Wendy Adelson’s Ex Reveals Chilling Confession About Charlie’s Murder Plot
True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews
Tony Brueski
4.2 • 612 Ratings
🗓️ 4 September 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
In this episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski, Robin Dreeke, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels dig deep into one of the most revealing moments in the Dan Markel murder investigation: the police interrogation of Wendy Adelson’s ex-boyfriend, Dr. Jeffrey Lacoste.
Recorded in the aftermath of early arrests tied to the hit on FSU law professor Dan Markel, the interrogation showcases how detectives worked to separate suspicion from truth. At first, Lacoste himself was under the microscope. But what unfolded quickly redirected focus onto the Adelson family—Wendy, Charlie, and their controlling matriarch, Donna.
Lacoste recalled haunting conversations with Wendy, including one where she confided that Charlie Adelson had “legitimately explored” hiring someone to kill Markel. Not a joke, not an offhand remark, but a chillingly serious disclosure. His statement matched courtroom testimony years later, but in this raw police interview, the gravity hits even harder.
Our panel breaks down credibility cues, body language, and tempo of disclosure, explaining why Lacoste read as a highly reliable source—even while acknowledging his lingering attachment to Wendy, which slightly complicated his objectivity. We also explore his sharp memory for details, dates, and conversations, and why the one moment he couldn’t precisely recall raises questions worth unpacking.
The interrogation also highlights Charlie Adelson’s bizarre behavior—bragging about his connections to Green Berets and surrounding himself with militant types, despite being a wealthy South Florida dentist. Was this insecurity? Narcissism? A desperate attempt to project toughness after years under his mother’s thumb?
With convictions already secured against Charlie Adelson, Sigfredo Garcia, and Katherine Magbanua, attention now turns to Wendy and Donna. The Lacoste interrogation remains a critical piece of the puzzle in exposing the family’s role in this murder-for-hire plot.
Join us as we dissect the interrogation line by line, revealing the psychology, the family dynamics, and the chilling implications for everyone tied to Dan Markel’s death.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers with Tony Bruske. Here now, Tony Bruske. The police interrogation of Wendy Adelson's ex-boyfriend, Dr. Jeffrey Lacos, is what we're about to dive into here. And this is so interesting. I had a chance to take a look at it over the weekend. I know, Robin, you had a chance to watch. I think we all had a chance to see some of it here. |
| 0:22.9 | And it's, this is, this is from way back. |
| 0:25.6 | I believe 2012, 13, 14, somewhere around there. |
| 0:29.4 | This is shortly after the actual arrest and the charges against Sigfrido Garcia, |
| 0:37.2 | Catherine McBonna, and I'm not sure if Charlie was arrested |
| 0:39.8 | at this point in time or not. |
| 0:42.1 | But it was very telling because what he's able to reveal in this interrogation is far more |
| 0:50.1 | than what we're actually seeing in court. |
| 0:51.7 | And I think it gives us more data points, more information about who this family is |
| 0:57.1 | as a whole. |
| 0:58.8 | And what begins as suspicion on him quickly flips as Lecase unloads disturbing details about |
| 1:05.6 | Wendy, or brother, the entire Adis Adelson family from Wendy saying life would be convenient if Dan wasn't |
| 1:13.2 | around to Charlie breaking about money schemes and even saying he wanted Dan dead. There is a lot |
| 1:20.6 | in here and we're going to work our way through it. Let's start out with this when detectives |
| 1:26.3 | had depressed the case on what he knew about |
| 1:29.2 | the Edelson. He recalled one conversation that really did haunt him a lot. He says, Wendy, |
| 1:34.6 | confided that her brother Charlie had actually legitimately explored the idea of hiring someone |
| 1:42.9 | to kill Dan. I know we heard him say this on the stand the other day, but here's the very fresh way it came out the first time he was asked about it, answering not in a joking way, but in a very chillingly serious, serious way. |
| 1:58.0 | This is Lacos explaining that disclosure. |
| 2:02.3 | Not just enough to be useful here. Let's not put it in a big. Let's go with what you know specifically. |
| 2:08.2 | Wendy had reported to me that Charlie had considered all the options possible to take care of this problem. |
| 2:17.0 | Let's put it that way. |
... |
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