A father of two boys was murdered. The mother's brother was convicted of the murder. The children's grandmother is accused of plotting the murder

In 2013, Wendi Adelson started and lost a custody dispute against her two sons and their father - Dan Markel. The year after, the children's father was murdered. In 2023, Wendi's brother was charged and convicted of premeditated murder. The children's grandmother is in custody and charged with premeditated murder. Wendi Adelson has not been convicted of complicity but is a suspect. Experts have analyzed her, the uncle's and the grandmother's appearance during interrogations and testimony. Women who instigate custodial conflict tend to have mental issues. The typical is that court personnel submit to these mother's demands. That will increase the risk of parental alienation and inhibit emotional and social adaptation as well as cognitive development in children. Children whose parents are murdered become traumatized, likely for life. See a similar (1) case from Åland, between Finland and Sweden, where a mother murdered the child's father, (2) a list of women (often mothers) with mental challenges who killed children and men, (3) a list of women (often mothers) with mental challenges who have harmed their children and men. A case with a happy ending. The child was kidnapped by the mother and the social service, but was safely returned to the father. This article was originally written in Swedish, and is translated with help of Google translate. There will be corrections. 14 pages.

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In 2013, Wendi Adelson started and lost a custody dispute against her two sons and their father - Dan Markel. It seems that Wendi was influenced by her mother - Donna Adelson - who wanted Wendi to move the children 400 miles from their home in Tallahassee to South Florida where Donna and Wendi's father lived. According to witness accounts, Donna interfered with Dan's and Wendi's marriage. And instead of paying attention to parental directives, Donna did as she wanted it to be.

When Donna was babysitting her grandchildren, she ignored the dietary guidelines she received and took the children to McDonalds. And despite the fact that the boys' father was Jewish, Donna was keen on baptizing the children according to the Catholic Christian faith. It thus seems that Donna controlled Wendi, maybe by using memory hacking (Shaw, 2016), a process which must have started during Wendi's first year of life when an individual's mind is at its most vulnerable. It is likely to assume that due to Donna's parental style, Wendi suffered from cognitive dissonance:

“According to this theory, when two actions or ideas are not psychologically consistent with each other, people do all in their power to change them until they become consistent” (Lawson, 1999).

On the one hand, Wendi had formed a family with Dan Markel, but due to her upbringing, but on the other, she suffered from anxiety due to the pressures of her mother.

It all resulted in Wendi moving out of the family's home, and took with her belongings she shared with Dan Markel and their children. She carried out the raid while Dan was on a business trip. It is likely to assume that Donna Adelson had influenced Wendi to do this as a first step of moving the children closer to her home in the south of Florida.

In 2014, Wendi Adelson lost her custody battle. The children's safety was saved. But it was short-lived.

On July 19, 2014, Dan Markel was murdered in the garage of his and his sons' home. He lived to be 42 years old and the children, two little boys, lost their important father.

Dan Markel (1972 - 2014). Father of two boys who was murdered by the mother's brother.

8-9 month prior to the murder of Dan Markel, Wendi had started a new relationship with a man called Jeffrey Lacasse who reminded a lot of the children's father - Dan Markel. Was this a marker of cognitive dissonance, a signal that deep down she wanted to return to the family life she created with Dan Markel? The day before the murder of Dan Markel, Wendi ended the relationship with Lacrasse.

“Wendi Adelson’s ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Lacasse, took the stand and testified in Charlie Adelson’s murder trial on October 27 [2023]. Lacasse dated Wendi Adelson around the time that the murder took place, but the day before Markel was killed, she decided to end the relationship. Lacasse says he heard Charlie Adelson joke about hiring the hitmen multiple times, but never thought it was a concern until Wendi Adelson revealed what her brother's plan was. Lacasse later was concerned that he might have been framed for the murder”.

These are some of the Wendi's behavior markers Lacrasse mentioned as he testified during the trial against Wendi's brother:

• emotional fluctuations
  
  
• that in the weeks before the murder of the children's father, she often had inexplicable crying attacks.
  
  
• that she told him in confidential conversations that she knew her brother was exploring the possibility of "solving the problem," which included hiring an assassin. See Lacrasse's testimony via Law & Trial. This is how they enter the subtitle:

It indicates that Wendi had knowledge and was involved in the decision to murder the children's father. Wendi Adelson is also a suspect of being involved but has not been arrested or charged at the time of writing.

In November 2023, Wendi's brother, Charlie Adelson, was sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder.

Länk till källan.

On November 13, Wendi's mother Donna, the boys' grandmother, was arrested at the Miami airport. Watch when the police arrest Donna Adelson.

Donna Adelson and what supposedly is Wendi's father, who as far as is known is not a suspect, had bought one-way tickets to Vietnam, a country which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. Donna Adelson, but not the father, is now charged with being the instigator of the premeditated murder, i.e. using memory hacking to persuade her son to make sure it happened.

Link to source.

In December, psychologist Dr. The John Paul Garrison analyzed the hearing with Wendi Adelson and Charlies Adelson's testimony.

Wendi Adelson (about 8 minutes). Dr. Garrison believes that Wendi did a couple of strange things. Partly, she tilted her head to the side when she answered. That behavior is related to confusion - not knowing what to answer. Her facial expression was also neutral - she showed no emotion. When asked if her parents were extremely angry with Dan [Markel], Wendi replies: - at that point? No, they were in a much better place. Garrison believes that Wendi follows the prosecutor carefully with her eyes.

The prosecutor then asks Wendi to look at what she herself said about the same (the parents' extreme anger at Markel). Wendi gets access to the interrogation protocol.

Charlie Adelson, who according to court staff and the jury is guilty of premeditated murder of his nieces' father.

~2 min 40 sec. Garrison comments on Charlie's behavior - pacifying. Garrison believes that the behavior is aimed at self-soothing. It indicates that Charlie is worried about what sister Wendi will now answer and what she said earlier about parents' attitude to Dan [Markel].

Wendi during the interrogation: - My parents have reason to dislike Dan [Markel] more than anyone else.

Garrison believes Charlie's behavioral response when he hears this indicates stress and that Wendi's behavior is emotionless, which Garrison interprets as the response being inauthentic. She is too rational. Garrison also says that when she asks the prosecutor for clarification, her voice becomes tense.

The prosecutor then alleges that Wendi said that her family's clients were involved. Wendi then quickly adds that she also said it could be a former student, a former girlfriend and many others.

The prosecutor then alleges that her family could have been included in many. Then the prosecutor makes a claim: - Your family murdered Dan [Markel] to help you.

Wendi: - Sorry, I don't understand the question (note the facial expression).

The prosecutor then repeats the claim.

Wendi: - No, that is completely untrue.

Garrison notes that Wendi nods as she dismisses the claim, saying that shaking one's head in that situation is typical.

Try to nod your head while saying no repeatedly.

Then the prosecutor continues with the question of whether it is true that the brother said he would hire an assassin (hit man) to kill Dan Markel.

Wendi: - It was a joke.

6 minutes 30 seconds. When asked if Wendi spread that lie, Wendi says no.

Garrison notes that Wendi closes her eyes when she answers, which is typical when thinking about things you don't like. Then Garrison notes another thing.

Wendi Adelson, the children's mother, displays a facial expression representing disgust.

Then follows what Garrison thinks is almost a slip-of-the-tongue - Wendi starts to say something that starts with the letter H, but then corrects herself.

Charlie Adelson. Garrison believes that Charlie is lying and that there is an explanation. It has been a long time and Garrison believes that it is possible to mentally create a "new reality".

Charlie paints a picture of being blackmailed by those who murdered Dan Markel.

Garrison believes that Charlie is good at talking and that he can contradict himself and then come up with an explanation.

The prosecutor asks why someone would blackmail Charlie for money and then murder someone Charlie hated?

The prosecutor asks why someone would blackmail Charlie for money and then murder someone Charlie hated?

~19 min. When, after three hours of deliberation, the jury tells them that they believe Charlie is guilty of first degree murder, he shakes his head and lets it fall to the bench in the witness stand.

Garrison believes that it is not an expression of sadness, anger or dissatisfaction and the like, but a 'loss of confidence', which Garrison believes Charlie showed a lot of during the trial.

~20 min 50 sec. Donna Adelson. She is completely still and indifferent except on one occasion: when the judge announces that there are serious charges involved. Donna's face signals that she does not accept this. When the judge says good luck! Donna rolls her eyes.

Donna Adelson himlar med ögonen.

Wendi Adelson has never been charged and the question is why?

Experts were invited to analyze the 2014 interrogation of Wendi Adelson, where she was told that the father of children will die from the gunshot wounds. See Wendi Adelson first reaction when told about Dan Markel's murder (Court TV).

Janine Driver, trained as a lie detector expert for the ATF, FBI and CIA and author of the book You Can't Lie to Me: The Revolutionary Program to Supercharge Your Inner Lie Detector and Get to the Truth.

Jason Solomon, former law professor and founder of Justice for Dan.

Carl Steinbeck, prosecutor from Texas who analyzed the case.

11 minutes. Janine Driver believes that Wendi Adelson's reaction when she receives the information that Markel will die from his gunshot wounds is genuine. Driver believes that it would require theoretical and practical training to be able to reproduce this behavior spontaneously. Driver therefore concludes that Wendi Adelson was NOT involved in Markel's murder. If she knew and was not involved, she said to the brother, my dear brother, do not dare to put that plan into action? There is no indication that she did.

~12 minutes. Solomon says his first response after learning of Markel's murder was that Wendi couldn't be so stupid as to have her children's father murdered. On the other hand, Solomon says that he didn't think her family would be that stupid either. He believes that she knew that brother Charlie had previously investigated the possibility of hiring someone to kill Markel.

13 minutes 45 seconds. Steinbeck believes that you have to look at the bigger picture. Wendi went to the murder scene where her children had spent the night before, but she took a 20 minute detour to get there (deviating from the typical route). Next, she went to a liquor store. When the police found her at a lunch restaurant and took her to the police car and drove 20 minutes to the police station, Wendi didn't ask a single question about why they took her to the police station. Steinbeck suggests that because Wendi did not react with emphasis when she first received the news about the children's father from a real estate agent, it indicates that she knew what had happened. Steinbeck believes that the murder had been planned for a whole year and that Wendi "was grooming this boyfriend" for nine months (he was a copy of Dan Markel) and dumped him a week before the murder. During the last week of Markel's life, Wendi refused to speak to him.

Note. At the time of writing, Wendi Adelson has NOT been charged with complicity in the murder of her children's father.

Dr Garrison, on the other hand, notes that Wendi almost immediately alleges that in the police car she worried that she was the suspect. But for what? It was not known at that time that Dan Markel had been murdered. Garrison wants us to keep that thought as he goes through the interrogation. Dr. Garrison believes that Wendi's behavior, that after being asked if she knew of anyone who disliked Markel and if he owed anyone money, replies: - it wasn't me, but he owed me money. The outcome is strange, partly because Wendi so strongly rejects any possible guilt, despite the fact that none has ever been attributed guilt to her, partly because it was she who lost her custody dispute. Thus, it should be she who owes the children's father money. Then she covers her face with her hands. Garrison believes that the last behavior is a very strong reaction. Wendi even insinuates that he would have done it himself - suicide!? Garrison believes that reciting that kind of information can obscure other information. Garrison also reacts to her fishing for information - asking her own questions, such as suspecting that they were already looking for information on her. Garrison is fascinated by her fear of being singled out (Link to Dr garrison's video).

Here is another video with Dr. Garrison where he lines up a series of contradictions in Wendi Adelson's behavior.

Salomon is interviewed: Murdered Law Professor Dan Markel’s Friend Speaks on Ex-Wife Wendi Adelson, Family's Murder Charges

~10 min. Wendi has never cut her mother's (Donna) umbilical cord. It indicates that it was grandma who "ruled and ordered" (quite common), and maybe was the one who pushed for the divorce? Salomon says it became apparent when the conversations between Charlie and Donna were played. He believes that after the sons, who are now teenagers and know that the uncle murdered their father, Wendi should distance herself, cut ties with the family. ~13 minutes in, Donna's voice is recorded where she very insistently more or less lectures Wendi.

Why do women, and their families act this way and what is the implication?

Divorcing your spouse is every man's or woman's legal right in a democracy. But trying to alienate the children from the other parent is not. Here's where things usually go bad.

Divorce rates in the US are similar to the Nordic countries. Typically, women take the initiative to divorce the children's father, and request sole control over the children. Data from the US and Sweden demonstrate a pattern - court personnel (judge) grants these women sole power and control over the joint children in 75% of cases (Biringen och Harman, 2018; Elfver-Lindström, 1999; Schiratzki, 2008; Österberg, 2004).

One motive is money. Women are granted sole custody, and are also grated money from the father.

Mother's generally take control over childrens' early child rearing, and research in developmental psychology shows that parents (mothers) who have an authoritarian or a let-go attitude make the children dependent on the mother (. There's a father-effect: children who grow up with both parents or with their father have better emotional and social adjustment as well as cognitive development compared to children who are controlled by their mothers (Rolle et al. 2019; Sethna, 2017; Österberg, 2004).

The opposite of emotional and social adjustment is antisocial behavior (Calkins och Keane, 2009; Moffitt et al. 2001; Vieno et al. 2009, 2014).

Women who act in this way may suffer from high degree of neuroticism as well as narcissistic personality disorder or Borderline Personality disorder (Biringen och Harman, 2018; Jiang, Dong och Wang, 2022; Ode et al. 2009; Ruffalo, 2024; Zalewski et al. 2014).

Wendi's motive was probably to submit to her mother which - to move the kids closer to Donna's place, that is, alienate the children from their father (she demonstrated that by moving all their stuff from their home when their father was on a business trip).

Parental alienation is a scientifically validated concept (Bernet, 2008, 2023; Bernet et al. 2010; Kruk, 2015; Rand, 1997 a, b, 2011; Warshak, 2014, 2015; Sikström, 2024) which likely occurs as a function of memory hacking (Shaw, 2016).

What is crucial to understand is that the foundational part of children's emotional and social adaptation as well as cognitive development (including visuospatial perception and numeracy. the latter is essential for instrumental and epistemic rational thought) takes place during the first Four years of living (Baumrind, 1966; Gopnik, 2016). There's a father effect; children who grow up with both parents or with their father have better emotional and social adjustment and cognitive development (including visuospatial perception) compared to children who grow up with their mother (Baker et al. 2020; Farran och Formby, 2011; LaFlamme et al. 2012; Olsson, 2022; Rolle et al. 2019; Sethna, 2017; Vieno et al. 2009, 2014; Österberg, 2004).

The opposite of emotional and social adjustment is antisocial behavior (Calkins och Keane, 2009; Moffitt et al. 2001).

But for some reason, the court personnel did not submit to Wendi Adelson's demand. Note. This is very unusual. That may also have been the trigger for the next step - to murder the father.

Children whose parents are murdered suffer trauma that can stay with them for the rest of their lives (Clements and Burgess, 2002; Malmquist, 1986).

Read more (In Swedish. Use the translation function):

about a similar case from Åland between Finland and Sweden (the islands formally belongs to Finland), where the mother murdered the child's father:

“Court of Appeal sentences woman for murder of ex-husband in Eckerö. A woman is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her ex-husband in Eckerö on Boxing Day 2020. The Turku Court of Appeal upheld the district court's verdict on Tuesday. The woman's friend has been sentenced to eleven years in prison for the crime. They threw fuel on the man who was sleeping in his home” (Svartström, 2022).

73 cases so far with women who kill their children and men: 

Kvinnor (ofta mammor) som dödar (n=73), ibland efter att socialtjänsten isolerat dem med barnen (offren)

76 cases so far with women who physically and mentally harm their children and men: Kvinnor (ofta mammor) med mentala utmaningar (n>76) och aggressioner - en lista med aktuella händelser

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