Are Investigators Coming for Wendi Adelson?

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]A Lion King gang member and his accomplice arrested for the shooting death of an FSU law professor. And now people are wondering what's the connection.

[00:00:09]The death of law professor Dan Markell left two young boys without a father and started an investigation that began all the way up in Tallahassee and ended up down in Miami. Now a third arrest in the shooting of Dan Markell, a Miami shotg girl accused of setting up the hit. Were you involved in the death of Dan Marl?

[00:00:31]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:00:32]>> Katherine McDanoa happened to be the ex-girlfriend of a Miami dentist named Charlie Adlesen whose sister Wendy Adlesen was in the middle of a bitter custody battle with her ex Dan Markell.

[00:00:46]>> The defendant is guilty of firstdegree murder.

[00:00:49]>> Now Charlie Adlesen's mother, Donna, is accused of masterminding the murder plot.

[00:00:57]The defendant is guilty of firstdegree murder.

[00:01:00]>> Meanwhile, Wendy Adlesen has always been suspected of being involved, but has never been charged with anything.

[00:01:08]>> As the ex-wife, I assumed I was a suspect from the beginning.

[00:01:13]>> Amazingly, five people were convicted in the murder of Dan Markell. But the person who benefited the most, his ex-wife Wendy Adlesen, has never been arrested or charged with anything. Now, she wanted to move the kids to South Florida. Her family got involved. Her brother and mother are two of the people convicted. They are behind bars. She is free. And everyone's wondering, yeah, what's it going to take to arrest Wendy Adlesen? In this video, I'm going to show you the evidence that could be enough to lock her up temporarily, but is it enough to get her convicted? I'm Vinnie Palletan. Let's investigate.

[00:02:11]Wendy Adlesen and Dan Markell were in the middle of a bitter, bitter battle.

[00:02:18]It was a battle about money, but most importantly, it was a battle about their children. As this marriage broke up, the question was where and how would the children be raised? You see, Dan Markell wanted to raise his kids as Orthodox Jews, and Wendy Adlesen and her family not on board with that. Also, where would they be raised? Dan Markell was a professor at at Florida State University, which is up in Tallahassee.

[00:02:48]That's like the part of Florida that's nothing like the bottom part, the southern part of Florida. It's way up north, 400 miles away from where Wendy Adlesen and her family were from, which is South Florida. So Wendy wanted to move the kids down to South Florida and raise them the way she wanted to raise them. And this created so much friction in this divorce and custody battle. But what made it even more difficult was the meddling mother Donna Adlesen who sort of had her control over her daughter Wendy from the beginning. like this relationship. Wendy and Dan Markell met on J Date, which is a a a website for uh Jewish people who want to date other Jewish people. And Donna was the one who picked out Dan because he was bright, he was smart, he was handsome, and he was Jewish. So from the beginning of this relationship, Donna Adlesen, the meddling mother, was in the middle of it. And as this divorce was taking place and this custody battle, it got very personal between Dan Markell and Donna Adlesen. And as a result, what has happened is um prosecutors have proven to juries over and over again that Donna Adlesen was spearheading this murder plot with her son Charlie with the help of other people. Five people have been convicted in this murder plot. Donna, the matriarch, the leader of the whole thing. Her son Charlie, who was kind of like the the tough guy who had all the connections. Katie Mcbanoa, Charlie's girlfriend, who had a boyfriend named a Sigfredo whose best friend was a Latin king. So, all five of them have been convicted.

[00:04:42]And as we take a step back and look at what has happened here, everyone is wondering, "What about Wendy?

[00:04:50]She's the one who benefits the most from all of this. She was the one in the custody battle.

[00:04:57]Was she completely outside the loop in all of this? Is it possible that her mother and her brother planned the murder of her ex-husband, the father of her children, and she knew nothing and had no part in all of it? Well, as we sit here right now, that's the way it looks because she hasn't been charged.

[00:05:19]But I want to go back to the beginning of of this case and it's really the first interview and and it's the first few moments of the first interview of Wendy Adlesen. This is all happening on the day that Dan Markell is murdered.

[00:05:34]She's speaking with police. It's all being recorded. And amazingly, she pointed her finger so quickly at her brother.

[00:05:45]It's mindblowing.

[00:05:47]Like investigators are coming in here and they have no idea what this case is about and and right out of the gate it seems that Wendy Adlesen is steering them towards her brother Charlie. Let's take a look at that interview.

[00:06:04]Would you ever ask someone to do something like this?

[00:06:07]>> Not in a million years.

[00:06:09]>> Okay. Do you think someone would do this for your benefit without asking you?

[00:06:13]>> No.

[00:06:14]>> What good does it serve?

[00:06:18]I made my brother um the one, his name is Charlie, the one I'm really close to, he makes a lot of jokes and bad taste. And it was a joke he made. He bought the TV for me this morning that got broken. And I was talking to him about whether it made sense to pay to fix it or whether I should get a new one. And it was always his joke that like he knew Danny treated me badly and it was always his joke. He said, "I I you know, I looked into hiring a hitman and it was cheaper to get you this TV, so instead I got you this TV."

[00:06:53]>> Hold it there for one second.

[00:06:54]>> I mean, >> so quickly into this interview, she is implicating her brother and talking about her brother. Not only talking about her brother, but talking about her brother joking about hiring a hitman.

[00:07:10]Well, what happened in this case? Two hitmen were hired to kill Dan Markell.

[00:07:16]This is unbelievable. Like why is she saying this? What what is going through her mind at this time? Is it possible that she is completely oblivious to what her brother and her mother did and is just kind of spewing this out there?

[00:07:33]Bizarre. Makes no sense. But on the other hand, it could be that she knew what was going to happen and she's already pointing the finger at someone else to save her own hide. Let's continue to watch.

[00:07:48]>> I mean, he would never.

[00:07:52]He's my big brother and he's been taking care of me since I was little, but he would never. And I I said I told that to the repair guy this morning.

[00:08:01]>> Right.

[00:08:03]That's okay. I said, he asked me how much it cost and I said I didn't know cuz it was a gift because my brother said it was cheaper than a hitman. It was my divorce present.

[00:08:12]>> Okay.

[00:08:13]>> Such a horrible thing to say. I'm so sorry.

[00:08:16]>> That's okay.

[00:08:21]>> But even my family who felt like I had been mistreated would never do something like this. Never.

[00:08:30]Well, it's been you guys have been divorced for over a year. Has there been any type of abuse in that time >> of him towards me? Yeah. No, no, it's um he's latigious and we have an ongoing case because the house it shouldn't be I don't know. It shouldn't be in my name anymore. But um when we got when we when we settled the case of our divorce, he said our one of the agreements the court said was Danny wanted to stay in the house. They said you can have the house but you need to pay her half of the amount of what the house is worth. And he agreed to it and then months passed and he just never paid me. And so we have ongoing litigation um where he um I filed a motion in the court to have him pay me when he said he would and he filed a counter motion for sanctions against my attorney because he thought that she did something wrong which she didn't. Um but so I mean she you know she withdrew from the case and was going to serve as a witness. I mean, she's not she's not going to lash out at him for it. She's using the legal process to do it. Um, you know, my my parents are, you know, very angry towards him. Um, but even when they're around my kids, they would never say a bad word about my kids' father. They're really, really careful about that.

[00:10:03]>> They just like him, but they know he's the father of my kids. They would never they would never do that, >> right?

[00:10:10]>> I don't know who would be angry enough with him.

[00:10:12]>> Well, that's what I have to find out >> to do something like this.

[00:10:17]>> Um, >> hold it right there.

[00:10:18]>> Your brother, >> she's implicated her brother and the rest of her family, which implicates her mother. Talk about how angry they are.

[00:10:27]Like, all of this stuff is being volunteered. She's throwing out all the potential motives that exist for the murder. the people don't like Dan Marquell, which is her family, who ends up getting convicted in all of this. And then you look at her demeanor. I mean, there's this this this nervous smile.

[00:10:44]And I don't know what her baseline demeanor is, so I can't really read it.

[00:10:48]Um, but ultimately, if if and she hasn't been, and there's no indication that she will be because this case, as you look on the screen, goes back to 2014. She's never been charged. I mean, at this point, is there any chance that she gets charged? I mean, her mother and brother have been convicted now for years. So, as as I look at her demeanor and the way she's acting, um, if she ever got charged, a jury would see the same thing and they would make a judgment on that.

[00:11:17]They always do. They always do, especially when you compare this to the person who shows up inside of the courtroom. So, it's a nervous smile, but to me, it's it's it's she's putting her family right in the middle of this investigation. They might be there otherwise, but to come from her is really strange. And she's adding a lot of details about this litigation and motions that are filed. I mean, the father of her children's just been shot to death in his driveway.

[00:11:50]Let's go back.

[00:11:52]>> That you're real close to, I have to do a lot of elimination at the same time.

[00:11:56]The brother that you're really close to, the one that joked about the TV and everything, what' you say his name was?

[00:12:02]>> Charlie.

[00:12:02]>> Charlie. And he's in Fort Lauderdale.

[00:12:04]>> Yeah.

[00:12:04]>> Okay. Tell me what kind of car he has.

[00:12:07]>> He has like five cars.

[00:12:10]>> Tell me all of them.

[00:12:10]>> He drives I think one of them is an unmarked police car.

[00:12:14]>> Oh, really?

[00:12:14]>> He's a bit of a character.

[00:12:16]>> Okay.

[00:12:16]>> So, I don't know what he's driving at the time, right? But I'll tell you, he is a he's a periodonist and he has this practice where he works from early in the morning till late at night. So, you ever wanted to find his whereabouts?

[00:12:29]He's working all day long and until early in the morning till late at night and always driving to a different office working.

[00:12:35]>> Oh, he he goes to different offices.

[00:12:37]>> Yeah, he works at different offices all over South Florida and does implants for people and he works really hard all the time. He has a girlfriend, so he's pretty much accounted for all the time.

[00:12:52]>> Charlie, what's is that his first name?

[00:12:53]>> Charlie's his first name, >> not Charles.

[00:12:57]>> I think Charles is his legal name. No one No one calls him that.

[00:13:00]>> What's his last name?

[00:13:01]>> Aden.

[00:13:04]>> What's his middle?

[00:13:05]>> Um, J. J A Y.

[00:13:09]>> Making a list of suspects right now.

[00:13:11]>> Same spelling. A D E L S O M.

[00:13:13]>> Yeah.

[00:13:13]>> Okay.

[00:13:14]>> Oh my god.

[00:13:15]>> What? What?

[00:13:18]Oh my gosh. I can't believe this is happening.

[00:13:20]>> Okay. All right. Let me Let me go get the form for the phone.

[00:13:24]>> Do I Do I need to um be read by Miranda rights or something? If you're going to look at my phone, >> I can read you, Miranda, if you want to hear that.

[00:13:33]>> I don't know. I'm just trying to make sure. Okay.

[00:13:35]>> I have no reason I have no reason at this point to suspect you in this incident.

[00:13:42]>> Okay.

[00:13:43]I couldn't tell from the way you were talking to me in the car if I was a suspect.

[00:13:47]>> Well, no. And the reason was I didn't want to get into everything until we got up here.

[00:13:52]>> Is he still in the hospital?

[00:13:53]>> He's at the hospital. Yes.

[00:13:55]>> Yes.

[00:13:56]>> And he's alone.

[00:13:59]>> Yes.

[00:14:00]>> And nobody knows he's there.

[00:14:02]>> Well, you know now. And while I'm going to get this phone taken care of, I'm going to have a victim advocate come in here and hopefully you can supply her with his parents. I'm >> God.

[00:14:14]>> I'm assuming his parents would be his next of kin.

[00:14:18]>> Um, he's a sister he's really close with.

[00:14:20]>> Where is she?

[00:14:22]>> They're all in Canada. He's Canadian.

[00:14:24]>> Okay. All right. They live in Canada.

[00:14:27]>> They all live in Canada. His family is all in Canada.

[00:14:30]>> Okay.

[00:14:31]>> They're going to think I did it.

[00:14:32]>> No. uh now.

[00:14:34]>> Wow.

[00:14:34]>> Don't jump to conclusions on that.

[00:14:38]>> Oh my god. I can't believe this is happening.

[00:14:41]>> Well, let me ask you. If you found out that this was someone that you personally know, would that change your mind about what should happen to that person?

[00:14:49]>> About what should happen to that person >> for prosecution purposes?

[00:14:53]>> Um, no.

[00:14:56]Is there any way that you would think >> if somebody tried to kill my ex-husband?

[00:15:00]They should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

[00:15:03]>> Regardless of who it is, >> I mean, it would be different if I thought it were my brother, but I don't think it was my family. Anyone outside my immediate family, that's a tough one.

[00:15:11]But I don't think my immediate family did this. So, >> if it's anybody else Yeah.

[00:15:17]>> Okay.

[00:15:17]>> Hold it right there. Would do you think that >> this is this is by the way great interview by the officer here like a question like that is really really interesting because you don't know what kind of response you're going to get and the response from her is so interesting like she's not really discounting the fact that her family could be involved in all of this.

[00:15:45]Think about the way she's responding to this. like her family is sort of, well, they would never do this. They would never do this, but but they really hate him. And by the way, my in-laws or my ex-in-laws, they're going to think I did it because they know how how bitter this battle was.

[00:16:03]Everything is pointing in that direction.

[00:16:06]But it takes literally years for investigators to arrest anyone named Aden.

[00:16:13]You know, they they begin by getting the first hitman who then pleads guilty who rolls over on his friend and then um the trials begin from there. A series of of of trials and to see the way she is responding here. Is there anything that she said there that could be used against her?

[00:16:39]Well, the first thing that jumps out to me is she's am I a suspect?

[00:16:44]And that might be a very natural reaction, but already she's thinking about that.

[00:16:50]You know, my ex-husband's been murdered or has been shot, is in the hospital, but does die.

[00:17:00]He's been shot.

[00:17:03]Am I a suspect in this?

[00:17:06]Does an innocent person have that response?

[00:17:11]Maybe, but I certainly certainly could see a prosecutor using that moment against her in front of the jury. Ladies and gentlemen, she knew she was a suspect. She just wanted to know if she needed to get a lawyer in there.

[00:17:32]Like, that's what you're going to argue.

[00:17:33]You're going to use that. The defense could use it, too, maybe. Like, am I a suspect in this? and she doesn't have a lawyer and she's speaking freely voluntarily.

[00:17:46]Another thing that she said that I thought was interesting when she's talking about Charlie, her brother, is she seemed to be providing an alibi for him out of the box as well. She implicated him, but I think she had to because for whatever reason, she's talking to the TV repair man about her brother making a joke about hiring a hitman to kill her ex. So maybe the the joke is already out there. She knows it's out there. So she is volunteering it to the officer because she knows eventually like someone's going to find out about this. Why didn't you say anything about it? So maybe she's trying to be as transparent as possible. And does that transparency tell you innocent or trying to deflect?

[00:18:39]That's the interesting thing about trials and the law is that the same fact can be spun in two different directions. That's where the lawyering comes in. But as a prosecutor, you need the evidence. You need the the the hard evidence, whether it's direct evidence, which could be an admission or some sort of, you know, video or confession or a statement made to a third party that can implicate you in all of it. Sometimes you need that. A lot of times you need that.

[00:19:17]This case though where we're talking about hitmen who commit the murder, you've got to get her into the conspiracy itself where she has some level of communication or agreement with her mother, with her brother, and takes some action towards that.

[00:19:38]That's how you get her into all of this.

[00:19:43]So, this interview doesn't do that. This interview to me is like the little side dish that you are going to use at trial to show yeah, she knew everything. She's pointing a finger at Charlie. She's talking about her family because she's trying to save herself.

[00:20:03]Now, I want to talk about another moment that takes place inside that interview/interrogation room. Now, the detective has left the room. Wendy Adlesen's in there and it seems like she's in there with a couple of the the victim advocates who are there to help her. And at this moment, she decides to call her mother, Donna, and tell her about what happened to Danny.

[00:20:27]I want you to listen closely because you can hear Donna through the phone during certain parts of this conversation as well, so you get her reaction. Remember, she's been convicted. She masterminded this whole thing. The question is, does Wendy know or does Wendy not know? Is Wendy a part of it or is she not a part of it? And is there anything in this interaction that could be used against her? Let's take a look.

[00:20:54]>> Um, okay. I'm going to call my parents.

[00:20:58]Okay.

[00:20:59]>> Um, I have no idea what to say because I don't even know that he's dead. I just know that he has been shot >> and >> but all signs of what everyone's telling you. I mean when they talk start talking sorry to be blunt or >> I know that's not really >> he's kind of >> um Okay. So I just want to tell them what happened and that I need them here and they're going to fine >> and let them know you know when they ask the kids are with Lynn and Allan. Um, I'm gonna probably be seeing them relatively soon.

[00:21:36]>> I will, right? I'll be out of here soon.

[00:21:38]Yeah. Okay.

[00:21:39]>> I know. It's probably >> weird to see Jeff's picture. Like, it looked like a weird mug shot. Like, it's Can you >> Dear God? Um, okay.

[00:21:50]>> Nervous.

[00:21:51]>> No, I just like I think it's a shock reaction. Um, >> I'm >> You know, right? Shock reaction.

[00:21:58]>> Yeah. Oh, and I'm a I'm a shaker when I get upset. So, yeah.

[00:22:01]>> Usually shake. I really don't.

[00:22:04]Okay, here it goes. This is This is the worst day of my life.

[00:22:24]>> Maybe I should text them if I can't reach them.

[00:22:27]>> Hi, Mom. How's it going?

[00:22:30]to the emergency department.

[00:22:35]How are you doing?

[00:22:36]>> Mom, I need you to sit down. I am fine.

[00:22:39]The boys are fine.

[00:22:43]>> Um I need you to sit down. I'm I'm fine.

[00:22:46]And the boys are And the boys are fine.

[00:22:49]Danny has been >> D. You can put me on speaker.

[00:22:59]>> Yeah. Um, Danny has been shot.

[00:23:04]Um, and I don't think he's going to make it.

[00:23:10]Um, and so I I know. Um, so I found this out around 1 or 2 today and I'm at the police station and I'm trying to help them figure out who may have done this.

[00:23:26]Um, the boys the boys are the boys are fine. I had Lynn and Allan pick them up from school and they're with Lynn and Allan right now.

[00:23:36]Um, and I'm going to leave here soon and go be with them. Um, but I really need you to come here and be with me.

[00:23:46]But I want you to either fly if you I mean obviously you can't leave right now, but I need you to get yourself together. If it's too much to drive, I'd really rather that you flew up.

[00:23:58]>> Where are you now?

[00:24:00]>> I'm at the police station and I'm going to leave soon and be with the boys before they go to bed. They're with Alan and Lynn and they're totally fine. Um, yeah, the boys are fine, but they don't know anything yet. Um, and um I in his house I know. Um, I know. So, I I just need you to calm down before you get in the car. Okay.

[00:24:30]Okay. So, um, and it's, you know, it's evening. So, if you want to come here tomorrow, I have a lot of people that'll, you know, be here with me and, you know, we'll have a lot of support.

[00:24:42]So, I want you to take your time and just be safe in getting here, but I'd like you to come when you can. Okay.

[00:24:49]>> You're welcome.

[00:24:50]>> Okay. All right. I love you. Um >> um I I have I think Jane might I have the car here, but Jane might take me.

[00:25:02]I'm not going to be alone. So I have um I have a lot of support and I'll be fine. Um but um yeah, if you could just come here, that would be great.

[00:25:20]Where is he?

[00:25:21]>> He's He's in the ICU in the hospital.

[00:25:26]>> Okay, we're going to get there as soon as we can.

[00:25:28]>> Okay, but be careful. Okay.

[00:25:34]>> Okay.

[00:25:38]>> Okay. Love you, too. Bye.

[00:25:41]>> Mom. Mom.

[00:25:44]>> You did awesome with that class.

[00:25:46]>> Thanks. you were so stressed out about it and you handled it.

[00:25:49]>> Um, I just want you I talked to Allan, okay? And just because my my suggestion to him just because we don't know what's going on, um, was if he goes to the house, sorry, my mom might be calling back and she heard me.

[00:26:04]>> Mom, >> you did. Yeah. I just wanted to ask if you could just tell Charlie for me. I just don't want to be making calls right now. So, if you could just tell Charlie for me, that would be great.

[00:26:18]>> Okay. And just like it's on the news a little bit that there was a shooting on Trescot, and so I'm starting to get a lot of calls. Um, and I'm not going to be answering them. Um, unless they're from you. So, I would really try not to tell anybody what's going on just yet, just because like he's in the hospital.

[00:26:37]And Charlie, I talked to Charlie earlier today obviously before any of this happened. Like I talked to him at like 10 this morning and he said that he was coming to visit you guys this weekend and um he had plans and he he sounded good. I just I um I don't I just can't, Mom. So, can you just tell him?

[00:27:03]>> Yeah. Um, just tell him for me and then I'm sure I'll talk to him soon, but I just I don't want to be on the phone unless I have to right now.

[00:27:11]Okay. Okay. All right. Love you, too.

[00:27:15]Bye.

[00:27:16]Oh my god.

[00:27:19]Well, my parents sounded really surprised, so it's at least a relief.

[00:27:25]I was trying 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.

[00:27:33]Thank God. I really couldn't handle that right now.

[00:27:38]>> WOW. WHAT IS GOING ON THAT FAMILY?

[00:27:45]She She literally didn't know how her mother would react to that. And she said, "It's a relief that my mother's not involved."

[00:27:56]The question is, so how does that make Wendy look? Donna we know was involved and that whole thing was play acting on the phone.

[00:28:04]But what is Wendy doing? Could you use that against her?

[00:28:09]Again, another one of these moments that can be spun in two different directions.

[00:28:15]So, let's take a look at what Wendy Adlesen was doing on the morning of the murder. Right. So, they're separated at this time. They're living in different homes. They've been divorced. there's just an ongoing custody battle and litigation about money um that each side is pointing the finger at each other about. So, um let's take a look. This is some news footage uh from Trescott Lane of Dan Markell's house. This is crime scene footage. You can see where the house is. So, some important factors to remember here is that the night before the boys spend the night with Danny.

[00:28:53]Okay. So, they're with dad. So, dad has custody that night. This is the road.

[00:28:58]You can see what kind of road it is and the police activity that is there that day. There's crime scene tape up and things are blocked off. So, it's obvious that something happened here on Trescot where Danny lives and where her children were sleeping the night before. I'm going to play you some testimony now from Wendy Adlesen. This is from her mother's trial. She testified several times at several of the trials in in this entire case. But listen as she describes where she went that morning and the fact that she drove past that road. Let's watch.

[00:29:40]>> On the morning of the murder, did you have an appointment at your residence on Aqua Ridge?

[00:29:47]>> I did.

[00:29:48]>> What was the nature of that appointment?

[00:29:50]I had an appointment with the Geek Squad. Um, there were some vertical lines on the TV. I didn't know if maybe one of my kids had tapped it or touched it, but it wasn't working. And so I had an appointment and they were scheduled to come sometime between 8 and 12.

[00:30:06]>> And hold it right there.

[00:30:08]>> The TV that >> prosecutors can use this. They can use There's Donna.

[00:30:18]The Geek Squad is at her house in the window of time when the murder takes place. What is that, ladies? That is an alibi. I am there with another human being. I am not by myself. They're there to fix my TV.

[00:30:36]That's okay. Or from the from the defense perspective, she has an alibi.

[00:30:42]You know, she she Yeah. Because this is a case involving a hitman.

[00:30:47]But, you know, the investigation is going to look at her first so she can very quickly be eliminated as a suspect for shooting her husband because she is at home getting her TV fixed by the Geek Squad. Let's continue to watch.

[00:31:05]>> That was the same TV that your brother joked he got you as a divorce present because cheaper than hiring a hitman.

[00:31:12]>> Yes.

[00:31:14]And I want to go back to the day of the murder. We know about the TV repair man left about Did you say about 9?

[00:31:22]>> I The truth is I don't really remember, but you know something like 9 or 10?

[00:31:27]>> Definitely before 10 or by 10.

[00:31:30]>> Yes, that's my best memory.

[00:31:32]>> All right. Where did you go after the TV? What was the next place you went after the TV repair man left?

[00:31:38]>> So I was home I think for a couple of hours first. I was doing a little bit of work. I was talking to some friends. I think I ate breakfast. Um and then I left probably close to noon or a little bit afternoon. I was meeting two friends who I would frequently meet on a Friday um to have lunch with. And so I went to run a few quick errands and then meet them for lunch.

[00:32:03]>> And on your way to meet the friends, did you have an occasion to go down Trescott?

[00:32:09]>> I was trying to turn down Trescott.

[00:32:10]That's where I used to turn and take just just the road I was used to. Um but there was um yellow tape up and so when I tried to turn I couldn't turn. So I made a three-point turn and kept going on Centerville.

[00:32:27]>> And so you encountered a police roadblock at that location?

[00:32:31]>> Yes.

[00:32:31]>> Okay. Couldn't go any further because there was a police car and some yellow tape. Right.

[00:32:35]>> Right. And that was you were able to see that from the intersection there or you actually turned on to Trescot.

[00:32:44]>> I tried to turn and then I couldn't go through so I turned around and kept going.

[00:32:49]>> Oh, hold it there for one second.

[00:32:53]>> Okay, you've got to put yourself in her place.

[00:32:59]My children are with their dad on Trescot.

[00:33:03]I'm running some errands.

[00:33:06]I tried to drive down Trescott, but it's blocked off.

[00:33:12]Police are blocking it off. Something has happened on Trescot.

[00:33:16]Would it spark a little concern, a little curiosity?

[00:33:23]Where you might want to find out, well, what's going on here?

[00:33:27]My my my hus my ex-husband lives on this street. I used to live on this street.

[00:33:31]My children slept in that in a house on this street the night before.

[00:33:38]Where's the curiosity? Or is the curiosity just driving by just to make sure that what you thought was going to happen actually happened.

[00:33:54]And why is she driving down Trescott?

[00:33:57]She was going to run some errands, but and and we did this at Court TV. We we took a look at where she said she was going and the route that she took to get there. And it was not the most direct route, not even close to being the most direct route to get to where she was going. She was going to a liquor store to to buy something and then she was going to meet her friends afterwards. And the route she took was kind of out of the way. Why is she going out of the way? Is this some level of consciousness of did it really happen?

[00:34:31]Did it happen? And then driving by is the confirmation that yes, it did happen.

[00:34:40]That's evidence prosecutors could use.

[00:34:45]Absolutely evidence prosecutors could use. Let's continue to watch >> before you turned around.

[00:34:52]>> Just until the tape. Okay.

[00:35:02]Which uh one of you or your ex-husband had the kids the night before he was killed?

[00:35:09]>> The night before they were with Danny.

[00:35:11]>> All right. So, it was his responsibility to take them to preschool that morning.

[00:35:16]>> Yes.

[00:35:18]>> Who was supposed to pick them up from preschool that day?

[00:35:21]>> I was supposed to pick them up.

[00:35:24]Had you talked to Dan Markell or your children that morning before you encountered the roadblock?

[00:35:30]>> I hadn't talked to the boys because they would have it would have been I wouldn't have talked to them. You know, they didn't have cell phones. They were little. So, I only would have spoken to them if I had gone to the preschool and seen them. But, I didn't do that. So, I hadn't talked to the boys. I'm sorry.

[00:35:46]What was the second part of >> How about Dan? Did you speak to him that morning?

[00:35:49]>> We didn't. We had plans to talk. We had traded some text messages and emails and then I called him and he didn't pick up and that was the last contact.

[00:36:00]>> Did you attempt to call Dan Markel when you encountered the roadblock?

[00:36:04]>> No.

[00:36:06]>> Did you attempt to call your kids daycare after encountering the roadblock?

[00:36:10]>> No.

[00:36:12]>> Did you notify anyone that you observed the roadblock?

[00:36:15]>> I was talking on the phone at the time.

[00:36:17]So, I may have said to the person I was talking to, "Oh, I tried to I'm trying to drive, but I have to turn around.

[00:36:24]Hold on."

[00:36:25]>> Okay, that was probably a bad question.

[00:36:27]Did you attempt to investigate in any way or ask anyone what the roadblock was of that?

[00:36:32]>> I wasn't concerned about the roadblock.

[00:36:34]>> Hold it right there. That's it. That's exactly exactly what she was concerned about. The prosecutor getting that out from Wendy.

[00:36:46]I the prosecutor hasn't charged Wendy Adlesen.

[00:36:50]She's not been indicted. She has not been put in handcuffs. None of that has happened. But that Q&A right there shows the jury at Donna's trial that oh my goodness, what's going on here? Now, what she said there in court cannot be used against her. She got use immunity.

[00:37:11]She was compelled to testify, but nothing that she said at the trial can be used against her. But how illuminating is it all the things that she did not do when she came up against that roadblock. To me, it speaks volumes.

[00:37:30]So, where is the really good evidence or potential evidence against Wendy Adlesen?

[00:37:38]Well, it comes from a witness. It is someone who was very close to Wendy Adlesen at one one point, her ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Lacass, and his testimony and the things that he can provide to a grand jury and to a jury in a courtroom, the most powerful evidence against Wendy Adlesen.

[00:38:04]The problem is though is that he is an exboyfriend.

[00:38:09]So you have to judge his credibility and his credibility would be um subjected to serious cross-examination etc. All of that.

[00:38:20]But the evidence he has to provide is important. It is compelling. He testified in the trials. Here he is at Charlie Adlesen's trial talking about what Wendy said to him.

[00:38:35]After asking to speak to me confidentially, she told me that last summer that Charles Alen had looked into all possible options to take care of the Danny Markell problem, including hiring a hitman and it would cost about $15,000.

[00:38:51]I revised the amount. I said potentially that could have been $50,000. I'm unsure of the amount. The rest of the statement very confident it's true.

[00:38:59]>> So, you weren't sure whether she said 15 or 50, >> right? But she didn't say 15 or 50. She said one or the other.

[00:39:06]>> She said she said one number that I thought was 15 when I talked to TPD and later thought that could have been 50.

[00:39:12]>> Okay, I'm with you. And this statement was made in what context? What was her demeanor?

[00:39:20]>> Um well, she asked to speak to me confidentially. She's she was dead serious about it. It was a chilling statement. I had a reaction to it. My stomach flipped. a little scary, a little weird. So, it was a very serious statement she's making.

[00:39:39]>> So, clearly not a joke.

[00:39:41]>> No, it was not a joke. There are other jokes in that domain. This was completely distinct and discreet from any joke. This was not funny.

[00:39:50]>> And this statement was made within 5 days of Mr. Markell's murder by a hitman.

[00:39:55]>> That's correct.

[00:39:57]Okay.

[00:39:59]Right. That's direct knowledge if you believe him. That is Wendy Aden with direct knowledge of what was going on here. That her brother was looking into different ways to resolve the whole Danny Markell situation. One of them was in fact a hitman. Jeffrey Lacass also believes that he was going to be set up as the fall guy in all of this because at the time he's the one dating Wendy.

[00:40:25]So they were trying to make it look like he was the one who took out Danny Markell because he also spoke about in interviews about the fact that Wendy was asking him about a trip he was taking out of town and when he would be driving and the type of car that was rented by the hitman was similar to the car that he drove.

[00:40:50]So in Jeffrey Lacass's mind, like he was going to be the psy in all of this. Now that's his side of the story obviously and he would be the star witness against Wendy Aden if there was ever a case brought against her. So what does Wendy Aden have to say about Jeffrey Lacass?

[00:41:10]Let's take a look.

[00:41:14]>> Did you see Mr. Lacass?

[00:41:17]And you said that was somebody that you had been dating around the time of the murder. Is that right?

[00:41:22]>> We had broken up just before um that week that Danny was killed.

[00:41:27]>> All right. Did you have an occasion to see him on July 13th of 2014? So just about a week before the murder at your residence?

[00:41:37]>> I don't remember him being at my residence, but I do remember seeing him around that time.

[00:41:42]>> Okay. And on July 13th, 2014, do you remember asking to share something in confidence with Mr. LCAS?

[00:41:51]>> I don't remember doing that.

[00:41:53]>> Did you tell Mr. Lass in the context of if something were to happen to Danny, I could move back to Miami? Did you tell Le Pass that regarding the relocation battle in the summer of 2013, Charlie had seriously not as a joke, explored all options to resolve the problem, including hiring a hitman?

[00:42:17]>> I did not have that conversation with Duff Lacass.

[00:42:24]>> She denies it.

[00:42:26]You you you can't admit it, right? If if it was true, you couldn't admit it. And if it didn't happen, obviously you would you would deny it. So she's going to deny it either way.

[00:42:36]So what's the bottom line here in in all this? You've had a prosecution that took years and years and years and very methodically built their case. And they didn't bring a case against anyone until they knew they had enough evidence to convict. Because in a murder trial, you only get one chance.

[00:42:55]If you bring a case, you don't have enough evidence and that jury says not guilty, it's over. It's over. But on the other side, there's no statute of limitations. Murder charges can be brought 5 years later, 10 years later, 20 years later. And I think at this point, if prose and to me, it's clear that prosecutors believe that she's involved. I don't know if she's involved. She's not she hasn't been charged, but I think prosecutors believe that. And I think they're playing the waiting game, waiting to see if somewhere down the road someone says something. Perhaps someone from the Aden family because that would be the strongest evidence, right? If you had Charlie or Donna say something to implicate Wendy for some reason. I don't know if it'll happen because the family to this day proclaims their innocence in all of this. But really, how do you explain a couple of hitmen from South Florida who have a connection to the Aden family going all the way up to Tallahassee to murder a law professor?

[00:44:03]There's no other reason why. And that's what the jury found. So, we'll continue to monitor this because prosecutors have surprised us in the past and they may surprise us once again in the murder of Danny Markell. I'm Vinnie Palletan.

[00:44:19]Thanks so much for watching. Until next time, please don't forget to hug the kids.