, including those checks she wrote to her son's girlfriend who solicited the hitman. Don't forget Donna's planned trip to Vietnam on that one-way ticket, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. So all of this can be used as prosecutors as evidence of consciousness of guilt.

But then, in September of 2025, she is found guilty. The jury finds her guilty on charges of solicitation to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy, and first-degree murder. And she gasped audibly in the courtroom. And there were big questions about whether that was sincere, whether it was a plea to have some sympathy. What did you make of that, Tammy?

Deborah, that was a TV moment, if there ever was one. You hear the judge say guilty. She immediately starts shaking, almost uncontrollably. She says, Oh, my God. And it was really hard, I think, for the jurors because the judge asked her, Donna Adelson, Ms. Adelson, please control yourself. He removes the jury. He lets her become composed, and then he brings back in the jury. She's very, Very upset.

Yeah. A lot of drama there.

So much drama.

Many times in these cases, the sentencing and the victim impact statements can be really memorable because family members who have had to sit silently, finally get a chance to say something. And in this case, after her guilty verdict, Dan's father, Phil Markel, actually gets up and speaks in court and leaves people almost speechless. I mean, he asks Donna, Was that worth it? I mean, he really had quite an impact on the courtroom, didn't he?

Both Ruth Markel and Phil Markel have very, very powerful victim impact statements. They talk about how their lives will never be the same. It's unending grief for both of them. They even bring it out broader. It's not only their loss, but the two children that Donna claims to have cared about so much are now missing not only their father, they're missing an uncle, they're missing another set of grandparents, Donna. And both Ruth and Phil Markel have said publicly that they have very little access to their own grandchildren, to Dan and Wendy's children. And any contact is very tight, and they never really have a natural relationship with them. Visitation. Correct. So that's been really hard for them. So when Phil Markel says to Donna Adelson, Was it worth it? I think that's what he meant. Yeah.

He's really throwing it at her, too, because these lives were forever changed. I mean, these kids, and we've done so many stories with kids who are left without the parent who was killed, and then, of course, now without their grandmother, too. You also talk to a juror in this case, and That's always interesting. It's rare that we get a chance to have them just sit down.

This experience changed the juror that we spoke to. He, in fact, is changing his entire educational path. He will now become an attorney. And he says, based focused on all of the evidence, he told us there wasn't one piece of evidence that really sold Donna's guilt for him. It was the collection of the voluminous evidence. We even discussed earlier, the undercover video, the phone calls, all of that mattered, and they took it into account. And this isn't in the story, but it's behind the scenes. He told us that when they were to take the vote, they didn't want anyone to feel like they couldn't say how they really felt. So they a candy bowl. They all wrote on a piece of paper, they threw it in the candy bowl, and it was unanimous.

Guilty. They all felt that the evidence was clear and compelling. Wow. It's a fascinating one. And it is really, as you said, very sad because there are children whose lives have been changed forever. Tammy, this was great. I hope it wasn't as bad as you thought it might be.

It was awesome talking to you. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Well, me too. It's great that we got a chance to actually peel away some things in a way that was a little deeper than we normally get to because we're working on stories, and you and I are going and coming. But this was really great. Great work on this story.

Thank you. It was so nice to be here.

Tammy, good having you. Well, you can catch our latest 2020, of course, on ABC on Friday nights, and you can stream all of our episodes on Disney Plus and Hulu. So make sure you check us out every week, 2020. Fx is the Beauty.

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