# Donna Adelson EXPOSED: Emails, Kids Testimony Shock Court | 2025 True Crime

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-trial-of-donna-adelson-the-murder-of-dan-markel-6742533/donna-adelson-exposed-emails-kids-testimony-shock-court-2025-true-crime.md
Podcast: [The Trial Of Donna Adelson | The Murder Of Dan Markel](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-trial-of-donna-adelson-the-murder-of-dan-markel-6742533)
Published: 2025-12-30T16:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8815069
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8815069.mp3?modified=1764910959&sid=5116516&source=rss
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Duration seconds: 2629

## Resource

In this 2025 Year-in-Review Hidden Killers special , we break down two of the most devastating developments in the Donna Adelson trial — the explosive emails prosecutors say reveal her true motives, and the jaw-dropping testimony from her own children and Wendi’s ex-boyfriend that shattered the family narrative she’s tried to control for more than a decade. First, we examine the emails Donna sent to Wendi during the custody battle , messages prosecutors use to peel back the “sweet grandmother” facade. These emails — strategic, emotional, manipulative — show Donna instructing Wendi how to behave in court, urging her to use psychological tactics, floating a $1 million bribe to Dan Markel, and making relocation “non-negotiable.” As defense attorney Bob Motta explains, emails are powerful because they don’t stutter, they don’t forget, and they don’t rewrite history. They sit in black-and-white, revealing a matriarch prosecutors say was accustomed to controlling every variable. Then we turn to the testimony that rocked the courtroom. Wendi Adelson , testifying under subpoena and immunity, admitted her mother coached her relentlessly during the divorce and custody battles — everything from religion to courtroom performance. Robert Adelson followed, describing Donna as controlling, intrusive, and disturbingly detached after Dan’s murder. He recalled her saying, “I don’t know and I don’t care,” when asked what she thought happened to Markel. And then came Jeffrey Lacasse , whose testimony lit the courtroom on fire. He recounted Wendi telling him: “The only way I’ll ever relocate is if something happens to Danny.” He also described Charlie discussing “all options,” including hiring a hitman. Prosecutors argue this trio of testimony exposes Donna not as a passive parent, but as…

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## Transcript

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