Many years before being charged with murder, a grandmother expressed her joy in caring for her family during a disconcerting episode of Wheel of Fortune.
Donna Adelson, 75, is accused of helping her son Charlie plot to gun down his sister Wendi Adelson’s ex-husband Dan Markel in 2014.
In November 2023, Charlie was found guilty of murdering Markel in the victim’s driveway outside his Tallahassee, Florida, home.
The dad was killed after he was granted shared custody of Wendi’s two preschool-aged children following a nasty divorce.
Wendi had challenged the ruling as she wanted to move away from Tallahassee and closer to her family, but the judge wouldn’t let her.
Charlie, his ex-girlfriend, and two guns-for-hire have been found guilty of murdering the dad.
Now, Adelson is fighting accusations that she masterminded the entire plot.
Years before the grandmother was cuffed as she was boarding a one way flight to Vietnam, she starred on an episode of Wheel of Fortune.
In 1986, Adelson joined a panel of three people to solve puzzles and earn some prize money.
When she was asked to introduce herself by host Pat Sajak, the much-younger mom described herself as a “domestic coordinator.”
Adelson explained that she was responsible for the “activities, classes, and lessons” of her three children, then aged from 16 to 10.
Later in the show, the mom quickly shouted a now-eerie phrase to solve one of the puzzles.
“Mischief-maker,” she yelled as she added $2,100 to her jackpot.
TRIAL LOOMS
Adelson has maintained her innocence, despite the court already securing four other convictions related to the murder.
Her trial has been delayed over mental health concerns, but jury selection is finally set to begin on August 19.
During a pretrial session on Friday, the legal teams debated over whether state attorneys should be allowed to present information from two interviews conducted in jail, as reported by Court TV.
Adelson’s lawyers want the investigators who spoke to the informants to be barred from testifying.
The defense also aims to block evidence indicating that the disgraced grandmother attempted to escape the country while boarding a flight.
However, the judge ultimately decided that the evidence is fine to present in court as long as it’s introduced appropriately.
LOCKED UP
Charlie is currently serving life in prison without parole.
His ex-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, is also serving a life sentence, plus two additional 30-year sentences.
Magbanua hired Sigfredo Garcia, who is the mother of her two children, to commit the murder.
Garcia enlisted the help of his childhood friend Luis Rivera.
Garcia was sentenced to life in prison, and Rivera is serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
The disturbing video of Adelson comes after child killer Lori Vallow appeared on an episode of Wheel of Fortune.
