Truth can be stranger than fiction. In a murder-for-hire case out of Florida, the truth and fiction may have more in common than anyone could have anticipated. Prosecutors retained the right to question a witness about a character in a book she wrote to determine if it has any correlation to the events that left her ex-husband dead.
Circuit Judge Stephen Everett may allow questioning of Wendi Adelman about the contents of her book, "This Is Our Story." Her mother is on trial for the contract killing of her ex-husband. Still, prosecutors view Wendi as an unindicted co-conspirator and seek to determine if the testimony she gave in her brother's trial is impeachable.
It's a case that has a little bit of everything that would make for a compelling episode of a legal drama — a bitter divorce, murder-for-hire, an F.B.I. bump operation, a suspect trying to flee the country, and more.
You Might Want To Write This Down
Wendi Adelson, the director of the Florida State University (FSU) Public Interest Law Center, was married to Dan Markel, an FSU College of Law professor. Living in Tallahassee, they had two children and a troubled marriage. In 2012, Markel returned from a business trip to find his wife and children gone, most of his possessions missing, large sums of money taken from their accounts, and divorce papers on the bed.
An acrimonious divorce in 2013 didn't improve the relationship. The pair reportedly fought over every aspect of raising their children. Adelson, who wanted to be closer to her wealthy family in Miami, had her petition to move away from being "stuck in Tallahassee" with the children denied in court. Whether she had a hand in it or not, things took a much darker turn.
Markel began firing back legal salvos of his own, including a motion to forbid Donna Adelson, Wendi's mother, from being alone with the grandchildren. Police identified this as a key point leading to Markel's death.
According to law enforcement, Wendi's brother Charlie, a dentist, used an ex-girlfriend as a go-between to hire two gang members to shoot Markel in his garage on July 18, 2014. Once arrested, they gave up Charlie. The F.B.I. then employed a "bump" operation, which had an undercover agent give Donna Adelson an article about the murder with "$5,000" and a phone number written on it while mentioning the name of Charlie's ex-girlfriend.
Her first call was to Charlie, who wasn't mentioned by the agent. The two discussed blackmail and payments, with Donna instructing Charlie to bring her money the next day. Their subsequent meeting was recorded by the F.B.I. and included Charlie saying, "If they had any evidence, we would have already gone to the airport."
Days after Charlie was convicted in 2023 of murder, conspiracy, and solicitation, Donna was arrested as she and her husband attempted to board a flight with one-way tickets to Vietnam, a country with no extradition policy. Charlie has since filed an appeal of his conviction.
Probably Won't Be a Sequel
Wendi's 2011 novel "This Is Our Story" contains a character named Lili who, because of her husband's job, felt stuck in a small Florida town. Although details differ between the fictional lawyer and Wendi, prosecutors are considering the possibility that her testimony about the book during her brother's trial may be impeachable and provide confirmation that she was involved in the murder conspiracy.
While denying the defense motion to exclude questions about the book, Judge Everett indicated if and how it can be used will depend on Wendi's testimony. It is, after all, her mother who is currently on trial. At least for now.
Related Resources
- If You Want To Collect Money From Your Ex, Don't Try To Murder Them (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- What Do the Courts Consider in a Conspiracy Case? (FindLaw's Criminal Law)
- No Ex Post Facto Law Defense in Murder-for-Hire Case (FindLaw's Federal Courts)
