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True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

Donna Adelson Appeals Her Life Sentence, Defense Expert Eric Faddis on What Happens Next

True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

Tony Brueski

News, True Crime, News Commentary

4.2612 Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Convicted of masterminding the murder of her former son-in-law Dan Markel, Donna Adelson is now fighting for her life — again. Her motion for a new trial has been denied, and her defense team is preparing to appeal the 2025 verdict that sent the 75-year-old matriarch to Florida’s state prison for life.

But what does an appeal like this really look like? Can it work — or is this just a ritual step on the road to nowhere? Attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis joins Tony Brueski and Stacy Cole on Hidden Killers Live to cut through the noise and map the real legal landscape ahead.

From claims of juror misconduct and media bias to the ever-controversial wiretaps and family communications at the heart of the prosecution, we explore every possible angle that Donna’s lawyers might raise. And we ask the hard questions: Did Harvey Adelson’s angry courtroom speech hurt her case? Could Wendi Adelson still face charges? And what happens if Charlie’s own appeal succeeds before hers?

It’s a story of money, power, and family — but also one about how our appeals system balances finality and fairness. Faddis takes us inside the strategy, the statistics, and the staggering odds of overturning a Florida murder conviction. Because in the end, Donna Adelson’s fight isn’t just about freedom — it’s about legacy, and whether justice has the courage to look back.

#HiddenKillers #DonnaAdelson #DanMarkel #EricFaddis #TrueCrime #LegalAppeal #FloridaJustice #TonyBrueski #FamilyCrime #LawAndCrime


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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Bruske, Stacey Cole, and Todd Michaels.

0:08.0

Let's talk about Donald Adelson, our good friends over there, digging into what happens next for Donna,

0:15.2

convicted in September for orchestrating the murder for hire of her former son-in-law, Dan Markell.

0:20.4

Her motion for a new trial denied her defense team, now preparing for an appeal.

0:25.1

But what are the actual odds of overturning a life sentence in a case this public, this emotional?

0:31.6

And this tied to the family.

0:33.8

And what about the ripple effects?

0:35.3

Harvey's courtroom outburst, Wendy's uncharged status and Charlie's own pending appeal.

0:41.7

Eric Fattis, former prosecutor defense attorney, here with us to help unpack what is going on with the Aidelsons and what may be next.

0:49.8

We know Donna's not happy.

0:51.2

She claims, I swear, oh, my, I have nothing to do, oh, I have nothing to do with this. You got me,

1:00.2

assholes. But she claims that. They're going to try and appeal what sort of grounds do you

1:07.2

think they have going forward, Eric? You know, I think that the appellate grounds are going to likely mirror some of the grounds

1:15.5

that they asserted to try to get a new trial.

1:18.1

And so, you know, chiefly, we're looking at judicial bias.

1:22.2

They're saying that the judge was not impartial, that he was favoring the side of the

1:26.4

prosecution.

1:27.1

They list some

1:27.9

colorable reasons for that. And then also sufficiency of evidence. Hey, the jury got wrong and

1:34.5

there's actually not enough evidence here. And then lastly, the ground that might be most

1:40.0

significant is the potential juror misconduct. That one sort of sticks out to me, but I think

1:45.8

generally speaking, though that's going to be the thrust of the appeal on those sort of three

...

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