True Crime Vault: First Divorced, Then Dead

0:00On Reddit, true crime doesn't come from journalists. It comes from the victims, the witnesses, and sometimes, the suspects themselves. Every Tuesday on Crimes of Reddit, we read these posts out loud. I'm Sabrina Deanna Roge, and I'm Alexis Linkletter. One of us brings the story, the other goes in blind, reacting in real time, just like you. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Listen to and follow Crimes of Reddit, available now wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the 2020 True Crime Vault. He says, are you sitting down? And I knew right away in his voice that this was not a good story. And what a story. Call this one a love hate triangle, husband, wife, and wife's family. They hate Danny in a way. I've never seen this kind of session.

1:00This wasn't a normal divorce case. Did any of you ever think that it could get violent? Never. A murder mystery we've been following for years. Someone killed the father of my children. First we got divorced, and then he got murdered. Now, finally, a courtroom verdict. I don't want him to think I'm the one convicting him or something. If I say yes, I saw them. And then that puts him in prison for life. The driver's side, window with all bass down. He's inside the car's running. And he's got blood all over his head. It looks like he's been shot at a very close range. What is it? I don't know. Would you ever ask someone to do something like this? I have something I want to tell you, concerned about my sake, with what I'm going to tell you. I do have some ideas. So who did it up here? How motive to Latin Mark L. Den is all family.

2:03They say the wheels of justice turn slowly. All right. In this case, almost 10 years. Or is now in session, the animal judge Stephen Everett now presiding? In many murder trials, there's the deceased and the defendant. The state calls Wendy Aielsen. But this one is unusual because this is a story about a family. Please say and spell your name. Wendy Aielsen, W-E-N-W. One that seemingly has everything, devotion, wealth, influence, and something else. Back in 2014, the Aielsen family had a big problem. And that's so-called problem leads this family here. From the very outset, the state suspected. The Aielsen's, the family. While the defendant's choices helped solve a problem within his family, they came in a very high price. That price, prosecutor, say, was murder.

3:07In the Bible, it says there's exodus. The Jews left Egypt. And I always say the second exodus of the Jews was from New York to South Florida. Michael Weinstein is a criminal defense attorney who grew up in South Florida. My parents came down back in the 70s and it was 30 degrees in New York and 70 degrees here. And that was a pretty easy decision for them. They settled in Coral Springs, a community about an hour north of Miami Beach. Coral Springs is kind of like a suburb of nowhere but there wasn't really a big city that was attached to. Among the Weinstein families, many friends were the Aielsen's. We are the Aielsen! Here's the major art Donna Aielsen appearing on Wheel of Fortune, 1989. I'm a domestic coordinator. I'm responsible for the activities, classes and lessons of my son Robert, who was 16,

4:09Charlie, who was 12, Wendy, who was 10. My husband Harvey, who's in the audience. Harvey Aielsen is someone I've known my entire life. He's a dentist and he was married to Donna. I only had three kids, Robert, Charlie, and Wendy. Harvey was extremely successful dentist. He runs at the Aielsen Institute, Dentistry. Donna helped as the office manager. Donna was always a bright smile. You know, you'd walk into the dental office and she was always warm. You know, walking to her home, it was always clean and maculate. And the kids were always well-behaved and appropriate and dress well and she was always a bright light to those children. By all accounts, the Aielsen children are exceptional. They're smart, athletic, and driven to succeed. The three Aielsen siblings, Robert's the oldest. Rob goes to medical school and falls in love with the fellow student there.

5:09Donna doesn't approve of him marrying her because she didn't have a Jewish background. Rob marries his girlfriend, falls out of favor with his mother and becomes estranged from the Aielsen's. So, bokeh shifts to the younger children, Charlie, and Wendy. They will be central to the story. They were closer in age, so I think Charlie and Wendy were a unit to a certain extent. Charlie and Wendy were at high school at the same time. Charlie was class of 95, one who was class of 97, so two years apart. Darrell Gold went to high school with the Aielsen siblings. Charlie was always kind of a goofy kid in high school. He was a jokester and he was a, I guess, a social butterfly. Charlie went to dental school, got his degree, came back, and then he was helping Harvey in his practice, so it was a father and son practice, and Harvey was successful, but the Charlie help bring it to a new level.

6:13Wendy was always an all-star. He was incredibly bright as a child. She did phenomenally well in high school, incredibly smart, and gregarious, and well loved by everybody. Her friends say she isn't only smart, but also a lot of fun. Characteristics that were on display when she, like her mother, before her appeared on a game show. What if you always wanted to do that? Weakest Link. When I was little, I wanted to be a giraffe. Wendy Aielsen does something little different than everyone in her family, and she goes into law. Wendy has an internship in Washington, D.C., where another young lawyer is just starting out. Danny studied in Harvard under grad. He went to Cambridge England. He went to Israel for a year, and after that he finished law school, and we went to live in Washington. Danny was a very warm person to start with with everybody. He never greeted people with a handshake, was always a hug.

7:15Danny was raised in a conservative Jewish household in Toronto, Canada. So, when in Yiddish he would be a bench real guy with great character and great personality. A young woman in Wendy Aielsen, searched him on J-Date, the Jewish dating service, and she was sitting with her mother Donna, searching for a candidate for her two meets, and so they're looking up Dan Markel. He and Wendy share a passion for the law, and seemed like a great match. There was a really strong connection, and you know, it was really drawn to him. And what did you think of this young woman? She was a very warm, she was a very attractive person, and we were so pleased that, you know, Danny was happy. Wendy's beautiful, she's adorable, she's bright. And it was a beautiful thing to see Danny in love.

8:16You must have been elated. Here's this beautiful, well-educated, bright, warm woman who comes from a great family, who is in love with your son. They're going to make great grandbabies. Everybody should be happy. We were. Wendy and Dan's relationship moves quickly, and in less than a year, they're engaged. They decide to have their wedding in South Florida. Donna Adelson was very involved in the planning of this extravaganza for her only daughter. Danny Markel was devout and his Jewish faith. It was important for him to have a traditional Jewish marriage, specifically in that the wedding be entirely kosher. He was very invested in it, being a kosher wedding, so that the rabbis would be comfortable being there. When Dan's family and friends traveled down from Canada for the big day, they're in for a surprise. Daniel Markel shows up at his own wedding

9:19and discovers that the catering is not kosher. I think he sort of had the rug pulled out from under him because the rabbis were going to have to leave, and I think that was a very devastating moment for him. Donna approached me and she said, Why is Danny so kosher? You're not even that kosher, and she already had started to move towards that as kind of a bit of a divisive issue. Do you think that this is malicious? You know, I think that it was a bit of sabotage, a little bit of lack of respect. There was a third person in this relationship, and that's what we have here. So Donna was the third person in the relationship between Wendy and Danny. Absolutely. Lots of people whose in-laws are paying for the wedding end up with not the wedding of their dream. It's only in retrospect that it looks like a harbinger

10:19of things to cut. After their wedding, Wendy Adelson and Dan Markel settle into a life together, they move to Tallahassee, the capital of Florida. Both Dan and Wendy get jobs at Florida State University Law School. So if you're not from Florida, there's a saying, the farther north you go, the more south you get. Northern Florida is really southern Georgia. When you think about Florida, maybe you think about Disney World. Do you think about Miami with the beaches and the nightlife? And Tallahassee is not seen as that sophisticated. It's a much slower pace here. Dan and Wendy start their life together than this neighborhood called Baton Hills. It is a kind of upscale neighborhood. There's a quiet place. This is where kids run around, you know, ride their bikes up and down the street. And they have, from the outside,

11:21what seems like a pretty adilic life. They were very lovely, happy. We went to dinner once at their house and we left kind of going like, oh my god, like inadequate as a married couple because they were dancing and singing and... And they called each other the bears. The bears, Mr. Bear was Danny and Mrs. Bear was Wendy. In the leafy enclave filled with families, Wendy and Dan start one of their own and they have two boys within two years. Danny was a great father. With all his accomplishments, to me, I'm the proudest of him as a father. His boys were the entire world to him. He was a professor and a demanding job that he traveled. But he managed to arrange his schedule as much as he could to spend a lot of quality time.

12:21They would go to the local pool, they would go to the park. He was really invested in their early growing up years. Dan's career really takes off. He was like a star on the rise. Well Dan Markelle was a passionate guy who cared deeply about learning and teaching. He's a criminal law specialist. Murder, for example, is the kind of law that I think everyone. He could talk for hours about principles of justice and jurisprudence. Issues as a death penalty, criminal justice. Dan starts a blog for law professors. And his friends say it might have made him some enemies. We're in a profession where most of the people are type A personalities. Most people are a little aggressive. Dan likes to argue and he likes to make sure people understood his arguments.

13:21And to Dan's, he'll tell you that he likes to needle people. He likes to push and poke and prod. Well Dan is relishing life in Tallahassee. Wendy is not as content. She's longing for South Florida where her parents and brother live. Under the old adage a happy wife, happy life, he tried to get a job in Miami, which would have been closer to Wendy's parents, and then was unsuccessful. And I was very dispiriting for both, I think, him and Wendy. She was talking to him about being unhappy and he was insisting they had no problems. They had come into their marriage as equals, well-educated lawyers with ambition and promise. But over time her friends say, Wendy begins to feel a sense of imbalance in their relationship, something that she talks about openly on a podcast she does for a writing class. Our marriage dissolved after the children arrived,

14:21as the loneliness of being married to someone that didn't view me as an equal crept in. Gany was brilliant. He was top notch in his field, and I think she struggled with being in his shadow. And I think it was hard for her to navigate her role in the marriage. He was fairly controlling and pretty unkind to my friend. And then I was around on a number of occasions when he put her down, and it was really hard to be around for that. Roughly six years into their marriage, Wendy writes a novel. It's called This Is Our Story. It's a work of fiction, but those close to Wendy notice the parallels to her own life. In fact, Wendy lament stands unwillingness to read her book in her podcast. I do believe he loved me the best way he knew how. I mean, he didn't like fiction, so why read my novel?

15:22It was logic, not a lack of love. In the book, one of her characters was a woman who fell out of love, and perhaps that's why she wanted to read it. My childhood friend Lisa told me this weekend that she never even knew I was unhappy in my marriage. Had no idea I hid it so well. At this point, Dan is traveling frequently for work, while Wendy stays behind, literally and figuratively working and caring for their two young sons. I see Dan, my New York, and he's telling me that he thinks his marriage is unwinding, so I try to encourage him to just stick it out, stay home more, don't go to as many conferences, just try to work your way through it. It's during one of these trips to a conference in New York City that Wendy calls Dan to deliver some devastating news. She says I'm leaving, it's over.

16:24Dan says, please don't do this. We can still work this out. To call him in New York, he changes all his plans, he cancels the lecture, and he gets on a flight to come back to Tallahassee. He walks into the bedroom, and there was divorce papers on the bed. Half the furniture is missing, even half the dining room chairs were gone. He came home to a house that was literally half emptied, even though he was just filing for divorce, but she preemptively took everything, including the kids. Dan called this Pearl Harbor. It was kind of shocking, you know, all of a sudden, he was sneak attack on a Sunday morning, essentially. Even in his wildest imagination, when he's describing what he's taking to be his wife's disengagement, he doesn't think that this is going to happen. Dan, he was devastated from the divorce. This wasn't a normal divorce case.

17:25It was incredibly litigious. I guess you might expect that with two law professors. The accusations are flying at this point. Wendy accuses Dan of hiding assets, while Dan accuses Wendy of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars. He said that she stole assets, wouldn't give back diamond ring from one of his aunts in the Holocaust. It was really acromotives. Wendy accuses Dan of emotional abuse and claims he tells their colleagues at FSU that she has, quote, mental health issues. They each vehemently deny the claims of the other. It was almost like a tennis match, you know, going back and forth where these filings, that only the two of them really were involved in the match at that point. And everybody else was just kind of standing on the outside watching. There was lack of communication. There was ranker. Did any of you ever think that it could get violent? Never.

18:26But there was a third party involved in this divorce. Let's show this f***er what will make him absolutely miserable. Wendy's mother, Donna. Gibb is hasn't beaten the Adelson family yet. Less than seven years after exchanging wedding vows, Wendy Adelson and Dan Marquell are exchanging accusations in divorce court. The divorce got really nasty and I think the boiling point was when Wendy couldn't leave Tallahassee, couldn't relocate to South Florida, Dan wouldn't agree to it. Wendy made it extremely clear to almost anyone who would listen that she did not like Tallahassee, she did not want to live here, and she wanted to move to South Florida. And the only way she could do that is if he agreed or he died. She's allowed to leave him, right? She's allowed to divorce, but she's not allowed to just take his kids and move them seven hours to South Florida.

19:27She filed a motion to relocate the children, and that was flatly denied. The judge ruled over the protests of Wendy and Wendy's family that she could not move to Miami. Donna and Arvy, Wendy's parents had always been actively involved in Wendy's life and in the Grandkids life. It's like 700 miles a day drive, and it was quite inconvenient for them to have to keep going up to Tallahassee. And Donna will be back and forth quite often. When the divorce happens, they maintain a closeness to the situation. They are extremely involved. And the news that Wendy and the kids will not be able to move to South Florida, apparently does not sit well with her mother Donna. Donna began this campaign that she wrote, she's lengthy emails to Wendy. Donna refers to Dan Markella's gibbers, which is clearly a drugatory term. It's time to take control of your life,

20:29and not let gibbers think he's won anything by having you remain in Tallahassee. A month before their next court appearance, Donna sends Wendy a long email suggesting ways to needle her soon to be ex-husband. Remember, this is the woman who helped her daughter find Dan on J-Date eight years earlier. Now Donna says she wants that same man to suffer. Let's show this f***ing what will make him absolutely miserable. You know his weak points, money, religion, control. Donna advocates using religion to pressure Dan. Let gibbers know that your children will be baptized in the Catholic Church. Donna even suggests paying Dan off. We plan to make a financial offer to him to allow this relocation. She suggested to Wendy that they should go three ways to pay Danny a million dollars, her and Harvey, Charlie, and Wendy.

21:31And Donna reminds Wendy she's not alone in this fight. Gibbers hasn't beaten the Adelson family yet. You have a very strong family behind you. Just remember that. I don't think at this point money, threats of Catholic school you name it, and it convinced Dan to be separated from his kids. Although their divorce is technically finalized in July 2013, things aren't over just yet. The following spring, old wounds reopen after the boys visit their grandma, Donna. Donna was telling the boys how stupid their father was. How did Danny even find out that Donna was maligning him to his own children? Yes, told them. This is Danny, what I'm about Donna was saying that you're stupid. And Danny was now getting agitated about the fact that there was just about not going on. That obviously infuriates him. Your ex mother-in-law is trying to poison your kids against you.

22:31He felt like her family was alienating the children from him. So, Dan files a motion that will take Wendy back to court. And he was making the argument to the court that the grandmother should not be able to have the kids unsupervised. They had a lot of issues post-divorce, which made it even difficult to have smooth communications between them. There was lack of communication. Anger, did any of you ever think that it could get violent? Never. Despite the heated language in divorce court, in their personal lives, Dan and Wendy appeared to be moving on. Soon, there was a new man in her life. Wendy was introduced to a social work professor at FSU, Jeff LeCasse. One of the first things that people point out about Jeff is that he looked a little like Dan. Dan is dating as well, and they became relatively serious, too. It was beautiful. He fell in love again.

23:31And that was a nice experience for us, really, to see him in a much better moment, after all of the other things that we're going on. It took a while, but I thought he was really regaining his footage. But that would all change on a hot July morning in 2014. Dan Marquell is on summer break from FSU Law School. He drives the children to the preschool. He drives to premier jam. Dan Marquell is coming back to his home from the gym. He's on the phone. I remember very specifically, he says to me, I have to make one more call. Dan makes that call and is pulling into his driveway. When he notices something unsettling, he says that there's somebody in my driveway that I don't know. And as the man is on the phone, he hears some exchange. Then he hears a muffle, a sound, a grunt. He never hears Dan Marquell again.

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26:40That's abcsecretsavings.com slash 2020. At around 11 a.m. shots ring out. A neighbor fives Dan Markelle slumped over in the front seat of his Honda, calls 911. 911, one seat just for your emergency. It's right next door at my house. Okay, what's he, what's going on with it? I don't know, the driver's side window was all bashed in. He's inside the car's running and he's got blood all over his head. He's not responding to me. This phone call came in from the police. The enemy was shot. The hell is in the shock. Your mind goes blanky. It's not possible. It's making a mistake. All you could think about is your body's totally traumatized. It was horrific. It was just something that out of this world.

27:45In the beginning, no one really knew what happened. Police asked Dan's ex-wife Wendy what she knows. What did she do to us? Would you ever ask someone to do something like this? I'm not a million years. Wendy does not hold back in this interview. Do you think someone would do this for your benefit without asking? No. Even my family who felt like I had been mistreated. Who would never do something like this? Whatever. It is perhaps the biggest mystery in this case. Exactly what was going through Wendy's brain in that interview room. I don't know. No one will see you after your emergency. It's right next door to my house. This is a horrifying scene for that neighbor who first walked over and looked and wasn't sure what had happened. Okay. What's going on with him? He's not responding to me. The neighbor sees Dan Markel with a gunshot to the forehead to the forehead.

28:45I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. He's going to be a gunshot to the forehead to the face and his glasses are shattered. It looks like he's been shot at a very close range. And Dan Markel is still breathing. Once the paramedics arrive, he is quickly rushed to the hospital. Police tracked down his ex wife Wendy who was out to lunch with friends and bring her to the police station. There was a shooting at your ex husband's home. husband's home Daniel has been taken to the hospital. He's not going to survive. Oh my God. Okay. What happened? Well, before we get into everything, I have to establish where you were and who you were with and so forth. I'm just going to be in the hospital.

29:51She sits down for hours and during that time the police look at her phone. They look at her ID. They swabber for fingerprints. Everything that you would do with the potential suspect. They never call her a suspect and it's an interview, not an interrogation, but she does provide all of this willingly. I understand why you think I'm the primary suspect. No, you're not the primary suspect. My ex-husband calls me a lot of grief. I would never do something like this. I understand why. I wouldn't be the person you would think would do something like this. Well, we have to work just as hard to live. It's fine. I want to figure out who this is. Wendy does not hold back in this interview. She talks about how bad the divorce was. She talks about how Dan was emotionally abusive to her. She talks about how she wants to get down to Miami. You never hurt me physically, but he was emotionally abusive. Okay. And I didn't tell most people that. So all those people know us. We just didn't work out.

30:55While Dan Markelle clings to life, his parents are located and told the devastating news. Phil, it was you who got the original call. I was visiting friends and this phone call came in from the police saying that Dan Markelle was shot and that somebody from the hospital doctor is going to call me. Phil called me. I got the call and he says, are you sitting down? And I knew right away in his voice that this was not a good story. And then he told me that Dan Markelle was shot, which was horrific. Dan Markelle died in the hospital less than 24 hours after he'd been shot. I had wished that I could at least hold his hand before he passed away. Very grudged out very much. Dan's death was felt by so many. There were headlines all across Florida that covered his death, his murder, and the memorial for him because he touched so many lives.

32:00So many people came out to support his family to remember him. I was unbelievably moved. Just the outpouring of love for him. I literally sat my seat and cried because I found out things about Danny, my own son, that I didn't even know myself. Tell our housey police now scrambling to unravel the riddle of who killed Florida State University professor Dan Markelle. This was the crime that sent shockwaves through the community. I just could not believe it because I know Danny. I know how he is. Who would shoot him really is what was going through my mind. The overall response was shock and horror and a lot of questions like why would anyone want to kill Dan Markelle?

33:01After Dan Markelle is killed, it's a complete mystery as to who did this. No evidence seems to have been left behind. It's as if the murderer vanished into thin air. With him being so prominent in the legal world, there was a lot for investigators to chew on. One theory is that Dan made enemies over his provocative legal blog that he'd found it and wrote for. And he'd recently received online threats. So my first thought was, and I shared it with the police at that moment, that maybe it was a disgruntled perhaps student or rather person professional on the blog. They also looked of course in a college town. You're going to say, it was a unhappy student. I just thought, my god, this happened to one of us and another one of us might be next. Detectives also begin to look at people in Wendy and Dan's lives, starting with someone that Wendy herself brought up during her long police interview.

34:06Basically, the hours after the murder, Wendy pretty much immediately started pointing fingers at a few different people. She talked about a guy, she knew she was dating Jeffrey Locasse. I see why he's a good suspect. Like what is Jeff? He didn't like Danny because Danny hurt me. Police tracked down her former boyfriend and bring him in for an interview. I surprised you guys didn't call me earlier though because I probably said a hundred times of public that I like to kick his ass. While all of these theories about who murdered Dan Mark Hale were circulating, police started to think this was more personal. Maybe it had something to do with Wendy, maybe someone who loved her. She talked about a guy, she knew she was dating Jeffrey Locasse. Jeffrey Locasse comes in to talk to police willingly three times. He keeps coming back because it

35:09seems that he has a story to tell. Jeff's interview may be more so than Wendy is extraordinary because he's a boyfriend who is in the process of breaking up with Wendy and it's contentious breakup by both of their admission. I surprised you guys didn't call me earlier though because I probably said a hundred times of public that I like to kick his ass because he kept making it really making me, when he's offering things like that run but no, I would never ever profess my mother's. He's right up front about saying that he didn't like this guy. He also has an ironclad he was out of town. I stood in a really crappy days in maybe 20 miles south of Atlanta. He's got the receipts he was not here so that immediately puts him in the clear.

36:13You know right away something clicks in his head and he seems to say I think I know what happened. I'm gonna say to you what I'm gonna tell you to be honest so anywhere else got a kill and I don't want to be next. That sounds paranoid but I do have some ideas. And LaCasse points to Wendy's family. Her parents and her brother run that very successful south floor to dental clinic. The family desperately wants her back in south Florida. They hate Danny in a way. I've never seen this kind of obsession like their hobby is hating Danny. Maya and Alex Greenberg they'll police about this iron from the Adelson's towards Damorco. They hated Danny. I think they're mean. I think they I mean to do some of the stuff that they did during this divorce with Danny is just not reasonable. Hi mom how's it going? I need you to sit down

37:14so during this police interview Wendy asks if she can call her mother and she tells Donna that Dan has been shot he's not expected to live. Danny has been shot. There was a point where she was just kind of saying she was relieved to find that her mom was surprised at the news. Well my parents sounded really surprised just so it's at least a relief. I just want to think of who would be angry enough to do something to him. My parents would be angry but they're not capable of this. And Wendy makes this startling comment about something her brother Charlie once said to her. My brother um though in his name is Charlie the one I'm really close to. He makes a lot of jokes in that taste and it was the joke he made it. I looked at the hiring hitman and it was cheaper to get you this TV so instead I got you this TV. It was my divorce president. It's such a horrible thing to say.

38:18What do you think that this guy Charlie would even be capable of doing something like this? No. No. It's just talk. He's the Joker. Okay. Charlie was always someone who was smiling always someone who would have a good time. When he's older brother Charlie had a reputation as a fast living fun loving playboy. He's so smart. He's intelligent and he's fun. He throws his money around. He's a bit of a player. Early on he always has a girl. I can't keep up. It seemed like Charlie had two different types of friends. You know people we kind of grew up with like normal nice people. He also seemed to have maybe friends that were from the wrong side of the tracks. Somebody tried to kill my ex husband. They should be prosecuted to the falling stand on the law. Regardless of who it is. I mean it would be different if I thought of my brother but I don't think it was my family. Anyone outside my immediate family that's a tough one

39:19but I don't think my immediate family did this. So if it's anybody else. Yeah. And it turns out that Wendy's family was nowhere near talent-hassy the day Dan was shot. Wendy later releases a statement through her attorney saying my family had nothing to do with this and quickly moves to South Florida with her two sons. Meanwhile as police continue their investigation they have just a single solid lead from the crime the neighbor did see a car backing away something that looked similar to a Prius and that's all that police had to go on. You said there was another vehicle that you're driving away. Yes and it's seen rapidly. It looked sort of like a Prius. Police are able to identify a green Toyota Prius at the fitness center where Dan Markelle worked out the morning he was shot. The exercises comes back out. It goes to his car and the same vehicle which hasn't left the parking lot

40:22is then seen pulling out of the parking lot following behind the victim. The Prius was really the thing that they focused on initially. They had surveillance video of it from city buses that it had driven by intersection cameras or able to capture it. We also find that car on video on a bus camera pulling into the victim's neighborhood or they're about shortly before the murder. And they notice there's a sun pass. It's the the toll road pass. Now in Tallahassee this time we don't have any toll roads so people don't go around with sun pass screeners. They then began this absolutely extensive search all over the state for this type of color this type of Prius with the sun pass on it. When police pull those toll records it led them here to this whole-of-the-wall rental agency here in Miami that rents mostly hybrids. Now inside a contract was signed leading police to the men who rented that green Prius. And when they went

41:26and looked at who signed for the car to be rented their names were right there. Who are these two men? I want to know what made them come to Tallahassee and kill our friends. It's very strange to me people they don't know him. I've never heard of him. The mystery surrounding those two men would lead to an undercover encounter in South Florida. Excuse me, Mrs. Dattleson? Hey Done, I just want to give you this. Oh listen, and a cryptic call between mother and son. I got some people work and I'm different to them. Is it involved me or other people? Well, probably don't people. I'm probably having general idea what I'm talking about. 10 months ago someone killed the father of my children. First we got divorced and then he got murdered.

42:34A law school professor is shot down in cold blood. Now the murder trial about the murder. Teaming with hired hitmen hit in recordings and family secrets. When Wendy Adleson walked into the courtroom to take the stand, how does she feel about the fact that the state is saying her family is involved in this murder. Charlie is basically your prime suspect at least within that family. I mean, he's a suspect. Wendy Adleson had a problem and her problem was named Dan Markel. Dr. Adleson, you involved in a plot to kill your brother-in-law Dan Markel for the shooting. Did you ever discuss hiring a hitman? Somebody hired him, but who? What will the jury decide? If they think the police are coming you to talk to you, they will kill you. Look at what we did to Professor Markel.

43:43Tell a Hasse police now scrambling to unravel the riddle of who killed Florida State University Professor Dan Markel. Tomorrow marks one year since his death. So far there are no good leads, so they're asking for your help. This is the story kind of just drop off. It did. There was not a whole lot of information that came out really almost two years with no answers. The community thinking what happened to cops just not have any information, no leads. I was thinking that my god, it's never going to go anywhere. It's two years and nothing, nothing. What is so sad for the Markels besides this horrible violent death of their son, they don't have connection to his children. After Dan was murdered the children went back to South Florida with Wendy. And then a series of things happened afterward that compounded that grief for the Markels.

44:45One of those things was learning that Wendy had changed the boy's last name from Markel to Adleson. Her excuse was that she was concerned for the safety of the kids. I was shocked, I was angry. They just want to wipe the Markel family off the earth, we don't exist. So the Adlesons are still running their dentistry practice in South Florida. They're probably living their lives down there, the children are growing up. They have adamantly denied any connection to the homicide or any involvements. It appears that the Adlesons get what they wanted. Wendy finds a law job in Miami, she enrolls her sons in school. She even makes time to take a podcast in class where she lays bare her feelings about her ex-husband, Dan Markel. Ten months ago someone killed the father of my children. First we got divorced and then he got murdered.

45:46She makes this joke in the podcast that she doesn't know how to refer to Dan. I don't know whether to call him my ex-late spouse or my late ex-fals, except that late ex-fals sounds like late ex-fals. For Dan Markels survivors of course it didn't play well. It feels sacrilegious these days, even to suggest something less than heroic about my late ex-husband because he was murdered. I don't think she's set out to disparage Danny so much as she, you know, was reflecting honestly on what the experience was like for her. Behind the scenes, Tal Hassey police her, homing in on who was driving that green Prius away from the crime scene. Through meticulous police work, they traced the heart to a rental lot in Miami. And when they went and looked at who signed for the car to be rented, Luis Rivera and Sikfreito Garcia, Sikfreito signed it that he was the brother of Luis Rivera.

46:50Sikfreito Garcia was a low-level criminal. Had some of drug arrests down in Miami. Luis Rivera however, more of a hardened criminal. More hardened criminal involved in a lot of gang activity. Luis was an acknowledged member of the Latin Kings. He was a crown. He was a big deal in the Latin Kings. They rented it in their names with their phone numbers with a sun pass. They had their phones on while they were driving up there. Essentially they just wrote a map for the cops. Investigators were able to later use cell phone tower pings to show when phone calls were made from Sikfreito Garcia. They placed Garcia near Dan Martell's neighborhood at about the time of the homicide using the cell phone data. We also have the ATM video where on the day of the homicide, the two killers are seen driving through an ATM in that pine-micup Prius.

47:54The police had a substantial amount of information to begin collecting a warrant to arrest these guys. Police think they figured out who committed the murder and how they did it, but they're left with a question of why? Why would someone commit described? Sikfreito Garcia and Luis Rivera didn't even know Dan Martell. They discover that there is a link and there's a mysterious woman who will be connected to this case. In what way are the alleged killers linked to the Adelson's? Through Catherine Magvanoa. And who is she? She is Garcia's child's mother. And she is also the former girlfriend of Charlie Adelson. How long were she and Charlie together? I think they were together for quite some time before the homicide. Katie becomes this conduit, this connection point between the Adelson's and Dan Martell's murder.

48:59Absent her, you have nothing that links any of these people directly. Investigators start to form a picture of a complicated web involving two accused hitmen, a female companion, and the brother of Dan Martell's estranged ex-wife. As police try to piece this puzzle together, they start by building a timeline of the suspect's actions. And that means looking at their phone records. And once you get that phone, you think it's involved, then you get a pen register, who they call? Katie Magvanoa, the intermediary, and then they get her phone. Who is she calling the day of the crime? Charlie Adelson. So investigators set out to follow the money. So the strategy would be to work yourself to the money man, to the heart of the conspiracy. Katie was the alleged facilitator. Investigators discover that in the months after the murder, Katie Magvanoa makes some large cash deposits and also receives checks from the Adelson Institute.

50:05She was collecting checks from the dentistry. You know, it was not necessarily clear what she was doing for her payment there. And Katie buys a luxury car from the Adelson's for below sticker price. Who in need dig a little bit deeper into the various ways that Katie may have been compensated? One way is through breast augmentation surgery. Although there's no direct paper trail, investigators suggest Charlie Adelson may have helped pay for her procedure. The allegation is that Katie may have enhanced her physique on the Adelson's time. So cars, surgery, cash, and then a job that wasn't really a job. Who launched the conspiracy? Who's idea was in the first place? The cops felt it was Charlie Adelson's, but they still can't get to him. We've got the circumstantial evidence of Charlie and Katie being involved in this.

51:05But what they're going to need is somebody who's going to tell them exactly what happened. Probably a jailhouse snitch. I want to hire a private investigator. Some folks say I'm the best. ABC September 15, TV's hottest PI is back. Can you show you ready to take on a serial killer? It's like a dozen more likely explanations other than serial killer. All right, maybe none of it does. In Florida, crime has no offseason. I just heard you were shot at today with a rocket launcher. Well missed. RJ Decker from his Tuesday, September 15, 10, 9th, central, next day on Hulu. Tupac Shakur, now 30 years after he was gunned down in Vegas, a one-time reputed gang leader stands trial for his murder, follow every detail, streaming live daily on ABC News Live, wherever you stream, and for a burden of proof daily, wherever you get your podcasts. When it came to identifying possible suspects who might want Dan Marquell dead,

52:10detectives felt compelled to circle back to that startling statement when he made to them early in the investigation. My brother, though I seem as Charlie the one I'm really close to, he makes a lot of jokes in that taste and it was a joke he made. He said, I looked at the hiring hitman and it was cheaper to get you this TV, so instead I got you this TV. But Wendy's former boyfriend, Jeff LeCast, told police that when she related the account to him, there was nothing funny about it. She told me that Charlie had looked into having Danny killed in summer of 2013. She met a dead serious. They could just say, I would be investigating Charlie Ails. I don't know if he did this. You're looking at somebody. Okay, I'll miss him. With the Adelson's firmly on their radar, investigators in South Florida now put the family

53:11under surveillance. Police need more information on the Adelson's. They want to see if they can prove this conspiracy. But because there is no hard evidence directly linking the Adelson's two-dance murder, investigators come up with an audacious plan to confront Donna Adelson outside her luxury condo building in Miami Beach. They decided to do something called a bomb, which is what it sounds like. Let's see if what we can shake loose. Donna Adelson is approached on the street by a man she's never seen before. This person turns out to be an undercover FBI agent. Excuse me, Mr. Adelson? Hey, no, I just want to give you this. Listen. You. You're scary. No, don't be scared. And he says that he was the brother of one of the assailants. And that he needed something little extra to take care of. He helped your family with this problem you guys had of North.

54:14He's going through some rough times. The undercover detective says that I want $5,000 for you to help my family. So you want to make sure that you take care of what he's going through the way you're taking care of Katie and Susan. Well, this will explain it. Thank you. He hands her a piece of paper that has a press release of Don's murder on it, and it has a phone number for her to call to make that transaction with the money. And Donna eventually calls the guy. Hello. I have to tell you, I mean, this is important. I have been so stressed out because I don't know your friend who is in jail. I've never met him. That's a f***ing around. Okay? You know who Katie is. And you know that Katie has somebody that knows that. And they took care of a problem for you people. You talk to the right people. You talk to people. You make this 5k come to me.

55:14That's all I need. Just do it and get it to me. I'll call you back. When Donna called her son, Charlie, it led to a cryptic conversation. I bet some people work, hand delivered to you. There's an involved mayor or other people. Well, probably both people. You probably have a general idea of what I'm talking about. So let's just find some time to talk to each other. She doesn't use the words murder or Dan Marquell. She just refers to it as you know about it. We'll talk later. It may have to do with the two of us. The string of calls went Donna to Charlie. Then Charlie to Katie. I guess I have somebody pulling your bones. Somebody is just harassing you or somebody trying to get something out of you. When they do catch the person, they're going to be asking him lots of questions about whose Katie is. On the phone, all I'm saying is find out who the f*** it is and tell the stop plan or get.

56:14I don't know who you have to talk to, but it needs to be nipped in the bottom. You don't think that I f***ed yours a f***ing enemy? Like somebody f***ing gave my name out loud or whatever. Okay, so when I'm messing with you, they're messing with me. So what I'm saying is find out who the f***ing is. There's no confession on tape. Police prepared for the police. They're not going to be able to do it. They're not going to be able to do it. But finally they're going to be forced to bring in out to the mansion on tape. Police prepare arrest warrants for alleged hitmen, Katie magbanoa, and Charlie Adelson. At this point, prosecutors are only ready to pull the trigger of jarging two of them. One of the main accused of killing f.s.y. lawCheer Professor Dan Marquel is now behind bars. On May 25, 2016, the news breaks in Tallahassee of Signwig ferro Garcia's arrest for the murder of Dan Marquel We can provide additional information regarding this investigation. Just eight days later, the police

57:15released the probable cause affidavit for sick Fredo Garcia. In it, investigators alleged his involvement in this murder stemmed from the desperate desire of the Adelson family to relocate Wendy and the children to South Florida. They are mentioned in this probable cause affidavit. They are the only connection between sick Fredo Garcia and Dan Markelle. Later, the Adelson family released a statement saying there's been a lot of unsupported speculation that the Adelson's had something to do with the murder. That speculation is categorically false to be clear. None of the Adelson's Wendy, her brother Charlie, or their parents Donna and Harvey had anything to do with Dan's murder. It's all over the news. So there's some feeling of, oh, wow. We just pray that those involved have to pay the price for what they've done. Charlie Adelson was approached by one of our 2020 producers

58:17and asked about his alleged involvement in the murder plot. Dr. Adelson, will you involved in a plot to kill your brother-in-law, Dan Markelle? Before the shooting, did you ever discuss hiring a hitman? To the frustration of Dan's friends, months go by with no further arrests. There is definitely a growing sense of frustration, wondering how the people who had been hired to commit this act were all in jail, but the people who had allegedly hired them were not. Then in October 2016, there is a dramatic breakthrough. Prosecutors announced a plea deal with Luis Rivera. They say he's ready to reveal how he says Dan Markelle was killed. You saw me swear or a firm at the evidence you were about. You give me, is it true if the whole truth is

59:19nothing but the truth? Yes, sir. In October 2016, Luis Rivera really broke open the case. He confesses. He showed you a picture of Markelle. Markelle? He said, y'all were going to go kill it. Rivera says they've already been given $5,000 in traveling expenses from a mysterious person that Garcia would only refer to as the lady. That's why you don't want to kill your dad, because the lady wants you two kids back. The Rivera plea deal was important, because although he was a gang member and part of this murder, everything he said was corroborated by the other evidence. Where do Markelle's house? Garcia jumps out. He goes on the car, where he's driving, shutting twice. Got in the car. We left.

1:00:21We caught Skating. We had nothing to do. And he called and he said everything is done. Make sure you have my money. I'm on my way. Once Luis Rivera starts talking and gives all of this information to police, they now have enough to bring down their next suspect, Catherine McBanawam. Police in Florida arresting a single mom, accusing her of arranging the killing of a prominent Florida state law professor. She was arrested and was offered full immunity. Get out of jail for a car and she turned it down. After Katie was arrested, Charley's anxiety just spiked 100%. Jun Umchinda was dating Charley at the time of Katie's arrest. Once Katie got arrested, he would tell me how horrible it would be in prison. Like they're getting food from a tray and it's like isolation and this is a murder case so it would be for life. While Jun says Charley is sweating it out, in September of 2019, his previous girlfriend,

1:01:26Katie McBanawam, goes on trial. She's a high profile case that's garnering attention across the world. Everybody be seated, please. It was a big deal that this was going to trial five years after Dan Marquells murder. San Frito Garcia and Catherine McBanawam are tried together. Bill Scarcliffe, the state of Florida. Wendy Adelson had a problem and her problem was named Dan Marquell. And the solution to that problem was Magdanoa, Rivera and Garcia. To execute Mr. Marquell in cold blood. Though prosecutors are bringing this trial against San Frito Garcia and Catherine McBanawam, they spent a lot of time during their case pointing the finger at Charley Adelson. As the prosecution calls its witnesses, one of them causes jaws to drop in the courtroom. It's Wendy Adelson, testifying under a limited immunity agreement about the bad blood between her family and Dan Marquell.

1:02:29She fought tooth and nail against testifying. I'm going to show you dates exhibit 36. Is that a photograph of you and Catherine McBanawam at the beach? With her friend, yes. And did you say how you know there's no animal? She was dating my brother. Is it fair to say that your brother is very protective of you? I think that's fair to say. Did he ever joke about hiring a hitman? He did make that joke. But the prosecution's star witness is convicted killer Luis Rivera, testifying as part of his plea deal for a reduced sentence. All right, so Garcia hired you to do a murder, didn't he? Yes, ma'am. And who hired him? The Adelson family. Who gave you the money? Garcia. All right, and tell us about the money. How was it packaged? Money. A hundred. It was stable. Stapled? A thousand dollars stable. Each one of them. When Charlie's girlfriend June takes the stand, she describes the curious way he stashes

1:03:34his cash. In fact, you said that the money was stapled into stacks of $100 bills, didn't you? They were hundreds, yes, and I don't know if they were stacks, but there was a staple on it. I thought it was so odd. Why do you have a staple in your money? If you want to, this is where the fence calls Catherine, my battle to the side. Cage took the stand in her own defense. Did you have anything to do with the murder of Dan Marquell? No, ma'am. Did you get the father of your children, Mr. Garcia, to commit a murder on behalf of Mr. Charlie Ailsen? No, ma'am. Based on everything you've seen, do you think Charlie was involved in this? Yes. At the end of this trial, the jury believed Luis Rivera and his testimony for the prosecution that Cikfredo Garcia was involved in Dan Marquell's murder.

1:04:34We the jury find its policies count one to defend and his guilty first-degree murder. But as for Katie McBanoa, it was a hung jury. As to Mr. McBanoa, I will declare this case Mr. Tried. I'm certainly happy with the outcome for Mr. Garcia and hope we can have a similar one from Ms. McBanoa, whether it be today or in the future. For Katie, that future came two and a half years later when she is retried on largely the same evidence. She again testifies that she had nothing to do with the murder and once again points to Charlie as the culprit. Do you believe that he should be prosecuted for his involvement in the murder of Dan Marquell? Yes, ma'am. She said that she believes he's guilty and that she had nothing to do with it. This time though, it did not seem to sway the jury in the way that it did the first time. In the state of Florida versus Catherine McBanoa on count one, which is first-degree murder,

1:05:35you have been found guilty. By a jury, you will be adjudicated guilty and you will be sentenced to life in prison. Now prosecutors have three convictions for Dan Marquell's murder. And it turns out in the time between Katie's two trials, there was another huge development, this one involving Charlie Adelson. According to authorities, newly enhanced audio from the FBI exposed details from a secret meeting between Katie and Charlie back in 2016. There's a guy who had all the swagger in the world who was sort of daring police to come after him. And Charlie's words might just come back to Haunt him. In April of 2016, investigators secretly record a meeting between Charlie Adelson and Katie McBanoa at a South Florida strip mall.

1:06:40It was so noisy inside, it was hard to make heads or tails of what was being said. But then six years later, the FBI is able to enhance that audio and for prosecutors, it's a game changer. The thing that sealed the deal for Charlie Adelson was the Dolce Vita recordings. He's saying, if I thought they had enough evidence, I'd be at the airport suggesting that he would skip town if he thought there was more evidence out there against him. A grand jury has now indicted Charlie Adelson and Marquell's death. It was unbelievable. The year it was relief because it's taken so long.

1:07:43What the people that are involved to pay the price. Adelson is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder. He pleads not guilty to all charges. On October 23rd, Charlie goes on trial. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. The attorneys are going to present their opening statements. Prosecution tells the jury that Donna Adelson turned to her son Charlie to help her get Wendy and the kids back to South Florida. This defendant carried out his plan to hire a hitman to kill Van Marquell. He conspired and he solicited Catherine McBannewa to get this murder done. It states case against Charlie Adelson as a case of assumptions.

1:08:44It's a case of guesses. During his opening statement, defense attorney Daniel Rashbaum stuns the courtroom by saying, Charlie Adelson wasn't the mastermind of the murder plot. He was the victim. Rashbaum tells the jury that his client was being extorted by the killers for about $330,000 after Marquell's murder. You will learn that Charlie Adelson was told if he didn't pay within the next 48 hours, he or one of his family members would be next. It was a jaw-traw moment. I'm scratching my head thinking, is that going to work? Is that going to fly in this courtroom? The prosecution starts out by calling many of the same witnesses who testified during Katie's trial, including June Umchinda, Charlie's former girlfriend and Charlie's sister, Wendy Adelson. Wendy testifies she had no idea her family was allegedly being blackmailed by the killers.

1:09:44When did you learn that Catherine McBanna was blackmailing your brother for the murder of your ex-husband? Today. So he never told you? No. Your brother has known who killed your child's father and you didn't know. I did not know. The courtroom is buzzing as the prosecution calls a bombshell witness, Katie McBanna. And this time on the stand, Katie does a complete 180. She not only testified, she was in on the murder plot, she also testifies that it was orchestrated by Charlie. She was the one connecting all of this. She reveals that it had been nine months before he was killed that she was approached by Charlie Adelson. He asked me a question. Do you know anybody that can harm someone? Yes, ma'am, I did. Sick for a little. So you knew that the person that was going to be initially harmed was Wendy's husband?

1:10:49Yes, ma'am. Katie also testifies about how she says Charlie directed her to transfer the money to the hitman. And where did you get the money from to do that? From Charlie Adelson. How was the money packaged when you got it? I think you said you got it the next morning. Yes, ma'am. It was packaged. The money was in a plastic bag, like a zip lock bag, and then like a grocery bag over it. He said he wore a glove so that there's no fingerprints on it. Katie then goes on to strongly deny being part of any blackmail plot against Charlie Adelson. Did you ever blackmail Charlie Adelson? No, ma'am, I did not. But then on cross examination, Rashbaum goes on the attack. They have to poke holes in her story and show that she is lying this time by raising the issue of the immunity to get out of jail free card that she was offered.

1:11:54You were offered to cooperating against Charlie Adelson and the other Adelson's and you would get to go home to your kids, right? Yes, ma'am. He's still doing cooperate. The deal was still open, right? Well, the deal was to give up Charlie. And you couldn't do that? Because in order to give up Charlie, I had to give up sick, right? I had to follow my children, so I couldn't do that. Again, you lied when you testified that you didn't know anything about the murder Professor Marquel, right? Yes, sir. I told you I lied in my first and second trial to save myself. Oh. Is it true that you were the mastermind behind Professor Marquel's murder? No, sir. That was Charlie. With Katie sticking to her guns, there's only one other person who can confirm the details of the alleged extortion plot for the defense. And that's their own client, Charlie Adelson. That jury was on the edge of their seats. That's high stakes.

1:12:55And that's where the rubber meets the road. How do you feel right now? Really nervous. Why are you nervous? You know, my whole life depends on it. There is so much NFL on ESPN right now. Monday night football, plus pregame and postgame. NFL live, NFL prime time. Everything you need to stay on top of every game, every week. Unbelievable. Now NFL network is on the ESPN app. More football, more coverage, more ways to watch. Football's on. All season long on ESPN and streaming on the ESPN app. This is the way. Hi, I'm John Favreau. We are launching the all new Star Wars, the Mandalorian and Grogu official podcast. I'm sorry. I can't focus at the moment. We're going behind the scenes with the cast and crew sharing stories from the set, creative insights, and a few surprises from across the galaxy. I think he's earned a little snack.

1:13:56Watch and listen to Star Wars, the Mandalorian and Grogu official podcast. Now streaming on Disney Plus or wherever you get your podcasts. And catch Star Wars, the Mandalorian and Grogu now streaming on Disney Plus, terms apply. A packed courtroom watches as Charlie Adelson takes the stand in his trial for first degree murder. Please raise your right hand. The courtroom is abuzz with the anticipation of what is he going to say. Nine years after that brazen daylight killing of Dan Markel, his former brother-in-law speaks for the first time. How do you feel right now? I'm really nervous. Why are you nervous? My whole life depends on it. Dan Markel's whole family was there, his sister and both of his parents. On the other side of the gallery, no support for Charlie Adelson, his father,

1:15:00Harvey, his mother, Donna, they haven't been there at all. With his client facing a potential life sentence, defense attorney Daniel Rashbaum takes a calculated risk putting Charlie Adelson on the stand. Do you recall making a joke that buying her a TV was cheaper than hiring a hitman? It was stupid as they ever said in my life. And I said it as a complete joke and it was stupid, but I do that a lot. Did you ever say that joke to Catherine McBannell? Yes, I did. Just to be clear, did you ever look into hiring a hitman? No, never. We're leaning in to hear how he is going to pin all of this on Katie. Right out of a gate Adelson puts it all on his former girlfriend, testifying that the night of Markel's murder, she makes a shocking admission. She said, listen, this is all my fault, but I had no idea anything was going to happen.

1:16:00I've spoken too much detail about your family's personal problems. Charlie Adelson is claiming that Katie told her ex-Sekredo Garcia a secret that the Adelson family had planned to offer Dan a million dollars to agree to allow his ex-wife to relocate to South Florida after their divorce. She's like my friend killed Dan and he wants to be paid a third of a million dollars. Incredibly, Charlie Adelson claims that he was told just hours after the murder who killed Dan Markel. That was a big shocker. He testifies that the hitmen wanted in on that million dollars. So they murdered Dan Markel, essentially on spec, the idea of being killed now, blackmail Charlie, collect the money later. And I'm like, Katie, I'm not going to be part of paying for a murder, this is insane. And she's like, look, if you don't pay in 48 hours, they will kill you. That's why Charlie testifies he paid her.

1:17:02And that same night he gives Katie $138,000 from his safe. Over the months that followed, he admits he paid Katie thousands more and asked his mother, Donna, to put Katie on the payroll at the family dental practice. She said, was Katie going to be coming into the office? She's going to start working for us. And I said, no, she's not. And Charlie claims the police got it all wrong when they heard him on that Dolce Vita tape. But he isn't the ringleader, but rather a victim of this scheme. What do they think? They think it was a murder for hire. What was it? It was an extortion. During Charlie's second day on the stand during cross examination, prosecutor Georgia Kaplman goes right after his claim of extortion. Doesn't blackmail or extortion usually involve the extortionist having some kind of dirt on the victim? I know how this was done to me. I know what I'm just telling you what happened to me. I'm not an expert in it.

1:18:07And she wants to know when Charlie's life is being threatened, why didn't he go to the police? So you knew you'd be believed if you went to the police, right? I didn't know I'd be believed that I feared for my life. And what about Katie, Charlie's one-time girlfriend, who he claimed to really care about? You didn't offer to testify in her trial. You let her get convicted and get life in prison, didn't you? I thought the truth was going to come out. Ultimately, the prosecution hammers Charlie on the stand for two hours. But he sticks to his narrative that he was a victim extorted by the hitmen and Katie. It was the truth. Closing arguments is that's the last chance you could speak to that jury. He's got no more chances to try to sell this story. If this was a murder for high, why was payment not made before?

1:19:08See, because he had no idea it was going to happen. That's the only thing that makes sense. He didn't do it. He didn't conspire to do it. He didn't so listen. In her closing arguments, prosecutor of Georgia Kapleman takes the jury back to the motive for the murder. So who did it here? How motive to Latin Mark L. Den? His own family. The prosecutor says this was all about helping Wendy. Wendy appears to be the weakling of the pack. She needs to be saved by Donna and the defendant. Donna is the overbearing Major Yard who mags everyone to death. And this defendant fancyed himself the savior of this family. Equal parts, black sheep and mama's boy. And she attacks the suggestion that Charlie Adelson is an innocent victim in this murder scheme. Liding King extortion payment plans, hitting them that hire themselves.

1:20:09And most unreasonable of all is probably that Charlie Adelson and Narragut in there of extraordinary resources. A prize fighter of herbosity would just lay down and take us. In silence, this might be a good time to remind you that the jury room is not a place to check your room. But in the common sense, we want you to bring it in there and render a verdict that speaks the truth. Nine years after Dan Marquell was brutally murdered in the garage of his Tallahassee home. It's judgment day for his former brother-in-law, Charlie Adelson. After deliberating for just three hours, the jury's verdict is delivered to a packed courtroom. We the jury by the Asfala's as the count one of the indictments, first of the murder, the defendant is guilty of first of the murder.

1:21:15Charlie Adelson is also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder. He looked devastated, deflated. You just saw Phil Marquell let out this big exhale and lean all the way over with his head in his hands. Could you describe the moment for us? Unbelievable. Joy, happiness. Joy and happiness is a funny thing to say, but it's sort of tinged with this feeling of relief. The relief is so long. Charlie's Adelson is a convicted murderer. Now the state's going to focus on others who were involved. This investigation is still going on. Yes, yes. But as this nearly decade old case continues, what sometimes gets overlooked is that at the heart of this story are two young boys.

1:22:15These are our memories. After the Adelson's alleged link to the murder plot was disclosed in 2016, Marquell's were cut off from Dan's sons. These boys are missing out on a set of grandparents that have all this warmth and desire to spoil them and be grandparents to them. Ruth told me she'd despaired of ever seeing her grandkids again. But the help of Dan's friend, Karen Cypher's, she successfully fought for the passage of a bill known as the Marquell Act. It allows grandparents to ask a court to order a visitation if a parent is found responsible for the other parent's death. I know that this bill does not apply to the Marquells. Wendy has not been found responsible by a criminal or a civil court. That said, within an hour of the Senate passing the bill, Wendy reached out to Ruth and offered her a visit with the kids.

1:23:17You got to see the kids again. What was that like? I hadn't seen these boys in six years. I had no idea what they looked like. And we were shocked. The kids were smiling. They were warm. And I said, can we give you a hug? And they really responded. It's the little spark of hope that something was going to happen that we might have more communications with them. The Marquells said that the very next day those hopes they had were dashed when Charlie Adelson was arrested. Since then, they say the relationship with the kids has again become strained. And we just hope and pray that one day things will change. There is still hope. There's always hope. Living with that hope, and we should mention that Charlie Adelson has scheduled to be sentenced this coming December. His defense team, David, telling us that they are likely going to appeal his conviction.

1:24:22You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault. Friday nights at 9 on ABC, you can also find all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening. This episode, Thursdays on Hulu and Hulu One Disney Plus, Terms Apply.