Donna Adelson’s Downfall: The Jailhouse Matriarch Who Tried to Outsmart Justice | 2025 Year in Review
As part of our Hidden Killers 2025 Year in Review series, we’re revisiting one of the most jaw-dropping courtroom sagas of the year — the unraveling of Donna Adelson, the 75-year-old grandmother accused of orchestrating the murder-for-hire plot that took the life of Florida State law professor Dan Markel. In two of the year’s most explosive episodes, Tony Brueski sat down with both Defense Attorney Bob Motta (Defense Diaries) and retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer to break down how a once-untouchable matriarch’s arrogance and denial helped destroy her family’s last shred of credibility. Donna’s courtroom appearance was supposed to humanize her. Instead, it showcased the same manipulative charm and self-delusion that prosecutors say fueled her alleged role in the murder conspiracy. From the stand, she painted herself as a frail victim of “inhumane jail conditions” — right before prosecutors rolled out recorded jailhouse calls in which she and her son Charlie Adelson discuss potential escape routes and non-extradition countries. Oops. Motta dissects the strategic disaster of Donna testifying at her own bond hearing — a move that may go down as one of the biggest self-inflicted wounds in recent courtroom history. Coffindaffer takes it even deeper, exposing the psychology behind Donna’s belief that she could still talk her way out of accountability, decades after manipulating everyone around her. From family loyalty turned liability to delusion on display, this episode captures the full scope of Donna’s implosion — and what it means for the rest of the Adelson family heading into the next phase of legal battles. Will she ever take a plea? Could she flip on her daughter Wendi? Or does Donna still believe she can win the game — even when the board’s already on fire? 🎙️ Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski — 2025 Year in Review: The Cases That Defined a Year of Crime, Corruption, and Consequence. #DonnaAdelson #DanMarkel #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #BobMotta #JenniferCoffindaffer #TrueCrimePodcast #MurderForHire #Justice #AdelsonTrial #CourtroomDrama #HiddenKillersYearInReview #TrueCrimeToday #DefenseDiaries 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
27 Marras 202521min
This TikTok From Anna Kepner’s Mother Is More Disturbing Than the Case Itself
In this episode, we take a brutally honest look at the now-viral TikTok posted by the biological mother of 18-year-old Anna Kepner — the teen found dead and concealed under a bed aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship. What should have been a grieving mother’s message somehow turned into a thirteen-minute monologue about everything but Anna. Excuses. Grievances. Old resentments. Contradictions. Life stories. Dental detours. Accusations. Chaos. And almost nothing about the daughter she lost. Tonight, I break it down section by section — with timestamps — stopping at the points where the emotional wheels fly off and the video reveals far more about the environment Anna came from than the mother ever intended. This isn’t mockery. This isn’t cruelty. This is context — because the instability, bitterness, and self-centered chaos on full display here help explain so much about the world Anna grew up in. Meanwhile, investigators are focused on real evidence: • a body concealed under a bed • keycard logs • cabin access patterns • surveillance footage • a 16-year-old stepsibling publicly named as a suspect • a stepmother pleading the Fifth • and a family structure collapsing in real time This TikTok doesn’t give answers — but it gives a devastating look at the dysfunction that shaped this case from day one. Watch as we break down the video, analyze each section, and look at what this emotional unraveling tells us about the broader investigation into Anna’s death. If you want the unfiltered truth behind the headlines — and the family chaos investigators are up against — this is the episode you need to hear. 👇 Comment below — what was the most shocking part of her video to YOU? #AnnaKepner #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #TikTokBreakdown #TonyBrueski #CrimeAnalysis #CruiseShipCase #FBIInvestigation #FamilyDynamics #JusticeForAnna 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
27 Marras 202531min
Delphi Investigation Exposed: The Stunningly Bad Police Work Behind the Case
In the Delphi murders, the public was told a simple story: the police put the pieces together, the system worked, and justice was finally served. But when you actually read the documents — the transcripts, investigator depositions, Franks filings, internal notes, and the raw exhibits tucked into the case file — a very different picture emerges. This wasn’t a clean investigation. It wasn’t methodical. It wasn’t disciplined. It was chaotic, fragmented, and politically pressured from the moment Abby and Libby were found. Leads were documented once and never followed up on. Entire suspects — and entire theories — were quietly dropped without explanation. Investigators contradicted each other, forgot key details, and admitted under oath that they weren’t even aware of evidence sitting inside their own case file. And yet somehow, in year six, the narrative suddenly snapped into place — not because the investigation got better, but because it finally got a suspect it could backfill the story around. Tonight, we dig into the evidence that was ignored, the leads that were buried, the internal disagreements investigators never wanted the public to see, and the retrofitted logic that shaped the state’s case. This is not about saying who is guilty or innocent — it’s about asking why the most important homicide investigation in modern Indiana history was handled with the kind of inconsistency you’d expect from a case no one was watching. If this is how the system works when the world is paying attention… what happens in a case where no one is? Join Tony Brueski as we break down the investigation behind the scenes — the failures, the shortcuts, the missing follow-through, and the real-world consequences of an investigative structure that collapses under pressure. Subscribe and comment with your thoughts. This case isn’t just about what happened in 2017 — it’s about what kind of justice system we’re willing to accept today. #DelphiMurders #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #AbbyAndLibby #RichardAllen #DelphiInvestigation #JusticeForAbbyAndLibby #CrimeAnalysis #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimeCommunity 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
26 Marras 202521min
Concealment, Panic & A Family in Freefall — FBI Profiler Breaks Down the Anna Kepner Case
The death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner is not just another tragic case — it’s a collision of panic, secrecy, and a blended family imploding in real time. Found hidden under a bed on a cruise ship, wrapped and concealed, Anna’s final moments are surrounded by unanswered questions and emotionally charged reactions from nearly every member of her family. Tonight on Hidden Killers, I sit down with retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke to cut through the noise and focus on the behavioral reality inside that small cabin. Because cases like this aren’t just about evidence — they’re about human choices under pressure. We look at the concealment: Why was Anna hidden? What does that typically signal in juvenile behavior? Where is the line between immaturity-driven panic and intentional wrongdoing? We examine the claim from the grandmother that the 16-year-old “doesn’t remember what happened.” Is that trauma? Dissociation? Avoidance? Or something investigators hear when the truth is too overwhelming to say out loud? We explore what happens when adults make catastrophic decisions — like placing teenagers with known tension in the same sleeping quarters — and how that shapes what happens next. And then there’s the public chaos: the stepmother pleading the Fifth, the biological mother spiraling on social media, relatives accusing each other, all while a teen girl is gone. Robin breaks down how investigators filter useful behavior from emotional theater and why public performance can sometimes be a clue in itself. This is the interview that strips away the speculation and digs into the actual human behavior behind the headlines. If you want clarity instead of noise, depth instead of rumor — you’re in the right place. #HiddenKillers #AnnaKepnerCase #CruiseShipInvestigation #RobinDreeke #BehaviorAnalysis #TrueCrimeBreakdown #CrimePsychology #FBIExpert #JuvenileInvestigation #FamilyChaos 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
26 Marras 202527min
