Transcript

Talking Dateline: “Deadly Mischief" with Blayne Alexander and Dennis Murphy | Dateline

From Dateline NBC · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 28 min · 5,626 words · 86 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Talking Dateline: “Deadly Mischief" with Blayne Alexander and Dennis Murphy | Dateline", an episode of Dateline NBC published October 29, 2025 (28 min, about 5,626 words). It mentions 48 people, works and ideas, including Dan Markel, Vietnam, Talking Dine, Bump video, Andy (Andrea).

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Brad Davis, Bump video, Dan Markel, DLine podcast
  2. – 10:00: Vietnam, Andy (Andrea), Dan Markel, England
  3. – 15:00: Andy (Andrea), Bump video, Hitler uniforms, South Beach
  4. – 20:00: Court of public opinion, Spider-Man
  5. – 25:00: Dan Markel, Canada
  6. – 28:08: Court of public opinion, Susan Cooper Stallings, Talking Dine

Notable quotes from "Talking Dateline: “Deadly Mischief" with Blayne Alexander and Dennis Murphy | Dateline"

  • Podcast feed and then come right back here. But just a quick recap, when FSU law professor Dan Markell was shot in the garage of his home back in 2014 investigators uncovered a…
    about Dan Markel · at
  • Yes., And, Blaine, here,, Brad, and, I, are going back to the same courtroom in Tallahassee, Florida every couple of years. And we, we, look, at, the, the, tables, to, the right and the left of the prosecutors same and are the same. But the.
    about Tallahassee, Florida · at
  • Side of it is the control. She's sort of like the ultimate controlling mother who,, you, know,, helicopter, helicopter parenting is one thing, but this was really in your face, choosing dates for you to go on for Wendy, trying to do all.
    about Helicopter parenting · at
  • That we had was just incredible. I mean from the interrogation video of Wendy to the bump video to the video inside Dolce Vita to all of this video that really came together to tell the story.
    about Bump video · at
  • Best single bit of evidence in the trial, which is this monitored wiretap phone call between Charlie and his mother after the bunk where Charlie's asking, Is it about me? She…
    about Wiretap · at
  • Which was that video of Donna and Harvey preparing to board the flight to Vietnam.
    about Vietnam · at
  • You reported it every week on Andrea's podcast, Dine True Crime Weekly. This is now the fifth installment related to this case. What was it like there in the courtroom?
    about Andy (Andrea) · at
  • A with a charge or not, but she's a fascinating endless interest in the court of public opinion here.
    about Court of public opinion · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Dan Markel — Person · 4 mentions · first at
  • Andy (Andrea) — Person · 2 mentions · first at
  • John Hanks Alexander — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Hi everyone, I'm Blaine Alexander and today we are talking dine. I'm here with my good friend Dennis Murphy. Hi Dennis.
  • Donald C. Murphy — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Hi everyone, I'm Blaine Alexander and today we are talking dine. I'm here with my good friend Dennis Murphy. Hi Dennis.
  • Brad Davis — Person · 1 mention · first at
    I'm, good., But, we, also, have, a, special guest, the one and only Brad Davis super producer here who is really our resident expert on the case to talk about this sprawling family drama. Brad thanks so much for joining us.
  • Susan Cooper Stallings — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Well,, this, is, a, final, comment, and, I think this is a good one to end on. This is from Susan Cooper Stallings who writes, Let's give kudos to the investigators who…
  • Donna Adelson — Person · 1 mention
  • Georgia Cappleman — Person · 1 mention
  • Phil Markel — Person · 1 mention
  • Rob Adelson — Person · 1 mention
  • Shelly Markel — Person · 1 mention
  • Wendi Adelson — Person · 1 mention

Companies & orgs

Products & tech

  • Talking Dine — Product · 2 mentions · first at
    Hi everyone, I'm Blaine Alexander and today we are talking dine. I'm here with my good friend Dennis Murphy. Hi Dennis.
  • DLine podcast — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Sure., Glad, to, be, here., If, you, haven't seen this episode, you can watch it on Peacock or listen to it on the DLine podcast feed and then come right back here. But just a…
  • Peacock — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Sure., Glad, to, be, here., If, you, haven't seen this episode, you can watch it on Peacock or listen to it on the DLine podcast feed and then come right back here. But just a…
  • Dolce Vita — Product · 1 mention · first at
    From the interrogation video of Wendy to the bump video to the video inside Dolce Vita to all of this video that really came together to tell the story.
  • Spider-Man — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Actually in the closing arguments the prosecution even had a thing with different like Spider-Man like with different like clones of Spider-Man pointing the finger at each…
  • Deline True Crime Weekly — Product · 1 mention
  • DLine — Product · 1 mention

Concepts & topics

Places & events

  • Vietnam — Place · 3 mentions · first at
  • Tallahassee, Florida — Place · 1 mention · first at
  • England — Place · 1 mention · first at
    The fact that there just so many more people. There are people flying in from like the UK, from England just to be there for the trial, these, regular people. and then you also…
  • South Beach — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Walking, quickly down the stairs. very clearly like South, Beach., I, mean,, yeah,, clearly, keeps in shape. just very, very different. A very different look. One little detail…
  • Canada — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Association with him, with the heritage of their names, with their relatives in Canada, that he will be he will be gone from their memory. And that's why and that's why it happened.
  • Albany, New York — Place · 1 mention
  • Leon County — Place · 1 mention
  • United Kingdom (UK) — Place · 1 mention

Sponsors

Full transcript with timestamps

Hi everyone, I'm Blaine Alexander and today we are talking dine. I'm here with my good friend Dennis Murphy. Hi Dennis.

Hey, Blaine,, how, are, you? I'm, good., But, we, also, have, a, special guest, the one and only Brad Davis super producer here who is really our resident expert on the case to talk about this sprawling family drama. Brad thanks so much for joining us.

Sure., Glad, to, be, here., If, you, haven't seen this episode, you can watch it on Peacock or listen to it on the DLine podcast feed and then come right back here. But just a quick recap, when FSU law professor Dan Markell was shot in the garage of his home back in 2014 investigators uncovered a murder for hire plot that they say was orchestrated by his mother-in-law, Donna Adlesen. Now, 11 years after his murder, Donna's murder trial ended with a guilty verdict, making her the fifth person to be convicted in this case. The big question now, of course, will anyone else be charged? We'll discuss that during today's Talking Dline. In this episode, we've also got an extra clip of Wendy Adlesen testifying during her mother's trial. And of course, later, we will take some of your questions from social, media., All right,, guys., Let's talk datine.

Great. Of, course,, I've, followed, the, I've followed this case. I've, you know, I know the stories and the back stories and everything, but just watching this was so unbelievably fascinating to me just how many people are involved in the killing of this one man. This has unfolded over more than a decade. I just wonder what it's like following a case like this. I mean, that really seems to you think both shoes have dropped and then yet there's another shoe and another shoe and things just kind of keep coming in this.

Yes., And, Blaine, here,, Brad, and, I, are going back to the same courtroom in Tallahassee, Florida every couple of years. And

we, we, look, at, the, the, tables, to, the right and the left of the prosecutors same and are the same. But the defendants keep changing with different lawyers and the years go by and Ruth and Phil Markell the parents of the murdered man are still there and uh you get a sense, of, the, elapsed, time., But, I, I I, it always struck me blame as something Shakespearean about it where there's a tragic flaw that brings down an entire family.

But, first,, I, can't, think, of, any, other dine episode that begins with Wheel of Fortune. When that kicked off, I said "Okay, where are we going with this one?" And then to see that Donna Adlesen was actually a Wheel of Fortune contestant. One, I was immediately jealous because that's one of my dreams is to be on Wheel of Fortune. So uh but secondly to find that and then have what seemed to be almost the perfect puzzle mischief maker was was unbelievable. It provides this fantastic throughine because I noticed Brad and Dennis in your writing that you wo mischief maker and making mischief throughout the script throughout the entire two hours and I just thought that that was brilliantly done

that, that, kind, of, a, thing, can, wear, out its welcome but I think we got away with it.

I, think, it, did. And, you, can't, make, it, up., I, mean mischief maker you know it just it writes itself almost. I didn't have to do very much or Dennis and I both.

Um,, so, we, talk, about, Donna, Adlesen, in all of your reporting on this case. I mean, how would you describe her? Who is this woman? Someone who puts on just a shiny veneer, but there's someone completely different underneath.

I, think, there, is, a, shiny, veneer., She's, you know, I I think a lovely woman, you know, to meet her, running the the office of the dental practice, raising three very fine young people, you know as far as their professions and and educational background. Um, but the dark side of it is the control. She's sort of like the ultimate controlling mother

who,, you, know,, helicopter, helicopter parenting is one thing, but this was like, you know, really in your face, you know, choosing dates for you to go on for Wendy, you know, trying to do all sorts of things to control. And uh it's that's where her Achilles heel lies.

I, mean,, the, signature, for, her, defense, is this phrase, she's a medddler, not a murderer. But there is evidence that she she meddled in her her children's lives all for years and years and years

and, her, grandchildren., She, wants, to control where her grandchildren are. She wants she wants them to be with her. And that's, you know, if you go by what the prosecution has said, that's what this case has always been about.

And, that's, my, Shakespearean, flaw., This desire for control of all elements of your life in a very uncontrollable kind of world we live in.

One, thing, that, really, stuck, out, to, me about this episode is that the video that we had was just incredible. I mean from the interrogation video of Wendy to the bump video to the video inside uh Dolce Vita to all all of this video that really came together to tell the story. I wonder if we could talk about that bump video a little bit more. Do we know why investigators targeted her and not Charlie?

That's, a, good, question., I, don't, know, the exact answer to it. I'd have to ask Georgia, but um the capital, the state prosecutor, but but I think they felt like Donna that Donna would be sort of more open to sort of freaking out and and be and and being fearful and sort of doing something. Uh whereas Charlie might have been more confrontational. The ultimate goal is to get them chattering on, you know, the chatter on the uh the wire taps. That's what the bump is really about, the idea of the bumping that up um so that they'll start talking potentially about the the crime that's been committed. Lane, I think of the strategy here is something like a pool break shot where you you're you're there going to make the balls scatter and you fire a shot and there they go and they're in the pocket and they're moving around the table. Let's scatter the balls and see what happens. Uh and what happened was Brad precisely what

they hoped which is that she started getting making calls not to the police uh not to her husband but to her son Charlie was the first one. What's going on? Let me tell you what's happening here. I mean, it set in motion this chain of events that even though none of them actually said anything incriminating on the lines or when they were being tapped. To your point, just the fact that they started calling that gave police enough to start connecting dots.

Brad,, I, I, think, it, produced, maybe, the best single bit of evidence in the uh in the trial, which is this monitored wiretap phone call between Charlie and his mother after the bunk where Charlie's asking, "Is it about me?" She said, "Well, and Brad, here's the quote I think is is the quote of the trial.

It's, about, us., It's, about, the, two, of us." Um, probably, both, of, us, which, makes, you, say,, "Two, of, us, in, what? What's going on? What is Donna telling her son?"

I, think, that's, maybe, the, most, important bit of evidence of the trial. That's not incriminating in the sense that they're not saying we murdered our son-in-law our, you know, our brother-in-law, but it's it's creating this image of of what this conspiracy was after the fact, you know, and um and that's what really was you know, hit home for, you know, the prosecutors.

Watching, all, of, this,, I, got, the, sense that this was a family that knew certainly knew enough to be careful right? They know enough to kind of avoid what you would think to be your common pitfalls if you're trying to not get caught for murder, but they did just enough to obviously give investigators what they needed to to piece it together.

It's, a, web, put, together, of, wiretapped calls, emails, uh, text messages that becomes the spiderweb that pulls everybody in. And Charlie just never shuts up. He talks himself into a conviction

and, pulls, the, other, people, in, with, him. Let's talk about the other piece of video that I thought was very striking which was that video of uh Donna and Harvey preparing to board the flight to Vietnam.

I, can, watch, that, video, over, and, over, and the tussle blame for her. Donna is holding out her her phone, which is evidence. And the FBI agent, Pat Sanford, is reaching for it and grappling with it. And all of a sudden

it, all, happens, in, a, closed, space, and she's cuffed and being walked. It all happens. Brad, I get the feeling it's like a minute and a half on that jetway.

I, was, able, to, get, a, hold, of, that, video. We were the first people to to actually air the video. Um, which tooting my horn a little bit, but you could really see that and see like the the craziness in that moment.

Had, they, gotten, on, that, flight,, had, the plane actually taken off, it would have been a very different story.

I, agree. As, we, know, it, would, be, We, might, have, had, to, go, to Vietnam. Who knows? When we get back Wendy Adlesen will take the stand in her mother's murder trial, and she testifies about a phone call that she made to Donna, sharing the news of Dan Markell's death. So, let's get into the trial. And Brad I know that you were there faithfully. Uh, you reported it every week on Andrea's podcast, Dine True Crime Weekly. This is now the fifth installment related to this case. What was it like there in the courtroom?

Well, um, it's it's actually very different than it was when I first started covering this because there there there's a lot of there's a lot of media, but there's also a lot of podcasts. The story has sort of taken on a life of its own. And I was struck by the fact that there just so many more people. There are people flying in from like the UK, you know, from England just to be there for the trial, these, you know, regular people. Um, and then you also have uh you have the Mark Hells who I you know saw again the the parents and uh and Dan's sister Shelly, you know just it's almost like a family reunion you know, in a way where you see all these people again uh for this really sorrowful reason. Um but uh and it was the first time seeing Harvey Adlesen and anyone from the Aden family in court because we had these previous trials and they were nowhere to be found. Yeah.

And, so, now, you, have, Harvey, there supporting his wife right behind her. Um so it that was a very different dynamic than what was happening. And you had the in-laws in on both sides of the court.

I, can't, imagine, what, that, felt, like. Let's talk about Donna Aden's appearance very quickly. Um she was wearing headphones. That was one of my first questions. Why was she wearing those headphones the whole time?

She, gets, ear, wax, in, her, ears, a, lot, and she has trouble hearing. So they uh they wanted to make accommodation for that. And there's so much surveillance, you know, audio in this case that even the you know, the jury members would have headphones, too. So, um, it was not that that unusual.

And, beyond, that,, I, think, there, were, some optics going on here portraying this woman as

as, not, only, elderly,, but, maybe, frail, on her way to being feeble. And jurors this can't be a killer before you. just what the story you're hearing does not match Donna Adlesen with the cardigan sweater and the glasses and gray hair.

I, had, that, thought, that, the, Donna, Aden we saw there in the courtroom was a very different Donna Aden than the one that we saw in that bump video where she was walking, you know, quickly down the stairs. I mean, very clearly like

South, Beach., I, mean,, yeah,, clearly, keeps in shape. I mean, just very, very different. A very different look. One little detail that came out in some of this pre-trial stuff was that she before before they were going to flee the go to Vietnam, she actually had an appointment with a plastic surgeon to get her neck tucked or do something

uh, which, I, think, she, had, to, cancel, uh because she could go to Vietnam and flee the country. Um so you know this is a woman who took good care of herself this you know before before all this she did not look like the dowy grandmother that you saw in court.

Right., Right., All right., So,, prosecutors really had this this challenge on their hands in prosecuting this case. Um because this was a circumstantial case but they did have some jarring some very jarring pieces of evidence. This this note about, hey, let's put the boys in Hitler uniforms and then we can show Dan who's really in control, right? Dan who is, you know, Jewish. So this is something that certainly one would look at and say, "Okay, this is certainly in stark contrast to this image of, oh, she's the kind grandmother who's babysitting and baking custom banana bread, right?"

Yeah,, th, those, emails,, I, mean,, I, think, a lot of things were damning for Donna but those emails are really pretty awful. They're awful to read and they they really do show someone who really hates this person and will basically do anything to, you know, get this person out of their lives.

Just, oozes, with, vitriol, which, becomes the foundation of their their accusation that she is the architect of this whole thing. She hated Danny so much that she would get rid of him by killing him having him killed. Brad, I think that you and I I think we talked about this because I remember um I was guest hosting on Andrea's podcast. I think the week that Rob Adlesen testified, the way that you brought him into the episode and kind of teed him up to be this guy and then he comes out and he is uh states witness. I'm just so curious about these family dynamics. Um talk to me about Rob Adlesen. Where does he come from? Why did he decide to uh why did he decide to testify? What's he about? Uh well, Rob is um he's he's an ENT uh surgeon outside of Albany. Um he is uh the oldest of the three Adlesen kids. Um and he you know he he has not seen the family as much over the years. One thing that we don't get into in the episode

and we they didn't get into on the stand either in the trial was that Rob has a long-standing issue with his parents. They did not approve of the woman that he wanted to marry. and he entered into a marriage that he didn't think was really right for him because of his parents' feelings um specifically his mother's feelings

and, and, he, eventually, divorced, that person and finally married the woman that he really was in love with from the beginning., So, it, it, that that, is, in itself is a window into the dynamics of the family that that that her his approval their approval was so important. um and he defied it ultimately. just the drama, but here he is testifying against his mother in a capital in a in a first-degree murder case and tells the story. Well, call what was it? Calling up after uh after Harvey's birthday, I guess. And it was one of these the news has been released.

Mom, they've got the guys. They've got the two killers and it's crickets on the phone. Donna will not engage. And you couple that with that moment where but right after the the um the murder where he is talking with his mother and he's already talked to the FBI and she's telling him, "Oh, by the way, honey don't talk to the FBI if they call you but he's already talked to them." And and he so he tells her that and she's like, "Oh, well, you don't know anything anyway." I mean, to me, that statement is as incriminating as anything else because like that implies that, "Oh well, I know something." I thought it was such strong testimony, Brad, that you could almost imagine Georgia Kaplan rising after he left the sand and say "Your honor, the state rests." I mean it was that devastating.

And, in, fact,, you, and, I, were, both, in, the courtroom for it. And then I left the courtroom and I ran into Georgia, the the prosecutor, and she just said "Wow."

After, his, testimony,, and, I'll, always remember that. Another thing that they did was they Wendy Wendy testified right before Rob. And Wendy was on the stand for a few hours. And as she was leaving the court Rob came in from the back and from a different entrance. And this was all to separate Wendy and Rob who have not seen each other in years or spoken.

You, know,, you, had, all, these, members, of this family and in the court in this courthouse for the same Charlie's in jail, you know, right right by ready to testify. You know, it it was a very weird family reunion to to say the least.

Well,, we've, talked, about, all, we've talked about every Aden up to this point except Wendy. I guess the first question, and this is probably the question many viewers have, and probably you to yourselves, um, will she face charges? I mean, she's seemingly the woman at the center of all of this.

Well,, whatever, we've, said, about, Wendy, from here on out, we should we should boiler plate by saying that she has never been accused. She has always denied any involvement in any aspect of this plot. and that uh so far the the the state has not said whether they're going to go for her with a with a charge or not, but she's a fascinating endless interest in the court of public opinion here.

I, mean,, she, testified, under, immunity agreements in several of these trials. Um does that have any impact though on whether she could be charged in the future?

Prosecution, has, said, no, that, they're, not that is not a limiting factor for them. Uh, and there's a whole record of what things that Wendy has said about this case. Uh, I mean, the the the story that has a lot of people wondering is on the day of the murder, what is she doing getting in the car and on she's going on a mission to the liquor store to buy a bottle of of bourbon? Why does she go down her very old street out of her way? Why does she why is it that she sees flashing lights and disturbance around her house that she doesn't approach an officer and say, "So, where my husband ex-husband lives, what's going on?" That that kind of uh circumstantial story would be used against her. But I I don't think there's any reason it couldn't be used against her in in any pending prosecution.

Yeah,, she's, had, many, explanations, for that. Um, and she, you know, the other question is why does she not call the daycare, you know, where her kids are you know, to see if make sure that they're okay and that they're there. Why did she not call Dan? You know, there are a lot of questions that that whole incident raised. Um, she said it was she would go down that street a lot because she just would be nostalgic and want to see the house and the kids. You know she was on her way somewhere to pick up some liquor for a bar party that she was going to. Um, but she did go strangely out of her way and that she's always said, "Well, that's the way that I knew the way to go." So, I it's it's a a murky question, but it's a big question.

What, a, question., Yes., Um,, so, we, have some extra We have some extra sound from Wendy testifying. Brad, can you kind of just tell us what we're going to listen to? Yeah, this is Wendy testifying at the um at Donna's trial and uh the the prosecution is just asking her um you know about the um uh the her time in the interrogation room and some of the questions that that she was asked and the fact that she spoke to her mother during that time period.

Did, you, ask, your, mom, in, that, telephone conversation to tell Charlie what was going on?

I, think, I, did., I, didn't, want, to, make, any more phone calls. And your mom took the news pretty well didn't she? This phone call.

I, wouldn't, say, she, took, the, news., Well, I think she was upset. Did, you, say, something, different, in, your law enforcement interview after you got off the phone with her?

I, don't, think, I, did., I, don't, think, I said something like that. Didn't, you, say, page, 265,, line, 5, through six, quote, "My mom handled that pretty well."

Um,, I, may, have, said, that., I, can, check it. Can you tell me the line again? Yes ma'am. Page 265, line five and six.

Yes,, that's, what, I, said., And, then, page 280, line 22 and 23. Did you also say, "Well, my parents sounded really surprised, so that's at least a relief."

Yes,, I, see, that, here. No, further, questions. I, think, a, good, defense, attorney, could spin that in a way to make it sound less damning to her.

Yeah,, I, mean,, we, we, actually, included that little excerpt from the interrogation, in, our, datine., It, it it goes by very quickly then where she says, you know, "Oh, well, my mom handled that pretty well." If you think about it, yes, it can be read a couple of different ways. Um, but you listen to Donna Aden talking and she says, "What? What?" on the phone when she hears this news,

but, there's, not, a, lot, of, other, stuff coming from Donna at that point. She's not asking a lot of questions to be honest.

Yeah., Yeah., Let's, talk, about, Donna's attorney. In in her closing argument, I was struck by the fact that she pointed the finger at Charlie. She kind of pointed the finger at Wendy uh to point it away from from Donna there.

I, think, the, phrase, is, throw, under, the bus. Yeah. Right., Which, has, been, the, pattern, in these trials too where everyone has been blaming someone else. You know, they actually in the closing arguments the the the prosecution even had a thing with different like Spider-Man like with different like clones of Spider-Man pointing the finger at each other and it was sort of a joke in court and uh you know that's sort of what this has been like. They're all blaming each other. So, three hours. Three hours to find Donna guilty. Three hours to find Charlie guilty. Were either of you surprised?

I, think, I, was, surprised, at, both, of, them, Brad. I thought Charlie would take a little more time.

I, I, thought, they, both, would, take, more time. I thought Donna would take more time than Charlie, but they really did end up being about the same. Um, and I think the fact that Charlie did take such a short amount of time gave the prosecution even more confidence that they could go after Donna.

Without, Charlie's, conviction,, you, could not have gone after Donna, I think.

So,, I'm, curious, from, both, of, you., I mean, this is this has taken a significant chunk of your last decade. Where do you see this going next knowing what you know about this case? Well, I I think the world of Georgia Kapplman's skill as the prosecutor up in in in Tallahassee uh

and, and, the, the, the, the, the, post-mortem assembly that she had after Charlie's trial, we were all out in the in the uh outside the courtroom there and she said and somebody said, "Is this the end of the prosecution of the Aden family?" And she said quotably, famously, "Stay tuned." And immediately within a week, I think it was Brad, we were we had the indictment of uh of Donna Adlesen.

This, time, she, also, took, a, victory, lap outside as as was deserved. And Brad, I think you threw the question of

should, we, stay, tuned. I, I, I, I, was, there., It, was, funny, because she came out and people were objust they they of course wanted to ask you about Wendy. That was immediate. Who's going to ask the Wendy question? She said "Yeah, like and she's like don't don't use the W word. Don't say that. Don't ask me that. Don't ask me. She was, you know, she was smiling and joking, but not really joking. And um finally to sort, of, get, into, it, at least, roundabout way, I said, "Well, should we stay tuned?" Um and she said, "Oh, yeah sure. You could stay tuned, but you know, it it's it's the really big burning question. There only a few people who know the answer. There might not even be an answer yet to be honest."

So, we'll see. Wow., Well,, I, know, that, we, will, certainly be staying tuned uh and we'll stay tuned to your coverage of this, which has been exceptional. Coming up after the break we are going to answer some of your questions from social media. We got some social media questions. We have, as you would expect, there are a lot of questions about this one. A lot of reactions from viewers. So, let's start with a video question from Al Roas. Let's take a look.

Hey,, Dennis., It's, uh, Al, Ris. Uh I'm in the sun here in Florida. Question. I've been following the trial for a while. Uh any background on the um the other son, his name is Robert. Just wondering why he escaped the the mess of that family and how he did it and any insight into this character would be welcome. Thanks, man. And uh enjoy your work.

Thanks,, Al., Appreciate, it., It's, a, it's, a good observation. As I say, to me, the star witness of this trial is Rob, the son who did not get pulled into any of this, who was always on the on the skirts. And I think we talked about Brad's some of his background and uh and why he was removed, but he had not talked to his mother in 9 years, 10 years.

Uh, yeah,, he, did, not, want, to, be controlled by his parents, by his mother, and um was living, you know, far away. And the prosecution resisted bringing putting him on the stand until they absolutely had to use him and that was in the trial of his mother.

So, dramatic. Sure. Very, very., Let's, listen, to, another, audio question. Hello., I, found, it, extremely, odd, at, the end when they said that Wendy changed the two boys names back to Aden to protect them. Why would she do that? The Aden name is associated with murder. Well, I would I think if you ask that questions of Ruth and Phil Markell with the parents of the murdered man, they say that this is a blatant attempt to just erase entirely the memory of Dan Markell. So, the boys will have no association with him, with the heritage of their names, with their relatives in Canada, that he will be he will be gone from their memory. And that's why and that's why it happened.

Yeah. Yeah., uh, the, the the, defense, and actually Wendy herself would say um that she did it to protect them their their security and privacy, the boys. Um and she would say that well if you go back to when this initially happened, it was the headlines were Dan Markel, FSU law professor murder murdered and Markeel was the name that was in the paper so much. So she says that that's you know why she changed to Aden.

You, know, they're, teenagers, now, um, as, you mentioned in the story. Um, but this just has to be such a terrible situation for them. Even just that notion of having their names changed and having to go through this and watching trial after trial and you know their uncle, their grandmother go to prison. Do we have any sense of how they're holding up in all of this?

Well,, they've, been, kept, off, stage, from the media, the likes of us. Uh, so we we hear about them mainly through Phil and Ruth Markeel and they're quite candid. They tell us about the Zoom calls and the very limited visits they've had and the in-person visits always have Wendy in the room. So, they desire to have more visits and yet this very odd situation where Wendy has custody the kids. So, the grandparents have to play nice with her uh in order to keep the the the contacts open at all. So, how are the boys doing? You can you can only imagine it. they'll be they'll be able to go online and read all of this if they haven't already. It's going to be out there forever.

We, have, another, question., This, is something that we actually touched on earlier in our discussion um about Harvey and the question of whether Harvey will ever whether Harvey will ever be charged. Um Kimberly Jeene writes, "When is Wendy getting charged is all we want to know." Uh and then somebody else says Harvey needs to be charged, too. Now, of course, again neither of them have been charged arrested, anything in in connection with these, but it seems to be a question that a lot of viewers have about this case.

It's, a, political, pressure, for, the, Lyon County authorities. You have this what I've always called the court of public opinion demanding that there be more. No matter how much common sense there is to your theory, we don't have the email. We don't have the fingerprint. We don't have the DNA. We don't have the blood. Any of those kinds of things that get people convicted by a jury.

Yeah., And, from, the, beginning,, I, mean, neither Wendy's phone nor Harvey's phone were wiretapped. They did not, you know they are not um Harvey may be in occasional calls, but uh it's it's really there's just that you don't have all of that evidence to to go to um in their in their cases.

Well,, this, is, a, final, comment, uh, and, I think this is a good one to end on. This is from Susan Cooper Stallings who writes, "Let's give kudos to the investigators who doggedly never gave up on this case and bravo to Georgia Kaplan and crew."

Ditto., I, agree, with, all, of, that. Ditto., Yeah,, they, they've, been, doing, an amazingly patient job of building this case over the years. It's an incredible amount of work that that that they did to to bring all these people to justice.

Well,, it's, an, incredible, amount, of, work that you two have done to cover this for uh more than a decade now. So, thank you for for all of this. Um, Dennis and Brad, this was a fantastic discussion. Thank you both.

Thanks, so, much. And, that's, it, for, Talking, Dine, this week. Remember, if you have any questions for us about stories or about Dineine, you can reach us 247 on social media, datine NBC. And if you have a question for Talking Dine, make sure to leave us a voicemail. That number is 212413-5252. or you can send us a video on social media, any of our social media channels for a chance to be featured on a future episode. And of course, we will see you Fridays on Dline on NBC. Thanks so much for listening.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Talking Dateline: “Deadly Mischief" with Blayne Alexander and Dennis Murphy | Dateline"?

In order: 0:00 Brad Davis, Bump video, Dan Markel, DLine podcast; 5:00 Vietnam, Andy (Andrea), Dan Markel, England; 10:00 Andy (Andrea), Bump video, Hitler uniforms, South Beach; 15:00 Court of public opinion, Spider-Man; 20:00 Dan Markel, Canada; 25:00 Court of public opinion, Susan Cooper Stallings, Talking Dine.

What is mentioned in this Dateline NBC episode?

48 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Dan Markel, Vietnam, Talking Dine, Bump video, Andy (Andrea), Court of public opinion. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Talking Dateline: “Deadly Mischief" with Blayne Alexander and Dennis Murphy | Dateline"?

The episode runs 28 min; the transcript is about 5,626 words in 86 timestamped sections.

More from Dateline NBC

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated November 17, 2025.