State of Florida v. Donna Adelson

#1

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/no ... r-AA1kj8Ta

No bond: Donna Adelson has first hearing in Leon County in Dan Markel murder case

Donna Adelson sat silently in the Leon County jail as she learned she would remain behind bars after being charged in the 2014 murder of her former son-in-law Dan Markel.

Adelson, 73, was joined by her Miami-based attorney Marissel Descalzo via Zoom as Leon County Judge Jason Jones discussed conditions of her bonds and the amounts. The hearing took place just hours after she was booked into the jail ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

She was granted $50,000 bail for two of her charges, solicitation and conspiracy, but the state recommended no bond for first-degree murder — a decision that would seal a jail stay pending trial. Descalzo stipulated, or agreed, to that decision, ordered by Jones, though she intends to take it up with Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett, who is overseeing the case.

Jones told Adelson she couldn't contact the victim's family, any co-defendants or any witnesses listed in the probable cause affidavit of her arrest.

"Do you understand those conditions?" Jones asked. "I do your honor," Adelson said.

Adelson appeared in a pink jumpsuit with frazzled hair and dark circles under her eyes, hinting to the long day of travel from the Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center to the Leon County Detention Facility.

She arrived at the capital county's jail early Tuesday where she joined her son, Charlie Adelson, facing a life sentence for the murder of Dan Markel, after she spent a week in the Miami jail.

Local law enforcement and the FBI intercepted her and her husband, Harvey Adelson, on Nov. 13 before they could board a one-way flight to Vietnam.

The couple tried to flee less than 48 hours before a Leon County grand jury indicted her on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation, the same charges on which her son was convicted of a week before her arrest.

On the day of Donna Adelson's arrest, one of Charlie Adelson's friends contacted the State Attorney's Office in Tallahassee to tell them about a conversation they had with Donna and Harvey Adelson the night before, court records show.

The couple called the friend to discuss the few travel plans they had, and to ask for advice about flights and places to stay. Harvey Adelson told them not to mention any of their plans to their son.

"This family friend has known the Adelsons for over 10 years and has never had longer than a five-minute conversation with Donna or Harvey," records say. "They found the contact very strange."

When Donna Adelson was arrested, FBI Agent Pat Sanford — who has been a key witness for the state — confiscated her phone.

"Donna attempted to pull away and prevent him from grabbing it," a search warrant affidavit states. "Donna said she was told not to give her phone to law enforcement."

Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett, who presided over Charlie Adelson's trial, signed a search warrant allowing investigators to search her phone for anything after June 2012 to now.

"The data being sought is any that would further the investigation into the communications and actions of Donna Adelson during the crime and of any events related to this incident before the crime occurred," records say.

Adelson made multiple phone calls to her son in jail after the guilty verdict "telling Charles Adelson that she is getting things in order, creating trusts and making sure her grandchildren are taken care of," according to court documents. She also was recorded discussing a possible suicide and plans to flee to a non-extradition country.

Charlie Adelson was found guilty Nov. 6 for the murder of the former Florida State University law professor, a case that drew national attention over the decade-long investigation.

#2

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/ ... 596735007/

Adelson flight to Vietnam lets state argue 'consciousness of guilt' in Markel murder

Donna Adelson was reportedly just steps away from freedom on a jetway ramp at Miami International Airport about to board an International flight with her husband, Harvey Adelson heading to Dubai, and then to Vietnam, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

But, law enforcement, including FBI Special Agent Pat Sanford, intercepted their flight plans and arrested Donna on the jet runway for murder, conspiracy and solicitation for the murder of Professor Dan Markel.

Donna and Charlie have seemingly learned little since 2016 when the FBI obtained a Title 3 wiretap and intercepted their calls after the FBI bump. During those calls the two talked in suspicious coded language. It was their calls, along with other recorded conversations/evidence that led to Charlie’s arrest for the murder.

It is unclear from the probable cause arrest affidavit whether they spoke in coded language on the recorded jail calls. The affidavit lacks any direct quotes attributed to Donna and Charlie on the calls.

All jail calls inform the parties prior to the conversation that the conversations are recorded. There is no mistake that both Donna and Charlie knew the calls were recorded.

According to the arrest affidavit, Donna tells Charlie she is getting her things in order, including making trusts for her grandkids. She further states she has considered taking her life and or fleeing to a country without extradition. It should be noted these recorded calls took place after Charlie was convicted on all three counts for the murder of Professor Markel.

Moreover, these calls took place after Prosecutor Cappleman said the investigation is ongoing and “stay tuned”.

These facts are highly relevant in assessing the context of these comments from Donna to her incarcerated son. In essence, this could be considered her final goodbye to her doting son before she was fleeing the United States.

A tight timeline as law enforcement intercepts Adelsons at airport

After her arrest, State Attorney Jack Campbell indicated that the events above described said: “That’s what forced our hand”. He indicated that extradition from Dubai and Vietnam would be a “very complicated and lengthy process.”

He also stated the state had enough evidence to prosecute Donna prior to her attempted flight to avoid prosecution. Notably, Campbell stated they did not have enough evidence to arrest her husband, Harvey Adelson.

It cannot be overstated that State Attorney Campbell and law enforcement had to make a quick and calculated decision in determining their next step against Donna Adelson. Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett signed the arrest warrant for Donna’s arrest around 5:45 p.m., Nov. 13.

Consciousness of guilt is a powerful and highly incriminating inference that a judge or jury may draw from the statements or conduct of an accused defendant after a crime has been committed. It suggests that the defendant knows he/she is guilty of the charged offense.

Read Donna Adelson arrest warrant:Talk of fleeing, suicide and 'getting things in order'

Examples of consciousness of guilt, may be evinced by a false alibi, intimidation of a witness, destruction or concealment of evidence and flight.

The law is well settled that evidence of flight is admissible as being relevant to infer consciousness of guilt where sufficient evidence exists to establish that the defendant fled to avoid prosecution of the charged defendant.

The burden is on the state, though. International flight alone does not create a presumption of guilt and is not sufficient to conclude that he/she is guilty. At most, it may provide an inference of consciousness of guilt. A jury decides.

Where there are two conflicting theories as to the meaning of evidence tending to show consciousness of guilt, the trial judge does not abuse its discretion in admitting such evidence, as the conflict in the theories goes to the weight of the evidence not its admissibility.

The gears of justice grind slowly, but they can be lethal

Donna Adelson was not facing charges at the time of her international flight. As such, the state will have to prove not only the international flight, but that such a flight was to avoid prosecution thereby inferring a consciousness of guilt on her behalf.

Even though the murder occurred nine years earlier, the state has been investigating and prosecuting her co-conspirators for the last six years. During her son's trial this month, Donna's name and conduct was an integral part of the state's case. Clearly, Donna was about to be charged in the murder case rather soon.

More importantly, the timing of the flight, location of the destination, and her statements on the recorded jail calls will establish that Donna was leaving to avoid future prosecution that she knew was imminent. She bought a one-way ticket to Vietnam (no extradition) the day after Charlie was convicted of the murder of Professor Markel.

Her words of getting things in order, possible suicide, and a flight to a destination without extradition demonstrate that she possessed a conscious of guilt for the murder of Professor Markel. As such, the court will allow such powerfully and highly incriminating evidence into her trial.

The state has strong circumstantial evidence against Donna for the murder of Professor Markel. This was proven by the highly incriminating evidence admitted in Charlie's trial. Prosecutor Campbell disclosed that they still had more evidence that has not been made public. Now, the state will introduce her flight to avoid prosecution as consciousness of guilt.

Once again, Donna and Charlie's conversations could be her undoing also.

Tim Jansen, partner in Jansen & Davis, P.A., is a prominent criminal defense attorney in Tallahassee and former assistant U.S. attorney who worked major white collar crime cases as senior fraud prosecutor. He has represented numerous high-profile clients for years and is offering daily analysis on the Charlie Adelson trial to readers of the Tallahassee Democrat.

#3

Here is info on why they decided to arrest Charlie Adelson who got convicted about two weeks ago.

https://news.wfsu.org/wfsu-local-news/2 ... urder-case

Connecting the dots: How a 6-year-old FBI recording unlocked the Markel murder case

April 23, 2022

A major development in the long-running investigation into the 2014 murder of a prominent Florida State University law professor is being credited to an eight-year-old FBI tape.

Charlie Adelson, the brother of Markel's ex-wife Wendi Adelson, is the first member of the Adelson family to be arrested and charged in connection to Markel's murder.

Family ties

The family, specifically Charlie and his mother Donna, have been implicated several times in what prosecutors have described as a murder-for-hire plot amid a bitter divorce and custody battle. Yet only now, eight years after Markel was found shot to death in his car in the driveway of his Betton Hills home, have prosecutors been able to charge a member of the family with a crime.

The recording featured prominently in a request for a continuance in the retrial of Katherine Magbanua, Charlie Adelson’s former girlfriend who is accused of acting as the go-between for the Adelson’s, and her former partner and convicted shooter, Sigfredo Garcia. Magbanua and Garcia were tried together in 2019, and while Garcia was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, the jury couldn’t reach a decision on Magbanua. Her new trial is set to begin next month.

The video, which was recorded by an undercover FBI agent, showed a meeting between Charlie Adelson and Magbanua at a restaurant called Dolce Vida in 2016. Georgia Cappleman, a prosecutor with the state attorney’s office, says the enhancement clarifies what was said that day in the Miami Beach restaurant. “The new evidence in the case is not really new evidence, its old evidence, but a new clarification which was done by a new audio expert. The enhancement was able to allow us for the first time to hear many statements that are uttered in that restaurant conversation by Charlie Adelson for the first time,” she told reporters during a recent news conference.

The FBI lurks

The video shows Adelson and Magbanua discussing a potential blackmail situation for more than 40 minutes. The FBI had attempted to ensnare Donna Adelson, the family matriarch, and the family was suspicious. The tape was recorded by undercover FBI agents. During the meeting, Charlie Adelson tells Magbanua that his mother Donna hasn’t told his father anything yet. It’s unclear what he is referring to.

“My mom knows my dad is gonna flip out when he finds out, but my mom hasn’t told my dad anything,” Charlie Adelson says to Magbanua during their conversation.

Now, he is being charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder. Markel was shot and killed in his car in the driveway of his Tallahassee Betton Hills home. Prosecutors say the killing was done amid a bitter custody dispute between Markel and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, who hails from South Florida.

A testimony, a 'bad' joke and a hitman

During that 2019 trial, Wendi Adelson testified about her brother. In one line of questioning, Cappleman asked Wendi whether Charlie ever joked about hiring a hitman, “buying you a TV as a divorce present would be cheaper?”

Adelson acknowledged that he did. “He did make that joke. He tended to repeat himself and sometimes he would make jokes that weren’t very funny about all kinds of things.”

The next day of the trial, Jeffrey Lacasse, who briefly dated Wendi, testified that she confided to him that Charlie had explored hiring someone to kill Markel.

“On July 13, 2014, Wendi and I were speaking, and she asked me if she could share something with me confidentially,” Lacasse testified. “I told her sure. She said that Charlie had explored all options to take care of the problem and that he had looked into having professor Markel killed. It would cost about $15,000.”

A bitter custody dispute and divorce

Before his murder, Wendi Adelson wanted to return to South Florida where her family was located, while Markel wanted the children and Wendi to remain in Tallahassee where they both worked at FSU at the time.

The FSU professor's death has sparked several documentaries, crime series, and at least one podcast. It also promoted Florida lawmakers to make changes to laws governing grandparent rights. Markel’s parents have not seen their two grandchildren since shortly after he was killed.

In Florida, grandparents don’t have very many. However, a years-long effort to allow grandparents visitation in certain instances was approved this year by the Florida legislature.

“The bill will create a point of access to courts for grandparents in cases where their child was killed, and courts have ruled against the surviving parent in a wrongful death claim. However, this bill remains protective of the rights of Florida parents without changing the many factors courts consider in determining visitation,” said House bill sponsor, Rep. Jackie Toledo.

The bill is unofficially known as the Markel Act.

#4

I'm waiting for them to arrest Wendi. She drove up to the crime scene, more than likely to make sure it actually happened. They were days away from a court hearing where the victim was asking the court to require Wendi's parents visits with the grandkids to be supervised. Donna Adelson (grandmother) was bad mouthing Dan to his kids, who were only 3 and 4 years old at the time. They were telling him the things she was saying.

Here is an interesting nugget from Wendi's LE interview. He picked her up from a restaurant and did not tell her anything about what happened during the car ride to the police station. Once they got there he told her there had been a shooting on her ex-husband's street and that he was in the hospital not expected to survive. About 30 minutes or more into the conversation, after asking her a questions she said something like (paraphrasing here) "On the way here I wasn't sure if I was a suspect".

Oopsie. He hadn't yet told her what had happened and she was wondering if she was a suspect.

She was given use and derivative use immunity to testify in Magbanua's trial and her brother's trial. I'm sure that makes it harder to charge her, but from what I have heard on this timeline they had a good bit of circumstantial evidence against her at least for conspiracy. I think they want to get her on murder though, so they are biding their time, as they did with Charlie and now Donna.

Fogbow