About this episode

The episode discusses shocking developments in the Donna Adelson trial, including revealing emails and testimony from her children.

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…

People in this episode

Guests: Wendi Adelson, Robert Adelson

Topics covered

• Donna Adelson trial
• emails
• testimony
• family dynamics
• courtroom strategies
• true crime

Keywords

• Donna Adelson
• Wendi Adelson
• Dan Markel
• emails
• testimony
• true crime
• courtroom

More episodes of The Trial Of Donna Adelson | The Murder Of Dan Markel

• Charlie Adelson Appeal Hearing Recap: What the Judges Said and What Happens Next | Full Breakdown · February 5, 2026 · 15 min
• Adelson Case Week In Review: Charlie's Appeal Arguments, Donna's Prison Transfer, and the Wendi Question · January 11, 2026 · 43 min
• Charlie Adelson Appeal: February 2026 Oral Arguments — Everything You Need to Know · January 6, 2026 · 17 min
• Donna Adelson: Cracks, Clues, and the Moment She Slipped | 2025 True Crime · January 3, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Wendi Freezes, Robert Speaks: The Adelson Kids Break Silence | 2025 True Crime · January 2, 2026 · 35 min
• Inside the 9 Moments That Destroyed Donna’s Defense | 2025 True Crime · January 1, 2026 · 1h 24m

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