June Umchinda — Direct/Cross
435 linesJUDGE WHEELER: State may call its next witness.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: June Umchinda.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay.
JUDGE WHEELER: Right up here, ma'am.
JUDGE WHEELER: Afternoon. Before you have a seat, we're going to swear you in, okay? Please raise your right hand and respond to the clerk.
COURT CLERK: Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I do.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, thank you. Please have a seat. Just need you to speak up close to that microphone, okay? Adjust if necessary. Sorry.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What is your name?
JUNE UMCHINDA: June Umchinda.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Please spell your name.
JUNE UMCHINDA: J-U-N-E. Last name U-M-C-H-I-N-D-A.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Where do you live, ma'am?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I live in Boca Raton, Florida.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do you know Charlie Adelson?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes, I do.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How do you know Mr. Adelson?
JUNE UMCHINDA: He's my ex-boyfriend.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How long did you date Mr. Adelson?
JUNE UMCHINDA: We dated about two solid years, but we were kind of on and off for like seven years.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: When did you first meet him?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I met him in 2015, I believe.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And did you start dating in 2015?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, okay, I probably — I think I met him 2014, because I met him once. He was with someone else, and he was living with a roommate that I was talking to back then. So we met once, and then a year went by, and then we reconnected, which I believe was 2015.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Who was the roommate that you mentioned?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Jerry Obed.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. That was somebody that was living with Charlie Adelson?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And was — I think it's Dr. Obed, correct? Right? Was Dr. Obed living with Charlie Adelson when you started dating Charlie Adelson?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, no, not anymore.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So you started dating him in '15.
JUNE UMCHINDA: I believe so. I have to look back, but yes, I believe it was October 2015.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And you said it was kind of on and off. Can you tell the jury — was it steady for a certain period of time and then on and off after that? Can you describe that?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, yes. So for the two years, it was definitely on. We were together like every day, basically lived there but not legally so. You know, I saw my future with him — we were gonna get married, it was a big thing. But after this and everything, obviously a lot happened, and we ended up breaking up. And we just always kept in touch, but we weren't officially together. So that's why I say it's on and off, because we've seen each other a few times after the two years.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. So but approximately in 2017 was sort of the official end, and then it was a little bit on and off after that?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes, officially 2017, I believe.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. During the time that you were steady dating Charlie Adelson, did you stay over at his place regularly?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I did almost every night. I think every night I did, yeah.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Where was his place?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Whale Harbor?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Is that the name of the road?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Whale Harbor Lane.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what did Mr. Adelson do for a living during the time you dated him?
JUNE UMCHINDA: He worked full-time as a periodontist.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you ever observe him engaging in any type of gang-related activity?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Any type of gang members hanging around with him or interacting with him during the time you were in a relationship with him?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Not that I know of, no.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you ever see him engaging in any drug use or drug dealing?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, definitely not drug dealing. I — he likes, like, marijuana, you know, that's probably it. And drinking.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And during the time that you two were together, that two years, would you have described yourselves as being inseparable, you and —
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes, we were like best friends at one point.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So as you sit here today, when was the last time you had contact with Mr. Adelson?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, so it was actually — so he reached out to me the night before he got arrested the next day, but I did not reply until the next day, and he was already gone.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So in the last year — and I'm speaking about from today back — how much contact have you had with him?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, well, this year I particularly tried to stay away from him. Um, he wanted to see me a lot. He would reach out, but I just couldn't with this whole thing going on. And, um, there's issues with his another girl after me.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And when you say "this whole thing going on," you're referring to this case that we're here about? Did you ever observe Charlie Adelson to have large amounts of cash?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I mean, I don't really know what large would be, but he — yes, I saw cash with him.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Thousands of dollars worth of cash?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Where did he keep the cash?
JUNE UMCHINDA: He obviously kept cash in his wallet, and he kept cash in his safe as well.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: A safe in his room?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, and that was at the Whale Harbor residence?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And was it a safe like the size of this speaker on our table, or like the kind that's like the size of a refrigerator?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, a larger one.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And was there anything unusual about the way that Mr. Adelson packaged his money?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, I never looked in the safe primarily, so I don't know how he kept the money or where it came from. I just know there was money in there.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And that was thousands and thousands of dollars?
JUNE UMCHINDA: From the time that I saw, there was — I don't know how much was in there.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And were the thousands and thousands of dollars kept in stacks of hundreds?
JUNE UMCHINDA: The thousands that I saw were hundred dollar bills.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Hundred dollar bills. And were they stapled together in stacks?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I believe so. I saw like a staple, but this was so long ago.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Would it refresh your recollection to review your prior statement given on—
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, I remember it. Like, I mean — there were staples on it. I just don't know, like, I never saw the money in the safe, so I don't know.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, but you saw money out of the safe being counted, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And that money was in stacks of hundred dollar bills stapled together?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What about Katherine Magbanua? Do you know her?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, I don't.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Were you aware that Charlie Adelson dated Katherine Magbanua before he dated you?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, I was, only because of, um, the media — and this — they thought I was Katherine at one point.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, but during the time that you dated Charlie Adelson, were you aware that he had a girlfriend previously named Katie?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what about after you? Do you know who he dated after you?
JUNE UMCHINDA: After me, he dated another girl named Brie.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And what about Whitney? Do you know who that is?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I do. So when Charlie and I met, he was with Whitney, and that was before me.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay.
JUNE UMCHINDA: And then I met Whitney briefly, like one time.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And are you aware after the media attention began in reference to this case of Charlie Adelson beginning to have a lot of contact with Katherine Magbanua?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you previously say that on — in your statement in July 24th of 2018?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Not that I recall. Did I say that they were speaking a lot?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: That Charlie started talking to Katherine Magbanua a lot after the media attention started.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you say that?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Don't recall.
JUNE UMCHINDA: I might have said it, but now that I look back, I can't really pinpoint when.
JUNE UMCHINDA: I think I saw a text message of him talking about a car with her or something, but I never heard him talking to her.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Did you ever know of Katherine Magbanua while working for Charlie Adelson as an employee?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, I didn't know Charlie back then.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, and during the time that you were with him, she was not working as his personal assistant to your knowledge or working for him in any capacity to your knowledge?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Not that I know of.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Were you dating Charlie Adelson at the time when the first arrests were made in this case of Mr. Garcia and Mr. Rivera?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And Mr. Adelson's behavior changed when the arrests were made?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes, they did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Can you explain how his behavior changed?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Well, this case kind of blew up in the media, so he was obviously — um, he went through a lot of stages. At one point he was very depressed, and every day it was something different. But he just was never the same after this.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did he become violent?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Not really to me, but sometimes he would get angry sometimes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Agitated?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I think so, yeah.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Short-fused?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I mean, yeah, I guess so, yeah.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Couldn't sleep?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did he keep clothes by his bed in case the police showed up in the middle of the night?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, he did that once, I think, but it was so long ago that I don't know if it was for that reason.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you have any contact with Donna Adelson during this time frame?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do you remember being on the balcony of the Icon, where Mrs. Adelson lives, having a conversation with her about this case?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, briefly.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, and what was her demeanor? Do you know what I mean by that? How was she acting?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah, I know what demeanor means. But she was — um, everyone was obviously upset about this, and, you know, it wasn't — she wasn't happy.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So she was stressed out, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah, of course.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did she have puppy eyes?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I don't remember.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did she complain about not sleeping?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Possibly.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did she make a statement to you about Dan Markel?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes, I believe so.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What was that statement?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Just that everything was awful and it feels like, you know, like it's — I don't know, I don't really — I'm sure you have it there. Do you know what it is? I kind of briefly remember, but um...
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did she say that she feels like Dan's back from the grave, like haunting her?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I don't know if they were those exact words. I think she was just so — fresh, like stressed out and upset, that that's how it came out.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So during the time you dated Charlie Adelson, how many times did you visit his parents at the ICON?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Not more than ten times.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And was this the last time you ever visited them at the ICON, when she made this statement?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So you saw her again after that?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Was there any further conversation about the homicide at that time?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did Charlie Adelson have WhatsApp on his phone?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do you know if he communicated with Katherine Magbanua via WhatsApp?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I don't know.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: After your breakup with Charlie Adelson — I guess I'm referring to the official breakup in 2017 — did he give you any gifts?
JUNE UMCHINDA: After that?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, ma'am.
JUNE UMCHINDA: I don't remember. Maybe, like, little gifts.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How about a car? Did he give you a car after you broke up?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did he put you on a payroll at the Adelson Institute after you broke up?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do you recall him telling you that he gave Katherine Magbanua a car?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I do.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What was the deal with that?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I think he just said his father has a Lexus, and it was an older Lexus, so he wanted to help someone out, and they didn't need the car, so yeah.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And what about trips, vacations? Did Mr. Adelson pay for you to go on any trips or vacations after your breakup with him?
JUNE UMCHINDA: After the breakup?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. One moment. No further questions.
JUDGE WHEELER: Cross-examination?
MS. KAWASS: Yes, thank you.
MS. KAWASS: Good afternoon, Ms. Umchinda.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Good afternoon.
MS. KAWASS: How are you doing today?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Good. Thank you.
MS. KAWASS: You aren't nervous?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, I just — I've been here since 8 a.m. waiting, so that's why I'm a little tired.
MS. KAWASS: I can understand what you're going through. So, um, I just want to go over some more details about what Ms. Cappleman discussed with you about your relationship with Charles Adelson. Okay?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Okay.
MS. KAWASS: Now, when you first met Charles, he had a girlfriend at that time, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: And that girlfriend was Whitney, correct? You were actually on a date with his roommate, Jerome Obed, when you met him the first time?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: Okay, so it was like a double-date situation?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Not intentionally.
JUNE UMCHINDA: I was supposed to hang out with Jerry at his house because he was a roommate, so it was Charlie's house, but I was with Jerry at the moment.
MS. KAWASS: But you weren't with Charles?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, he was with Whitney, and we didn't plan it like that. It just kind of happened.
MS. KAWASS: And that was around 2014 to 2015?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: Now, a few months after you met him, Charlie is the one that saw your phone number, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, yes.
MS. KAWASS: He tracked you down, correct? The friend of yours was a patient of his, correct?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, she wasn't officially a patient yet. She looked online and wanted to have work done that a periodontist would do, and it happened to be Charlie. And I didn't even know she was going there, but she told me, "Oh, I met — I went to the dentist, or the periodontist, and he mentioned somehow I came up in them."
MS. KAWASS: And then after that, he was actively pursuing, trying to take you on a date, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Well, he asked her for my number, then he had his office staff call.
MS. KAWASS: Okay, they got your number from his office staff, and that's how he started calling you?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, through my best friend, Gia.
MS. KAWASS: Correct. Okay. And when he — he started to pursue you, he assured you he wasn't with Whitney anymore, right?
MS. KAWASS: You all did, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right. We always went to work during the day, and then after work.
MS. KAWASS: But at that time, you didn't have any kids.
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, I still don't have kids.
MS. KAWASS: He didn't have any kids at that time.
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. KAWASS: That's not the situation now, though, is it?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. KAWASS: Okay, we'll get to that in a second.
MS. KAWASS: And so you didn't have any kids, he didn't have any kids — you guys had, apart from 9 to 5, all the free time in the world to spend with each other, correct? Now, you weren't technically living at his house, but you were sleeping there every single night, right? And you were in love with him.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah, you could say that.
MS. KAWASS: You thought he was in love with you too, right? At one point?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: You actually thought this was a man of your dreams, right? He told you he loved you?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Of course. Yes.
MS. KAWASS: He told you you were the only one.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, he said that, but I mean, over time I got to know — well, hindsight is 20/20.
MS. KAWASS: But at the time you thought you were the only one, right? Now, he's very convincing that way, isn't he?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, yes, I guess so.
MS. KAWASS: He has no issues with communication, is that fair to say? He has no problem being the guy that reaches out?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, he's very confident and, um, like, calm. He always knows what to say. He's very smart.
MS. KAWASS: And is he very charismatic?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah.
MS. KAWASS: And he talks a lot.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes, he talks about everything.
MS. KAWASS: And he dominates almost every conversation that he's in, right? And at the time he seemed like he really did care about you — that's all you felt, right? He was a very attentive boyfriend; you never had to, like, look at your phone and be like, "Why isn't Charlie calling you today?"
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, he was always, like, keeping in touch. And if, for example, you weren't calling, he would be blowing up your phone, right? Oh yeah, I'd call my roommate — like, if I took a nap once, he'd like come and find me. I don't know, he used to get worried about me. I don't know why.
MS. KAWASS: But now, even after you broke up, it's not like when you broke up you stopped communicating with him, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right. For a while we did, after the whole thing.
MS. KAWASS: Now, let's talk about — well, we'll tell this jury why it is you broke up. Okay. Now, you guys took a break, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: What year was that?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, I want to say it was the end of December, like 2017.
MS. KAWASS: 2017. So you break up, you guys are apart for a few months, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Only two months.
MS. KAWASS: Only two months, supposedly. Then he gets back together with you, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, right, I got back with him.
MS. KAWASS: You got back, then you find out that in that two-month time span, he ended up getting Wendi's boyfriend's nanny pregnant.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: And this was just in that two-month period that you were apart.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: Did you try to stay with him, or ?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Not really. Maybe I gave it a thought, but I don't think I could have ever done that after what he did.
JUNE UMCHINDA: And then, obviously, this was going on too, so there's just a lot of baggage.
MS. KAWASS: And this — this is who you had mentioned before, that's Brie, right? It's a mother of his child, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Okay. And he had this child in 2018, I believe, so yeah.
MS. KAWASS: Now, one of the other reasons that you — well, the reason you broke up with him actually is that you found out he was cheating on you with a girl from the Philippines, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, that's not the reason we broke up, but um—
MS. KAWASS: You did find out he was cheating on you with a girl from the Philippines.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Uh, yeah. He never admitted it till this day, but I suspected it and I've seen the messages.
MS. KAWASS: So you found something in his phone with a girl that lives in the Philippines, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right, yeah.
MS. KAWASS: Does Charlie like to go to the Philippines?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, not lately — but, like, sorry — but obviously, um, back then for a little bit he did like to go travel.
MS. KAWASS: Does he — you know him also to travel to Vietnam?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, he did one trip that I knew, but I don't know anything.
MS. KAWASS: Would you say that Charlie Adelson has a particular taste in a certain type of girl?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, yeah. He told me, like — I mean, I think he likes Asian women. His preferences, I don't know.
MS. KAWASS: Yeah, right. You — you see somewhat of a resemblance between yourself and Ms. Magbanua, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah, somewhat. I mean, people mistake me for her sometimes.
MS. KAWASS: In fact, a month ago, you were on TV when Charlie was arrested, and NBC said you were Katherine Magbanua, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I heard of that. I didn't see it, but people were telling me that my picture was up, mistaking me for Katherine.
MS. KAWASS: All right. Now, you know now that throughout the course of your relationship, he was actually still in regular communication with Katherine.
JUNE UMCHINDA: I do, because I just saw the recording of all that. That was when I was still with him.
MS. KAWASS: But you didn't know back then.
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. KAWASS: He was able to keep that from you, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Correct.
MS. KAWASS: Even though you were with him every day and every night.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right. And he would tell me something, but now I — that was around the time he was acting weird, so—
MS. KAWASS: And he's a type of guy, like, if you catch him in, you know — I want to say a lie — he has a very good way of trying to talk his way out of it, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: Now, he was able to do all type of things without you suspecting anything, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, not exactly. I would suspect, but—
MS. KAWASS: He was — yeah, he was good at, um, hiding things. Yeah, being Charlie.
MS. KAWASS: So when you started dating him, you had no idea who Katherine Magbanua was.
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. KAWASS: Um, and you guys, you said, became serious in October of 2015 — one year after Dan Markel was murdered.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: Yes. That you spent that Christmas with his family, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, it was Hanukkah, but yeah. I — I think it was that Hanukkah.
MS. KAWASS: That Hanukkah — because they're Jewish, right? Um, and Donna was there, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: Harvey was there, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: Wendi was there, right? That's when you met Wendi's boyfriend.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes. David.
MS. KAWASS: David. And it's David's nanny who is the mother of Charlie Adelson's child.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: Now you asked Charlie what happened to Wendi's ex-husband, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um I did, yeah.
MS. KAWASS: And he told you his girlfriend — someone shot him in his garage, right? And when you tried to ask him more questions, he was very short with you. He just said he didn't know who did it.
JUNE UMCHINDA: And, you know, I didn't want to press more, so that was it.
MS. KAWASS: But you read off of him he didn't want to talk about it, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah, I mean, it was just like a moment of silence, so I didn't want to go deeper with something like that. And all he would really say to is he just died. He didn't go into any details about anything.
MS. KAWASS: Right. Now, you were dating him around April, May of 2016, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: That is when someone approached his mother on the street, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: And you had said that for two weeks he was acting very strange.
JUNE UMCHINDA: He was acting strange all the time ever since this, so yeah.
MS. KAWASS: And around that time you had said too that he was more consumed with his family than usual.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, possibly, yes.
MS. KAWASS: All right. Now, you trusted what Charlie would be telling you, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I did.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And even though you tried to ask him as a concerned girlfriend, like, what's going on? Why are you behaving like this? He wouldn't tell you what's going on, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. KAWASS: He never told you that some person walked up to his mother and was handing him a paper about his brother-in-law's murder and demanding money?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No. And the night, I guess, he met with Katherine, he lied to me about where he was that night. And then I found out later he, I guess, he didn't want to tell me he was with Katherine, like the next girlfriend.
MS. KAWASS: So he had no problem being with you and then keeping all these things behind your back, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: You only found out now that he was lying to you the entire time?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Uh, with that lie, yeah.
MS. KAWASS: That lie amongst others. Well —
JUNE UMCHINDA: I mean, he did tell me, like, after the fact when it came out. But then I realized — I put two and two together — that it was the same night that he was acting suspicious.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. Now, you are actually dating Charles before everything blew up in the media, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Correct.
MS. KAWASS: Charlie actually told you about Dan Markel being murdered before everything came out in the media.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: And that's all he told you, is Wendi's ex-husband was murdered.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Correct. He was in a garage and that he didn't know who did it.
MS. KAWASS: Right. And you found out that Charlie was actually a suspect in this homicide when someone from ABC walked up to you in front of Charlie's house, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: They thought you were Katherine.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: They tried to interview you.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: You're not Katherine.
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, I didn't even know her name at the time. I was like, who's Katherine? And literally, like, walking up on his driveway, people with microphones were coming up to you trying to —
MS. KAWASS: Right, right. And that's how I found out — that's how you found out about this, from a reporter coming to you?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: Now, I'm sure once you heard about that, you know, natural tendency is to start looking up everything online, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Well, it wasn't online back then as of yet.
MS. KAWASS: But at some point, you were able just to type in his name and a 24-page affidavit would pop up detailing his alleged involvement in this, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: And this is when he was still free, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah.
MS. KAWASS: And you just mentioned that the last time you spoke to Charles Adelson was the night before he was arrested, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I'd have to look. I know he wrote me. I don't know if I responded that night, but I usually didn't text him back right away recently because I just wanted to wait, like, stay away from him for a little bit.
MS. KAWASS: That wasn't in 2016, alright? No, this was the night before he was arrested a month ago, right? April 20th of 2022?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. So all the time that he's free and he has all of this stuff online and all this stuff saying that he was suspected, he was never arrested until a month ago, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: And I'm sure you, as his girlfriend, when all this stuff was out in the media saying that he's involved in this homicide, you must have asked him, what is all of this?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah. I mean, I was just kind of, um, shocked that he didn't mention it or tell me what was going on, because I had no idea about anything.
MS. KAWASS: So before then, he never said to you, oh my god, you know, these people think I had something to do with my sister's ex-husband's murder, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, he would just, um, like rush away to his friend's house or try to go somewhere, not tell me where. So I just thought it was something else that he tried to keep me from knowing anything.
MS. KAWASS: Right. Now, he also told you at one point not to answer the door if the cops showed up, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Well, he went out of town and he said if I was at the house and the cops show up, just, um, just don't answer it. But I didn't know anything. I'm like, why would the cops show up?
MS. KAWASS: Now, Katherine was arrested on October 1st of 2016.
MS. KAWASS: You guys were still dating then, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: And when she was arrested, he was shocked and surprised that she had been arrested, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah.
MS. KAWASS: Those are the words you used, right? And those were the words you used when you were describing that to Agent Sanford back in 2018.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: When she was arrested, he started now acting more strange, put a strain on your relationship, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right, of course.
MS. KAWASS: Alright. Now, in August before that arrest, okay, there was an episode on 20/20, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right. You watched it with him, not like the premiere, but eventually we ended up watching it because everyone was talking about it.
MS. KAWASS: Yeah, I can imagine. Okay, and isn't it true that when Agent Sanford came to interview you in 2018, he told you that they put that show out?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, they did. I don't know if I remember that.
MS. KAWASS: If it's reflected in your recorded statement, that would be a fair representation of what Agent Sanford told you, right? That they put 20/20 on, and we put that show out.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Oh, I mean, I'm sure. I don't really remember right now.
MS. KAWASS: But you watched the show with Charlie, right? And he didn't give you any explanation about any of it, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No. Well, at that time it was out, so I kind of knew what was going on by that time.
MS. KAWASS: Isn't it true he actually told you they have it completely wrong?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: He said that Katie worked for him, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, he did say, like, I think she did work for him, like, did some work for him.
MS. KAWASS: He also mentioned that she paid for her own breast augmentation, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: He said she paid for, like, one of them.
MS. KAWASS: If she's only had one, then she paid for it. Like, I guess he helped her with the other, helped her find the doctor?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, like half of it.
MS. KAWASS: So now your testimony is that he told you he paid half for half of her breast augmentation?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, I don't think he ever told me that he paid for it at all, but he said something about they accused him of paying for it, and he said he may have helped, like, half, like, and paid for one. I don't really know.
MS. KAWASS: Are you saying one breast?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah, I don't — this is not my words.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. Alright. And are you not sure if what you're telling me now has been improperly influenced by all the stuff you've read in the media about this case?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Wait, what was it I'm saying?
MS. KAWASS: Are you able to separate what it is that you know from what you read in the media about this case before you were interviewed?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, I tried to, yeah.
MS. KAWASS: Alright. Now, the first time that the detectives came to speak to you was in the middle of 2018, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: They knew you had broken up with Charlie and you guys weren't on good terms, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Oh, at that time, um, I think they knew, like, yeah, yeah, they knew after I told them.
MS. KAWASS: Now, when they tried to come and speak with you, they didn't just bang on your door, not announce themselves, leave, and never come back, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, um, I think for a few days they tried to get in touch with me.
MS. KAWASS: No, they waited in your lobby for you, right, of where you live?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Well, I parked my car and they found — they, like, waited for me to get out of my car to walk to my lobby and to my place that I lived at the time, yeah.
MS. KAWASS: They had previously called, identified themselves, and left messages for you saying they wanted to speak to you, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And when they finally approached you in the lobby, they identified themselves as law enforcement?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, yeah.
JUNE UMCHINDA: I think Patrick did, or one of them, but I think FBI name, yeah, but I wasn't sure if the woman was Shelly.
MS. KAWASS: But you were sure that you were speaking to law enforcement?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Um, yes, at that time.
MS. KAWASS: And they were nice to you. They were really nice?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah.
MS. KAWASS: And they said they wanted to talk to you, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: And they never told you that they were recording you, isn't that true?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: They actually promised you that what you told them would be kept secret and that no one would find out?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: That's not true, is it?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, obviously not.
MS. KAWASS: Your recorded interview is out in the media, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yeah, everything I've done, like, they put out, and I haven't really —
MS. KAWASS: There's a camera on you right now, right? You're still talking about it. So that wasn't true when they said they'd keep it secret, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Right.
MS. KAWASS: And they gave you every opportunity to answer the questions that they posed to you about Charlie, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: They never accused you of lying?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No. I was obviously, like, upset at that time, so I was willing to share what Charlie did to me and open up to them. I was vulnerable, so.
MS. KAWASS: But you did answer all their questions though, right?
JUNE UMCHINDA: I did, yeah.
MS. KAWASS: And when you told them you knew nothing about the homicide, they believed you?
JUNE UMCHINDA: They didn't tell me if they believed me, but I just told them what I knew.
MS. KAWASS: So you haven't been arrested though, have you, for being his girlfriend?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No.
MS. KAWASS: And even though you were his girlfriend at the time and you were living with him every single day, you had no idea that he had been suspected as being involved in the murder of Wendi's ex-husband?
JUNE UMCHINDA: No, definitely not, not at all.
MS. KAWASS: Your Honor, may I have a moment, please?
JUDGE WHEELER: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: Thank you.
JUNE UMCHINDA: Is there any water?
JUDGE WHEELER: Sure. Do we have any water?
COURT CLERK: There's some in the jury room if we need to.
JUDGE WHEELER: We'll get you water in just a moment. Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, redirect?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, well, you're done, I think. We're finished. Okay, we can release the witness.
JUDGE WHEELER: Thank you. Okay, all right. Thank you, ma'am. You can go.