Fiction on Trial: How Wendi Adelson’s Novel Helped Convict Her Mother | 2025 Year in Review

Fiction on Trial: How Wendi Adelson’s Novel Helped Convict Her Mother | 2025 Year in Review

As part of our Hidden Killers 2025 Year in Review series, we revisit one of the most surreal twists in the Donna Adelson murder trial — the moment when a novel became potential evidence in a real-life homicide case.

In this special episode, Tony Brueski breaks down the unprecedented legal and psychological debate surrounding This Is Our Story, a book written by Donna’s daughter, Wendi Adelson, years before the murder of her ex-husband, Dan Markel. What began as fiction has now been pulled into a courtroom as a possible roadmap to motive.

Prosecutors argue that the story — about a woman desperate to escape her marriage and rebuild her life without her husband — eerily mirrors Wendi’s real-life circumstances before Markel’s death. They claim it exposes family resentment, obsession with control, and the emotional triggers that led to murder. The defense, meanwhile, insists the book is irrelevant, prejudicial, and “a dangerous conflation of art and accusation.”

Tony unpacks the courtroom fight over this bizarre piece of evidence:

  • Why the State believes Wendi’s novel matters — and how prosecutors think it reveals intent.

  • How Donna’s defense team is trying to block it, calling it an unfair literary witch hunt.

  • What the novel actually says — and why its parallels to the Markel-Adelson saga are impossible to ignore.

But this episode isn’t just about the legal argument. It’s about narrative control — the very thing the Adelsons have fought to maintain since the day Dan Markel was shot in his driveway. From Donna’s alleged orchestration of the hit to Wendi’s public denial of involvement, the family’s story has always been carefully curated. Now, that curation may become their undoing.

Could fiction really help convict someone of murder? Or is this a dangerous precedent that blurs the line between imagination and evidence? Either way, the irony is impossible to miss: the Adelsons, who once controlled the narrative, may now be undone by one they wrote themselves.

🎙️ Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski — 2025 Year in Review: The Cases Where Truth Was Stranger Than Fiction.

#DonnaAdelson #WendiAdelson #DanMarkel #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimePodcast #MurderForHire #CourtroomDrama #FloridaCrime #JusticeForDanMarkel #YearInReview #TrueCrimeToday


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Jaksot(500)

Power, Control, and the Dead: Sheriff, d4vd, and Diddy Cases Fully Unpacked

Power, Control, and the Dead: Sheriff, d4vd, and Diddy Cases Fully Unpacked

Three victims. Three abusers. Three systems that looked the other way—until the bodies made it impossible. In this special 2-hour episode of Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski, we’re diving into three stories that expose what happens when unchecked power collides with silence, manipulation, and violence. 🔹 PART 1: The Sheriff & The Judge — A Courthouse Murder in Kentucky  Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines walked into Judge Kevin Mullins' chambers and opened fire. The shooting was caught on surveillance, but the backstory is even darker: civil rights lawsuits, sexual coercion, and a courthouse culture where abuse wasn’t just tolerated — it thrived. With Robin Dreeke, we break down the behavioral collapse that turned a courthouse into a crime scene. 🔹 PART 2: Celeste Rivas & the Tesla Trunk Death — Artist d4vd at the Center  A teenage girl is found dead in the front trunk of a Tesla tied to rising music star d4vd. She was never reported missing. No arrest. No statement. Just silence. Former FBI profiler Robin Dreeke joins us to analyze the behavior behind the silence — from grooming dynamics to legal distancing — and what the frunk placement reveals psychologically. 🔹 PART 3: Diddy’s Sentencing — Cassie Ventura’s Letter & the Collapse of an Image  Sean “Diddy” Combs is sentenced to 50 months in federal prison. But the real story happened before the gavel dropped — in Cassie Ventura’s brutal victim impact letter, in the defense’s campaign-style video plea, and in the judge’s refusal to flinch. We walk through the court record, the government's takedown, and the exact moment branding failed. This isn’t just true crime. This is behavioral analysis, narrative deconstruction, and survivor-centered storytelling — the kind you won’t find in headlines. 🔔 Subscribe now for more deep dives into the darkest corners of power, justice, and the psychological patterns that connect them all. #HiddenKillers #DiddySentencing #CassieVentura #CelesteRivas #d4vd #SheriffStines #JudgeMullins #TrueCrimePodcast #AbuseOfPower #RobinDreeke Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

7 Loka 1h 51min

Outrage: Ronald Exantus Took The Life Of A 6-Year-Old Old Now Walks Free, Father VOWS REVENGE

Outrage: Ronald Exantus Took The Life Of A 6-Year-Old Old Now Walks Free, Father VOWS REVENGE

Ronald Exantus killed 6-year-old Logan Tipton while the child slept in his own bed. No warning, no provocation — just a random home invasion and a brutal act of violence that shattered a family and stunned a community. And now… he's out. Not because he was proven innocent. Not because a parole board found him rehabilitated. But because of a broken system that rewards “good behavior” in prison with early release credits — and a Kentucky law called Mandatory Reentry Supervision that forces early release, even when the parole board says no. In this episode, Tony Brueski breaks down how the man who confessed to the killing was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity on the murder charge, convicted on assault counts, sentenced to 20 years — and still walked out of prison after just a few short years. We dig deep into the facts, the timeline, the verdict, and the shocking release that has left the Tipton family — and anyone who values public safety — stunned and angry. No speculation. No sensationalism. Just the hard truth about what happened, how the system failed, and why it could happen again.  Subscribe for more honest, hard-hitting true crime breakdowns that ask the questions no one else will. #RonaldExantus #LoganTipton #TrueCrime #CriminalJustice #ParoleFailure #ChildMurder #KentuckyJustice #TonyBrueski #HiddenKillers #SystemFailure #Outrage Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

7 Loka 14min

No Parole, No Air Conditioning, No Escape: Donna Adelson’s Prison Reality

No Parole, No Air Conditioning, No Escape: Donna Adelson’s Prison Reality

No Parole, No Air Conditioning, No Escape: Donna Adelson’s Prison Reality What happens when the woman who orchestrated murder for family legacy wakes up in a concrete box with no A/C, no privacy, and no Plan B?  This isn’t a spa day. This is Florida Department of Corrections. In this scorching breakdown, Hidden Killers takes you deep inside what Donna Adelson’s life is about to become. Sentenced to life in prison at age 75, Donna is likely headed to Lowell Correctional, a facility described by the DOJ as leaving women “at substantial risk of sexual abuse” and systemic neglect. We walk through what comes next:  ➡️ The chaos of intake at the Women’s Reception Center  ➡️ The psychological violence of “suicide watch”  ➡️ The secret barter system of kosher trays and commissary V8 juice  ➡️ The total collapse of privacy, power, and dignity This isn’t orange-jumpsuit TV drama. This is what it means when the justice system actually sticks. And here’s the kicker: Donna may spend her last years not in court or with family, but sharing a fan with a stranger and fighting for floor space near a vent. There’s no fast-forward. There’s no fade-out. There’s only the daily grind. 🏷️ Hashtags #DonnaAdelson #PrisonLife #NoEscape #TrueCrimeJustice #FloridaDOC #LowellCorrectional #HiddenKillers #ElderlyInmates #PrisonEconomy #JusticeServed Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

6 Loka 22min

Judge’s House Destroyed by Fire After Controversial Ruling — Was It Political Revenge?

Judge’s House Destroyed by Fire After Controversial Ruling — Was It Political Revenge?

A South Carolina judge makes a controversial ruling. Weeks later, her home explodes into flames. In this episode, we break down the unfolding story of Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein—whose Edisto Beach home was destroyed in a fire that left three members of her family hospitalized. Judge Goodstein had recently issued a temporary block on South Carolina’s election commission, stopping them from handing over sensitive voter registration data to the federal government as part of a Trump-era executive order. That decision sparked backlash—and, according to multiple reports, credible death threats. Then came the fire. State investigators are now looking into whether the blaze, which involved a suspected explosion, was accidental—or something far more sinister. Was this political retribution? If so, it may be one of the most disturbing examples yet of how judges are becoming targets in America’s fractured political landscape. In this extended, voice-driven narrative, Tony Brueski digs deep into what we know, what’s still unanswered, and why this case demands our full attention. From the threats to the investigation to the broader implications for judicial independence, this isn’t just a story about a fire—it’s a warning shot for democracy itself. What happens when we stop protecting the people who interpret the law? What happens when disagreement becomes arson? This episode doesn’t speculate. It sticks to facts. And it raises the hard questions we can’t afford to ignore. Listen now, subscribe for more in-depth analysis, and join the conversation in the comments. #TrueCrime #JudicialIndependence #PoliticalViolence #DianeGoodstein #EdistoFire #SCPolitics #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #ArsonInvestigation #CivilLiberties Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

6 Loka 12min

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