Witness
Wendi Adelson
Dan Markel's ex-wife; prosecution witness under immunity in all three trials; central figure in the alleged custody-driven motive for Markel's 2014 murder.
2,657 lines · 14 appearances · 131 mentions · 3 trials
About
The most extensively examined civilian witness in the archive; her immunity posture, motive testimony, and contested interactions with Lacasse, Rivera, and the forensic record are load-bearing across the prosecution's theory in all three trials and provide the primary first-person account of the Adelson family's divorce conflict and communications on the day of the murder.
Trial Record (145)
KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022
Trial Summary
Called by the prosecution as Markel's ex-wife and the central figure in the alleged murder-for-hire motive, Wendi Adelson testified on Day 2 under state subpoena immunity about the contentious divorce, the Adelson family's expressed hostility toward Markel, and Charlie's repeated hitman jokes — while denying any personal involvement in or advance knowledge of the murder plot.
Appearances (4)
Procedural
Wendi Adelson — Fifth Amendment motion and subpoena ruling
Day 2 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Wendi Adelson - Redirect
Day 2 Mentioned (35)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Tara Kawass
Day 1 Direct Joanne Maltese - Direct
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct
Day 1 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 1 Procedural End-of-Day Recess — Wendi Adelson Testimony Ruling and Day-Two Scheduling Her attorney is scheduled to address the court first on Day 2; her cross-examination is limited to the scope of direct; anticipated Fifth Amendment invocation forecloses independent defense subpoena.
Day 1 Procedural Day 2 Opening — Witness Scheduling and Late-Notice Dispute Over Lacasse
Day 2 Procedural Wendi Adelson — Fifth Amendment motion and subpoena ruling
Day 2 Procedural Defense preserves cross-examination objection — Wheeler affirms ruling
Day 2 Direct Marcia Rodriguez - Direct
Day 2 Direct Bill Brannon - Direct Brannon flagged the Honda Odyssey because he had information that Markel's ex-wife drove a vehicle of that type
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 2 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross (Part 1) Rivera testified on direct he saw her at the Trescott Drive house on July 17, 2014; defense challenged the identification and pressed on the photographic lineup procedure.
Day 2 Procedural Admissibility ruling — co-conspirator statements and murder-for-hire conspiracy timeline
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross cell records show she left home at 12:31, one minute after Garcia's 12:30 call to Magbanua; reached crime scene area around 12:40
Day 4 Direct Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Direct Charlie's sister; met Mascaro and Magbanua at the Adelson family home on Father's Day 2014; appears in State's Exhibit 35
Day 4 Cross June Umchinda - Cross Referenced in context of her boyfriend David and his nanny, who Charlie impregnated during the couple's break.
Day 4 Cross Clariza Lebredo - Cross
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1) Prior interview statement that Charlie joked a TV was cheaper than hiring a hitman; same TV being repaired at her residence on the day of Markel's murder; source for confirmation of Markel's travel plans
Day 5 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross Rivera falsely claimed to have seen her with the boys at Markel's house the day before the murder; refuted by daycare stipulation
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross (Continued)
Day 6 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal Denied — All Three Counts Proceed to Jury
Day 7 Direct Craig Isom - Direct (Recalled by Defense)
Day 7 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Craig Isom - Redirect Named as the party Rivera's account places at the top of the hiring chain; DeCoste elicits that she has never been arrested.
Day 7 Direct Ryan Fitzpatrick - Direct
Day 7 Procedural Scheduling set for Magbanua testimony; defense text-message exhibits admitted Named in first exhibit set — text message exchange with Charles Adelson about dinner
Day 7 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct Magbanua testified she met Wendi twice (Yardbird dinner March 2014, Icon beach day Father's Day 2014) and denied any knowledge of Wendi's divorce, custody dispute, or that Wendi ever discussed those subjects with her.
Day 7 Charge Conference Charge Conference Mentioned by Wheeler when adding reputation-for-dishonesty factor as an additional witness to whom it applied
Day 7 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Tara Kawass
Day 8 CA Charlie Adelson Oct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023
Trial Summary
Called by the prosecution under use and derivative use immunity, Wendi Adelson testified over two trial days about the Adelson-Markel custody conflict, Charlie's recurring hitman joke, and her July 18, 2014 movements, then returned on recall to deny the specific statement Jeffrey Lacasse attributed to her five days before the murder.
Appearances (7)
Direct
Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 1 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross (Part 1)
Day 1 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross (Part 2)
Day 2 Redirect Wendi Adelson - Redirect
Day 2 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct (Recall)
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Wendi Adelson - Redirect
Day 2 Mentioned (45)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan Defendant's sister; Markel's ex-wife; sought court permission to relocate to Miami; anticipated witness regarding Charlie's 'TV vs. hitman' statement
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Dan Rashbaum
Day 1 Direct James Geiger - Direct
Day 1 Direct Joanne Maltese - Direct
Day 1 Cross Joanne Maltese - Cross Whiskey and receipt found in her van; defense suggested the whiskey was for a party she had been invited to.
Day 1 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct ex-wife; relocation petition denied June 2013; post-death financial beneficiary; email exchange with Donna documenting $1M bribe discussion
Day 1 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross Her post-relocation-denial plans to stay in Tallahassee, her emails, and her connection to the life insurance policy were central to the cross.
Day 1 Redirect Patrick Sanford - Redirect her abandoned Tallahassee plans and post-murder relocation to South Florida with the children
Day 1 Procedural Wendi Adelson Immunity Statement and Rule of Sequestration Invoked
Day 1 Direct Bill Brannon - Direct
Day 2 Procedural Motion in Limine: Exclusion of Lacasse Proffer on Wendi Adelson's Alleged Hitman Statement — Ruled Out on Fairness Grounds Her July 13, 2014 alleged statement to Lacasse — that Charlie had explored hiring a hitman — is the entire subject of this motion. She denied the statement under examination; her Fifth Amendment right is the constitutional bar preventing defense from recalling her to remedy the prejudice.
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Direct Stephen Webster - Direct
Day 2 Direct June Umchinda - Direct Charlie's sister; told Umchinda things were still hard even after Dan was gone; stopped speaking to Charlie at some point related to the case.
Day 2 Direct Ryan Fitzpatrick - Direct
Day 2 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct (Recall) Alleged to have disclosed Charlie's hitman inquiry to Lacasse on July 13; asked detailed questions about Lacasse's July 18 travel; attended post-murder dinner with Charlie and vomited in response to something he said
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Jeffrey Lacasse - Redirect Source of the July 13, 2014 disclosure about Charlie's hitman inquiry; her past-tense framing is central to explaining Lacasse's non-reporting
Day 2 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 3 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 3 Direct Corey Hale - Direct Named in corroborating text messages as dining with Charlie Adelson on July 31, 2014
Day 3 Cross Corey Hale - Cross
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 4 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross (Continued)
Day 4 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect Her cell-site locations on the murder day are clarified; she is the respondent in the divorce filings that contextualize May 2 and May 7.
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Recall)
Day 4 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross (Recall) Briefly discussed in context of access to the Markel grandparents after the murder and her relationship with Dave Atell as referenced in the wire calls.
Day 5 Redirect Patrick Sanford - Redirect (Recall)
Day 5 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal — Denied on All Counts
Day 5 Direct Kristin Adamson - Direct Central subject of Adamson's testimony — her emotional state after the relocation denial, her reaction to the divorce settlement, and her retention of successor counsel are all discussed in detail
Day 5 Cross Kristin Adamson - Cross
Day 5 Redirect Kristin Adamson - Redirect Discussed as Adamson's client; Adamson denies Wendi failed to disclose assets in the divorce proceeding, explaining the disputed account was non-marital with a documented paper trail
Day 5 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 1) Charlie's younger sister; discussed throughout regarding marriage to Markel, divorce proceedings, relocation attempt, and her emotional state
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 2) Charlie's sister; described as devastated after Markel's death, not eating, not leaving the house. Kept ignorant of the extortion.
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Procedural Arguments Outside the Presence of the Jury — Harvey–Charlie Phone Call Hearsay Ruling
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 5)
Day 6 Cross Charlie Adelson - Cross defendant's sister; proximity to killers after moving to South Florida, night-of-murder route toward crime scene area, boys' name change discussed
Day 7 Redirect Charlie Adelson - Redirect Charlie's sister; Rashbaum notes prosecution accused her in opening statements despite her absence from the indictment; Charlie offers an emphatic 'one hundred percent' defense of her innocence, which Rashbaum then equates with his own
Day 7 Charge Conference Charge Conference — Jury Instructions Finalized for All Three Counts
Day 7 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Dan Rashbaum
Day 8 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025
Trial Summary
Called under use-and-derivative-use immunity as the prosecution's central civilian witness, Wendi Adelson — Dan Markel's ex-wife and Donna Adelson's daughter — testified across a full direct and cross examination about the relocation dispute, Donna's controlling involvement in the divorce, Charlie Adelson's hitman remark, and her own actions on the morning of the murder.
Appearances (3)
Direct
Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Wendi Adelson - Redirect
Day 2 Mentioned (51)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan Defendant's daughter, Dan Markel's ex-wife; her desired relocation to Miami forms the prosecution's stated motive; relocated to Donna's home 48 hours after the murder
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 1 Direct James Geiger - Direct Geiger notes that Wendi had moved out before the shooting and that Markel and Wendi were going through a divorce at the time.
Day 1 Direct Joanne Maltese - Direct
Day 1 Procedural OJP — Contested Admissibility of Composite Email Exhibit 64
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct Markel's ex-wife; approached by Isom at restaurant hours after murder; treated as next-of-kin, not suspect; sought relocation to South Florida; forwarded Markel's emails to Donna Adelson
Day 1 Procedural OJP — Foundation Objection to Exhibit 64-AA (Shared Email Address)
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct (Continued)
Day 1 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 1 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 1 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross Identified by Rivera as the person who wanted Markel killed; marked #5 on Defendant's Exhibit 50 as 'the lady that wanted the man killed'
Day 1 Procedural Day 2 Opening — Gallery Rules, Exhibit Stipulation, and Hearing Device Confirmed
Day 2 Procedural Foundation Hearing: 'Grandma Motion' (State's Ex. 60-JJ) and Wendi Adelson Proffer Procedure
Day 2 Direct Jason Newlin - Direct
Day 2 Cross Jason Newlin - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Jason Newlin - Redirect
Day 2 Procedural Wendi Adelson Immunity Statement — John Lauro Subject of the immunity statement; called as the state's next witness under compulsion
Day 2 Direct Robert Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Direct Bill Brannon - Direct Brannon knew at the time that the victim's ex-wife drove a van matching the one he observed at the roadblock
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct
Day 3 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 3 Direct June Umchinda - Direct Dan Markel's ex-wife and Charlie's sister; had a fight with Charlie about the case
Day 3 Direct Mary Hull - Direct Bank accounts reviewed; purchased home on Whittendale Drive in October 2013; had financial means for down payment
Day 3 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct Charlie's sister and Markel's ex-wife; Magbanua met her twice socially but says she never discussed the murder with her
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 4 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross phone extraction, morning-of-murder call sequence
Day 4 Cross James Keith McElveen - Cross Referenced as the subject of a July 18 2014 law enforcement interview whose audio McElveen was not asked to analyze; specifically the portion where she called Donna Adelson.
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1)
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 2) Dan Markel's ex-wife; discussed in intercepted calls re: career advice and dating life; Charlie and Donna discuss not stressing her with the FBI contact; mentioned in post-wire calls
Day 5 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Recall) Donna's daughter; recipient of Donna's post-verdict 'bury me in the dress' text and multiple texts during Charlie's trial affirming the extortion narrative; Donna sends her contact cards and asks her to manage property and business matters before departure
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
Day 6 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal on Counts 1 and 3
Day 7 Direct Ann Elizabeth Cunningham - Direct
Day 7 Cross Ann Elizabeth Cunningham - Cross
Day 7 Cross Ron Gutterson - Cross
Day 7 Direct Richard Shagran - Direct Referenced as working mother of the Markel children; cited as reason Donna was more involved with grandchildren
Day 7 Direct Tim Kelly - Direct
Day 7 Cross Tim Kelly - Cross
Day 7 Direct Kristin Adamson - Direct
Day 8 Cross Kristin Adamson - Cross
Day 8 Redirect Kristin Adamson - Redirect
Day 8 Procedural Bailey Sequestration Dispute — Proffer and Ruling Party to the Adelson-Markel divorce; Bailey reviewed texts between her and Dan Markel and emails between her and Donna Adelson as part of her expert preparation
Day 8 Direct Linda Bailey - Direct
Day 8 Cross Linda Bailey - Cross Her divorce proceedings, relocation desire, and communications with Donna are discussed throughout, including evidence of her copying Donna's questions verbatim.
Day 8 Direct Sara Newhouse - Direct Newhouse was assigned as her victim advocate on July 18, 2014; Wendi made the call to Donna during the police interview
Day 8 Cross Sara Newhouse - Cross Cappleman notes Wendi does know Donna's normal demeanor; also the source of the 'she handled that well' remark Cappleman attempted to introduce
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman Defendant's daughter and Markel's ex-wife; prosecution characterizes her as managed by Donna; her murder-day movements and statements discussed extensively
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 9 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman Cappleman references emails showing Wendi wanted to give up the relocation fight while Donna pushed back, and that Wendi's child was crying at school over his murdered father
Day 9