01x04 - Episode 4

[bunniefuu]

[tense music]

♪ ♪

[phone line trills]

- Hey, Rob.
How you doing, man?

♪ ♪

PAT: For you to come
actually testify

against your family,
how do you feel about that?

REPORTER:
Were you involved in a plot

to k*ll your brother-in-law?

PERSON 1:
There's a Prius.

PERSON 2:
She's wearing a red top.

PERSON 3:
They're walking away.

♪ ♪

PAT: The enhanced Dolce Vita
recording, that was huge.

An outside individual
who used to work for the CIA

had been able to isolate
Katie and Charlie's voices.

It was really amazing.

PAT: This is the smoking g*n
that we were looking for.

It's got some great
evidence in it

that we could actually play
in a courtroom environment

for the jury.

PAT: It's been a long wait,
but finally,

the state attorney's office
said, OK,

here's your warrant;
go get him.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

Dan Markel's m*rder
was very cold and callous.

And Charlie,
he coordinated the hit.

And we need to arrest this guy
before he finds out

we're coming for him.

You never know
how somebody's gonna react

when they get arrested.

Some people go quietly.

Some people decide,
I'm gonna try

to take
police officers out with me.

Bad things can happen.

♪ ♪

We surrounded the house.

And we had agents climb
the fence and go around back.

Charlie had actually
put up some razor wire

around the inside
of his fence.

That was pretty telling to us
that he was pretty paranoid.

We started yelling
and screaming at Charlie,

FBI, you need to come out.

[banging on door,
sirens wailing]

He actually came to the door
in just his boxer shorts

with his hair sticking out
about this big.

As he's standing there
in his boxer shorts

with handcuffs on,
he says, am I under arrest?

I said, yeah, this is
kind of what this means.

JUNE:
Obviously he just woke up.

Like, his hair's
all curly and big.

He never goes
in public like that, so...

REPORTER 1:
A Fort Lauderdale dentist

is charged in connection
with the 2014 m*rder

of his brother-in-law.

REPORTER 2: Charlie Adelson
is in custody today.

He's facing
first-degree m*rder charges.

- Charlie's arrest
was an enormous deal

in Coral Springs.

LINDA:
It was constant chatter.

It was the topic
of every gathering.

It was really surreal
to think that you

knew someone
that could be involved

in something so heinous.

PAT: It was a huge moment
in the case.

Finally we got Charlie
in custody.

At least that was
out of the way,

and we had to buckle down

and get ready
for Katie's retrial.

Katie's first trial
ended in a hung jury.

We wanted to make sure
that that

was not gonna happen again.

AVA: The retrial
of Katherine Magbanua.

She is the woman
accused of helping facilitate

the m*rder of FSU
law professor Dan Markel.

CHANNING:
Wiretaps, body camera video,

and financial records,
all important testimony

in Katherine Magbanua's
retrial today.

- Now, I want to be clear
from the very beginning.

Did you have anything to do
with the m*rder of Dan Markel?

- No, ma'am.
TARA: OK.

Did you know anything
about the m*rder of Dan Markel?

- No, ma'am.

TARA: Would you have ever
assisted anyone

in having
a father of two k*lled?

- No, ma'am.

TARA: Would you assist anyone
in having anybody k*lled?

- No, ma'am.
TARA: OK.

Katie was maintaining
her innocence.

So we went and spoke
to Sigfredo in the jail,

the father of her kids.

And he confirmed,
I'm going to testify for her.

That gave her
a little bit of hope.

Oh, my God, Sigfredo says he's
going to come and save me.

We transported him from prison
to testify in her trial.

And the day before
we were going to call him

to the witness stand,
he called me and said,

I'm not testifying,
with no further explanation.

[phone line beeping]

When I told that to Katie
the next morning

in the courtroom,

I was like,
he's not testifying,

and she's just looking at me
like, what do you mean?

How are you feeling?

- Freaking out.

TARA:
She loved Sigfredo.

That was, like,
her high school sweetheart.

But Sigfredo Garcia betrayed
Katie and let her down.

Did Charles Adelson give you
$100,000 to then go and give

to the father of your kids,

who you were not with,
the next day?

- No, ma'am.

PAT: She literally took
the stand and just lied.

Said she knew nothing about it.
She didn't participate.

She had nothing
to do with this.

But there's not
a single phone call

between Charlie Adelson
and Sigfredo Garcia.

Not a single meeting,
not a single message.

Physical evidence, the money,

it all shows
it came through Katie.

JUROR: In the case
of the State of Florida

versus Katherine D. Magbanua,

we, the jury, find as follows,
as to count one,

the defendant is guilty
of first-degree m*rder.

♪ ♪

- My heart broke
when that verdict came back.

You know, I get a little upset
even thinking about it now

because you know what comes
with that guilty verdict

is it's a life sentence.

JASON: I felt terrible
for Katie's kids.

Mom and Dad are both gone.

Life, that's it.

But Katie and Sigfredo
did this.

PAT: Her family
was torn apart by this.

And it was probably
four or five months later,

I get a call from
the state attorney's office

saying that Katie
may want to cooperate.

Is Katie gonna flip on Charlie?

PAT: OK.

Morning.

JASON: Pat, myself, we set up
a meeting with Katie,

and we were told
she's ready to cooperate.

She wants to talk to us.

So obviously
Dan Markel was m*rder*d.

What can you tell us
about that?

TARA: Now, at this point,
the prosecution team,

they had not made
any promises to her.

I think Katie was hoping
that the fact that she did

eventually come forward,
that the state would

reduce her sentence
and she will get to be

with her kids someday.

JASON: Is there anything
that you can think of

conversation-wise
that you had with Charlie?

JASON: She was extremely
guarded in her answers,

and we really wanted it
to be direct.

TARA: It must have been
so difficult for her

to get that information out.

She's now having
to talk about these details

and admitting
to her involvement

and knowing that the entire
world is going to scrutinize

everything that she says.

JASON: If you don't want
to spend the rest of your life

in prison,
you're gonna have to have

a real come-through
conversation with yourself

and your attorney, something,
because you're not there.

You've got to come
straight forward.

PAT: It was all
such a crock of bullshit.

I wanted her
to give me the truth,

and I know there's some
details there that she's not

providing that is the truth.

And she's holding back
on some of it.

JASON:
All right.

PAT: I wanted to take
Charlie Adelson down.

That was my ultimate goal.

And in order to do that,
we need Katie

to tell them the whole truth.

But you never know
what someone's gonna say

until they get on the stand.

CHANNING: Charlie Adelson,
charged in the m*rder

of a Florida State law
professor, Dan Markel, in 2014,

is awaiting the start
of his trial today.

AVA: Adelson is Markel's
former brother-in-law.

He is suspected of hiring
the hit men who k*lled Markel.

JASON: This case continues
to grow in popularity.

And by the time we were
trying Charles Adelson,

live stream feeds,
courtroom full of cameras,

packed gallery--the publicity
around it by then

had taken off.

JASON TRUTH AUTHORITY:
Hello, everyone.

This is Jason Truth Authority.

You see who's behind me?

Right there.

None other
than Charlie Adelson.

- The mastermind behind
his brother-in-law's

m*rder-for-hire plot.

- Who the--
do you think you are?

Lock the whole family up!

CAROLYN:
This case has it all--

family, power,
money, betrayal.

- Today we're diving into
the maestro, Charlie Adelson.

- People just can't
get enough of it.

JASON: For those of us trying
the case for the third time,

it's like, here we go again.

REPORTER: Testimony in Charlie
Adelson's m*rder trial.

Katherine Magbanua,
already behind bars,

on the witness stand today.

JUDGE: Do you swear
or affirm the testimony

you're about to give
will be the truth?

- I do.

JUDGE:
You may take your seat.

Please speak
loudly and clearly.

- Yes, Your Honor.

GEORGIA: What are you
in custody for?

- For m*rder.

GEORGIA: Are you doing
a sentence for m*rder?

- Yes, ma'am.

GEORGIA: You were
convicted of m*rder?

- Yes, ma'am.

GEORGIA: And is that
the m*rder of Dan Markel?

- Yes, ma'am.

GEORGIA: Did you have
a trial in your case?

KATHERINE: Yes, ma'am.

GEORGIA: All right,
and when you testified,

were you truthful
with the jury?

- No, ma'am, I was not.

GEORGIA:
So why tell the truth now?

- [sighs]

I believe that the truth
needed to come out.

SARAH KATHRYN: A good witness
gives you the good,

the bad, and the ugly.

They admit things even though
it might make them look bad

because it's the truth.

There's two prosecutors
assigned to the case,

Georgia Cappleman and myself.

We definitely worked
very hard to try

to make sure that we had all
the evidence we possibly could.

And it was very important
for the jury to hear details

that only Katie could provide.

GEORGIA: What was your
motivation for becoming

a part of this m*rder plot?

- Financially.

GEORGIA: Was it a favor
to Charlie Adelson?

KATHERINE:
Yes, ma'am, it was.

GEORGIA: Who came up with
the idea to k*ll Dan Markel?

- Charlie.

PAT: Katie finally
decided to cooperate.

She said that Charlie
had talked

about Dan Markel,
told her the problems,

and she had Sigfredo
help him out.

GEORGIA: All right, and did
you get payment for the m*rder

that night?

- I believe it was
the following morning.

I never counted it,
but it was, like, in a stack,

and it was stapled
in the corner.

- Katie had some
revealing information,

but when you have
a witness lie previously,

it's always a huge hurdle.

So we knew that we needed
another witness

to validate
what Katie said on the stand.

BAILIFF:
All rise.

Jury entering the courtroom.

JUDGE: Do you swear
or affirm the testimony

you're about to give
will be the truth?

- I do.

- You may take your seat.

JUNE: Charlie's trial
was on his actual birthday.

I didn't see him, obviously,
for the whole time

he was incarcerated.

To me, he looked just
totally different physically.

And you could tell, mentally,
he wasn't all himself.

GEORGIA:
Where do you live, ma'am?

- I'm in South Florida.

GEORGIA:
Do you know Charlie Adelson?

[cell phone ringing]

JUNE:
I'm sorry.

I did feel conflicted
about the trial

because I still
loved Charlie at the time.

So it was just hard to try to,
like, convict him.

GEORGIA:
Did you say,

"Hundreds
are like dollars to him"?

- I did say that.

GEORGIA:
Did you say that,

"All of his money is,
like, stapled together,

the hundreds in bundles"?

- I believe I did say that.

I remember
one time specifically,

Charlie was counting money
or sorting it out

in his living room
on the coffee table.

And I saw a staple
in the money.

So I made a comment
to him, asking him,

why are there staples in here?

And then he was like,
oh, so no one can take one

or it doesn't get lost
or something.

Why don't you just
use a paper clip?

Like, who staples money,
you know?

PAT: To have another witness
confirmed the stapled money

was huge for us
because it corroborated

what Katie told us about.

She took the payment
from Charlie.

We have the Dolce Vita,
which is

Charlie explaining everything.

I thought it was overwhelming
evidence against Charlie.

But we can't figure out
what his defense is gonna be.

How do we prepare
for a defense that we have

no idea what he's gonna say?

JUDGE: Is the defense ready
to call its next witness?

- Yes, Your Honor.

We call Charlie Adelson.

Charlie, you like
to talk a lot, right?

CHARLIE: Yeah, I didn't realize
how much I talk,

but evidently I do.

ATTORNEY:
Charlie, let's start

with the most important
question.

Did you cause the death
of Professor Dan Markel?

- Absolutely no.

ATTORNEY: Did you hire
anyone to k*ll him?

- No.

ATTORNEY: How did you know
what happened on July 18th?

CHARLIE:
Katie told me the next day.

She said, listen,
this is all my fault.

I spoke in too much detail
about your family's

personal problems,
about your sister, Dan Markel,

and the million-dollar offer.

SARAH KATHRYN:
On the stand, Charlie said

that Katherine Magbanua

was aware
of the million-dollar bribe

that he and his parents
offered Dan Markel

to allow the grandchildren
to live in Miami.

He said that Katie talked about
this bribe to the wrong people.

CHARLIE: She was like,
my friend k*lled Dan.

If you don't pay in 48 hours,
they will k*ll you.

And I said, Katie, I feel
like I'm getting extorted now.

- Charlie Adelson,
the dentist from South Florida.

He's alleging that this
wasn't m*rder for hire.

This was extortion.

SARAH KATHRYN:
It was clear that Charlie

had an explanation for every
single piece of evidence.

PAT: Charlie thinks
he can talk his way

out of things because that's
what he's done his whole life.

LINDA: Charlie was always
looking for attention.

He made a lot of money.

He was very showy.

I think that he felt that he
was untouchable, you know?

JUDGE: State, please
call your next witness.

GEORGIA:
State calls Wendi Adelson.

ATTORNEY: Do you think
someone would do this

for your benefit
without asking you?

GEORGIA: Is it fair
to say that during the year

or so leading up
to the m*rder of Dan Markel

that your brother
did not like your ex?

WENDI: Yeah, he probably
didn't like him,

but I also think he didn't
spend a lot of time

thinking about him.

GEORGIA: When did you learn
that Katherine Magbanua

was blackmailing your brother
for the m*rder

of your ex-husband?

- Today.

- You have no knowledge of it?

WENDI:
I have no knowledge.

- In all the years
this has been pending?

WENDI: In all of the years
this has been pending.

- Your brother has known
who k*lled your child's father,

and you didn't know?

- I did not know.

JASON:
Wait a minute.

Your brother knew who
the K*llers were the whole time

but never told anybody?

Make it make sense.

- You suspected your brother

could have been a part
of this, right?

- I suspected lots of people
could have been a part of it.

- Right, and one
of the possible ideas was

that your brother could have
m*rder*d your child's father.

Was part of the plot
for you to be able to have

plausible deniability
about this?

- Absolutely not.

JUDGE: Has the jury reached
a unanimous verdict?

JUROR 1:
Yes, Your Honor.

JUROR 2: We, the jury,
find as follows,

as to count one
of the indictment,

first-degree m*rder,

the defendant is guilty
of first-degree m*rder.

Count two.
We, the jury...

PAT: We heard
that guilty verdict come in,

and it was just
a huge sigh of relief.

- I kind of, like, looked
at Pat, and you're like,

well, we did it.

REPORTER:
A South Florida dentist

has been found guilty
of arranging

for a hit man to m*rder

a Florida State University
professor.

Markel's parents and sister,

they were there
in the courtroom today.

PHIL:
Unbelievable.

- Relief.
It's a long time coming.

- It's been so long,
nine years.

RUTH: We are very grateful
to law enforcement

at the same time that we are
expressing this tremendous loss

and trauma.

REPORTER: Adelson is now
facing life in prison.

- I felt awful to find out
that he was convicted

for three counts of m*rder,

him being
a successful periodontist

that had everything.

He's never coming back.

He's gone.

JASON: After the trial
against Charlie,

every one of us
had one goal in sight.

And it was to get
another individual

from the Adelson family
sentenced to life in prison.

[tense music]

JASON: On the Friday
after Charlie was convicted,

I'm sitting there, and I was
like, I got nothing else to do.

I'll put on jail calls,
and I'll listen to Charlie

just see who he's talking to,
see what's being said.

- The common theme was,
nothing was fair.

Tallahassee is corrupt.

JASON: It just kind of
goes silent.

And then all of a sudden,
I hear Donna

talking in the background,
and I was like,

what am I listening to?

What is going on?

- Donna was unaware
she was still being recorded.

She forgot
to hang up the phone.

And she's planning something.

PAT: It was clear on the call
that Donna was trying

to get away
before she was arrested.

They had purchased
one-way tickets to Vietnam

with no return date.

If you don't have
anything to hide,

then why are you trying
to flee the country?

- The evidence
against Donna Adelson

was definitely something
that was in the works,

but the recorded call made us
hit the gas on that process.

JASON:
The decision is made.

We're going to do a probable
cause arrest warrant for Donna.

Let's get this done.

PAT: So I arrived
at the airport,

and I had customs agents
waiting on the jet bridge.

I felt like if they saw me,
they would know the gig was up,

and they might just
turn around and leave.

I wanted to wait until they
got through the ticketing gate

to make sure they were
not gonna back out of it.

♪ ♪

Once they got through
the ticketing gate,

there's no turning back then.

PAT: Her reaction did kind of
surprise me a little bit.

She said, oh, not this again.

Like, almost bothered by it.

Annoyed that she had to,
you know, deal with this again.

PAT: I think she finally
saw the writing on the wall

that this is something
she can't get away from.

PAT: No, you can't
join her there.

PAT: We didn't have
enough evidence

to arrest Harvey Adelson,
so he's totally free to go.

But they tried
to pretend that he

was too frail and old
to even find

his own way out of the airport,

which I thought
was kind of pathetic.

They're the victim
of everything.

OFFICER:
[speaking indistinctly]

- For Harvey, I don't think,
on a day-to-day basis,

he had any idea
what was going on.

But I don't know
that we'll ever know.

OFFICER:
Be careful with your head.

PAT: Donna thinks
she's just above the law.

Doesn't have to comply
or contort with anybody else's

authority other than her own.

OFFICER:
Thank you.

PAT: But it was obvious
this time, she felt

the walls closing in on her.

REPORTER 1: A stunning arrest
in a m*rder-for-hire plot

that left a Florida State
law professor dead

nearly a decade ago.

REPORTER 2:
Donna Adelson arrested

at the Miami airport
while trying to board

a one-way flight to Vietnam.

LINDA:
When Donna was arrested,

we knew people who,
to the bitter end,

could never accept
that they could

have been involved in any way

and other people say they knew
right from the beginning.

- Donna Adelson will remain
behind bars until her trial,

the judge's ruling denying

the defense team's request
to release her on bond.

PAT: It's been years since
Dan Markel was m*rder*d.

The whole time, Donna,
she was living her life.

She had her daughter,
had her grandkids, had her son.

She was living the dream
until she wasn't,

until the cards
started to fall against her.

- I've gained more than a third
of my body weight here.

The diet is all carbs.

PAT:
Donna was part of this.

She was part
of the conversations

that started the whole
undercover operation.

PAT:
She's the one that admitted

it involves her and Charlie.

PAT: People were calling her
the mastermind

of the operation.

But we needed
to prove to a jury

that Donna is guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt.

SARAH KATHRYN: The defendant
hated Dan Markel.

You will be convinced
beyond any reasonable doubt

that this defendant is guilty.

MICHAEL:
I'm fascinated by Donna's

sweaters that she wore
throughout the trial.

JASON:
One of the defense strategies

was to portray Donna
as a lovely, nice old lady.

But it was a show.

- She never wore
anything like that.

- She never wore anything
like that.

She always wore designer stuff.

MICHAEL:
It was to make her look

like the little old grandma.

How could Grandma
do anything such as that?

- How many total checks were
there from Adelson Institute

to Katherine Magbanua?

- There was 44 checks.

SARAH KATHRYN:
Were all of these checks

deposited by Katherine Magbanua
into her account?

MARY: They were.

SARAH KATHRYN:
Katherine Magbanua,

she's not an employee
of the Adelson Institute.

But within a couple of weeks
after the m*rder,

Katherine Magbanua started
getting these checks

every two weeks
for almost two years.

And who were each and every one
of these checks signed by?

MARY: Donna Adelson
was signing the checks.

SARAH KATHRYN: To be guilty
of first-degree m*rder

in Florida,
you don't have to be

at the scene of the crime
at the time.

If you are paying
for a m*rder,

you're just as guilty as the
person who pulled the trigger.

PAT: She told us
the night of the homicide

that she was going
to Mr. Adelson's residence,

and she believed that
the Adelsons had been there.

According to Katie,
Donna brought money

to Charlie
the night of the m*rder,

and there was text messages
to Charlie saying,

we're outside your house.

SARAH KATHRYN:
The state's argument

was that that money
was a portion of the payment

for Dan Markel's m*rder.

- Did you notice something else
unusual about the money?

- It was wet
and starting to mold.

GEORGIA: The money itself
was damp to the touch?

- Yes, ma'am.

- Right, and did you
ever mention that fact

to Charlie Adelson?

KATHERINE:
Yes, ma'am.

He told me that his mom
washed the money.

GEORGIA: That she physically
washed the money?

KATHERINE:
Yes, ma'am.

GENE: It seems
that Donna had put

all of the money
in the washing machine

because she wanted
to make sure that there

were no fingerprints on it.

- Donna put the money
through the washer?

PERSON:
Hopefully used enough soap.

GENE: This is a very odd way
of doing money laundering,

I would say, yes.

- Ms. Cappleman,
you may call your next witness.

GEORGIA: The state calls
Investigator Newland.

JASON: My name
is Jason Newland.

I'm an investigator with
the state attorney's office

here in Tallahassee.

In a m*rder trial,
motive is never an element

that has to be proven.

Does it help?

Absolutely.

We knew that Wendi and Dan
had a contentious divorce.

That was public.

And it was pretty apparent
that Donna Adelson

was a pivotal part
of that problem.

GEORGIA: What type
of evidence did you find

in regards
to the divorce filings

to indicate the defendant
has seen these things?

- Emails.

Three-plus years' worth
of emails were obtained,

and it was in those emails,
we learned

about how actually involved
Donna was with this divorce.

GEORGIA: What does she say
is the most important part

of Wendi's divorce?

- "The most important part
of your divorce is relocation."

And if there ever
was a motive,

it was Donna's emails
of wanting those kids

back in South Florida.

And Dan Markel would not
have allowed that.

PAT:
For Donna, when the evidence

is overwhelming against you,
you got to pull

whatever strings
you can pull

and do a call out
to your closest friends.

GEORGIA:
With respect to Mrs. Adelson

and your observations
of her over these,

I guess, 15 years,
have you found her

to be a hateful person?

- Never.

GEORGIA: Was she aggressive
towards others?

- Never.

GEORGIA: Have you ever
heard her threaten anyone?

- Never.

MICHAEL: The character
witness is saying

that she's a calm person,

non-argumentative,
never confrontational.

That's not how I--

- No, she argued with everyone
in our neighborhood.

She had a fight with every
person on the street.

[laughter]

JUDGE:
The state's next witness

will be whom this afternoon?

GEORGIA:
Robert Adelson.

PAT: We wanted to have
overwhelming evidence

to be able to win it at trial.

And to have Rob Adelson
testify against her,

we felt like that
was our best chance.

But how many people would put
themselves through that

just to do the right thing?

He was scared to death.

- So this is a painting

that Donna painted for me

while we were in art class
of a sailboat.

And it's signed by her,
Donna Sue Adelson.

This is a picture of roses
that she painted me.

And she wrote me on the back.

"Dear Drina, I hope
your life will be filled

"with love, joy, and flowers.

"You deserve only the best
because you are the best.

Love, Donna."

Donna called me
her jail daughter.

She would say,
you remind me of Wendi.

She told me
I reminded her of Wendi

all the time, all the time.

GEORGIA: Were you recently
incarcerated

in the Leon County Jail
with Donna Adelson?

- Yes, I was.

GEORGIA: And did you
become friendly with her

during the time that y'all
were both in the jail together?

- Yes.

I remember to a tee
the first time I met Donna

because it was so strange.

I was sitting up watching TV,
and I was detoxing,

coming off of opiates,
so I felt horrible.

And I was craving sweets.

And all of a sudden,
Donna creeps around,

and she, like, taps me
on the shoulder.

She's like, excuse me.

And she hands me
some toilet paper.

And I'm like, yes?

And it had
powdered doughnuts in it.

So I was like, OK, thank you.

At the time, I just thought
she was a nice old lady.

I really did.
I didn't know.

GEORGIA:
Did she ever mention to you

a state witness by the name
of Katherine Magbanua?

- Yes.

GEORGIA: And was Ms. Magbanua
somebody that was known to you?

- Yes, I knew Ms. Magbanua

from being locked up
with her years before.

When Donna was in jail
awaiting trial,

she slowly kind of figured out
that I knew Katie.

As the days would go on,
she would ask more questions

about Kay, and then she,
I guess,

felt comfortable enough with me
to then be like, well,

would you be willing
to help me out?

GEORGIA: Did the defendant
try to recruit you

to become a witness
for her in this case?

- Yes.

GEORGIA:
And what is it that she

wanted you to testify about?

- She wanted me to testify
about numerous different things

about Kay,
mostly about Ms. Magbanua.

Donna wanted me
to go on the stand

and lie about Katie and say
that Katie did everything--

she was the one
that organized it,

she was the one
that extorted them,

that everything was Kay, everything.

GEORGIA: This says that Kay
told you that she told Charlie

on the night of the m*rder
that some friends of hers

went to Tallahassee
and k*lled him.

Did Kay ever tell you that?

- No, ma'am.

GEORGIA: Did she promise you
anything in exchange

for reciting this script?

- $10,000 and a grand piano.

She offered me not just money
but also prescription pills.

To me, it was
a slap in the face.

She was basically
looking at me and saying,

I can manipulate you
because you're a stupid addict.

There is a dark side to her,
a very dark side.

I just felt like the world
needed to know who she was.

GEORGIA: When she was
talking about her case,

did she ever mention any
concerns about the testimony

of her son, Rob Adelson?

- She did.

She said she was extremely
worried about his testimony.

Rob, her son, she just hated
him from, like, the beginning.

Like, she hated his wife.

She hated everything
about him.

She said, like,
I f*cking hate him,

and I want to k*ll him.

And I was just like,
whoa, wait, what?

She said she wanted to shove
a shoe down Robert's throat

and k*ll him.

[tense music]

PAT:
Rob is fully committed

to assisting
the investigation.

But of course, he's torn.
That's his mother.

JUDGE: Do you swear
or affirm the testimony

you're about to give in this
matter will be the truth?

- I swear.

SARAH KATHRYN:
It was a tough decision for us

whether to call
Rob Adelson or not,

just because
you hate to put him

through something like this.

But we did feel that his
testimony was necessary.

How do you know the defendant
in this case, Donna Adelson?

- She's my mother.

SARAH KATHRYN: Who is
the leader in the family?

Who tends to run the show?

- I think my mom.

SARAH KATHRYN:
OK, so Donna Adelson?

- Yes.

SARAH KATHRYN:
Would you describe

Donna Adelson's personality
as being more

controlling or more laid-back?

- I think more
on the controlling side.

I think she had certain
sort of rigid, fixed ideas

or impressions
for what she wanted for us.

And, you know, if you went
along with that,

things were fine.

If you didn't,
things were not fine.

PAT: Rob Adelson coming in
and giving a great picture

of his mother
was very important,

I think, to point out
to the jury,

this isn't poor little
Grandma over here.

This is somebody
who is capable of this.

SARAH KATHRYN:
And how did Donna Adelson

feel about Dan Markel in 2014?

- I mean, she hated him.

SARAH KATHRYN:
After the m*rder of Dan Markel,

did Donna Adelson seem curious
about who k*lled Dan Markel?

- No.

She said, you know,
I don't know, and I don't care.

It doesn't concern me.

SARAH KATHRYN:
Did she ever say anything

to you about having talked
to law enforcement or the FBI?

ROB: She called me and said,
you know, I just want

to let you know, you know,
if the police come around,

you know, don't talk to them.

- OK, so she told you
not to talk to law enforcement?

ROB:
Correct.

- Did you let her know
that you'd already--

you already had talked
to law enforcement?

- Yeah, I said, I already did.

SARAH KATHRYN:
And what did she say to that?

- She said, oh, well,
you don't know anything anyway.

SARAH KATHRYN: The evidence
is definitely strong enough

for a guilty verdict,
but you never know for sure

what a jury's gonna do.

There's no guarantee.

You're always waiting
on pins and needles

until you find out.

JUDGE: Has the jury reached
a unanimous verdict?

JUROR: We have.

JUDGE: If you please
can hand the verdict form

to the bailiff.

At this time,
I will publish the verdict.

[dramatic music]

We, the jury, find as follows,
as to count one

of the indictment,
first-degree m*rder...

♪ ♪

The defendant is guilty
of first-degree m*rder.

Mrs. Adelson,
control yourself.

- Donna's reaction
to the guilty verdict

was a little unexpected.

It shouldn't have
surprised me.

I should have seen
that she was gonna

continue with the theatrics.

REPORTER:
Donna Adelson will spend

the rest of her life
behind bars,

the jury making that decision
just after 7:30 last night.

CAROLYN: Donna Adelson
is the mastermind

behind Dan Markel's m*rder.

She wanted those
two grandchildren

to be relocated to Miami.

And she was prepared
to erase Dan Markel

so she could get
what she wanted.

REPORTER: Tens of thousands
of people tuned in

to our live streams last night

to watch that verdict
as it was read aloud.

- On count one,
m*rder in the first, guilty.

Donna went, oh, my God.

- And if you haven't heard,
guilty on all three charges.

Donna is going to jail
for the rest of her life.

- She thought
she was foolproof,

but she was an idiot.

GENE: Trying to figure out
why people commit m*rder

is a very difficult thing.

Narcissism is one thing.

And if you wanted
to define Donna Adelson,

you could best define her
as a narcissist.

[cheers and applause]

REPORTER 1: We did let you take
a moment and think about this

and ask you about this.

So before we ask you
the question

that's on a lot
of people's mind,

what's it like in this moment?

What was it like to have
this defendant be found guilty?

- I think I just feel
kind of honored

to be able to deliver
this win for the Markels.

REPORTER 2: Georgia, does Wendi
have reason to be worried?

- That's a bad word.
REPORTER 2: A bad word.

- No W questions.

REPORTER 1:
"Worried" a is bad word?

"Worried?"
Should we stay tuned?

Do we need to stay tuned?

REPORTER 1:
Stay tuned.

- I mean, you can stay tuned.

JASON: While there is
no active investigation

into Wendi Adelson,
the state will continue

to investigate this case.

If information comes forward,
we'll always investigate it.

We have recently
taken phone calls,

and we've followed up on things
and will continue to do so.

CAROLYN:
Nobody would have ever guessed

that this case was gonna turn
into what it is today.

So many characters
are involved in this,

and it's gone on for so long.



MICHAEL: This was
a seemingly normal family,

living upper middle class,

having a well-to-do life.

How could you get
to this point?

- [crying]

MICHAEL: It just
doesn't make any sense.

JUNE: It's still hard for me
to believe some days

because they had,
like, a dream life.

They had whatever they wanted.

And now they're just
throwing everything away.

- To me, the whole situation
is very sad.

♪ ♪

- I know this entire case has
been very, very hard on you.

PHIL: Good evening.

My name is Phil Markel.

I'm Danny's father.

While this victim
impact statement

is addressed to you,
Your Honor,

it is also intended
for the Adelson family.

I would like them
to understand and reflect

on the deep and irreparable
damage they have caused.

The pain that they
have caused my family

is obvious and permanent.

But they have also
caused lifelong harm

to their own immediate family
and so many other families

and children around.

Luis Rivera,
his children have no father.

Katherine Magbanua
and Sigfredo Garcia,

their children
have no parents.

Charlie Adelson,
his son has no father.

Their heinous
and callous actions

have left me, Ruth, and Shelly
without our Danny

and my grandchildren
without their father.

And my only short question
to Donna,

was it worth it?

♪ ♪