Talking Dateline: Deadly Mischief

Blayne Alexander talks with Dennis Murphy and Dateline producer Brad Davis about their episode, “Deadly Mischief.” In 2014, after esteemed FSU law professor Dan Markel was fatally shot, investigators uncovered a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated, according to prosecutors, by Markel’s former mother-in-law, Donna Adelson. Blayne, Dennis, and Brad discuss the circumstantial case against Donna and do a deep dive on the witness testimony of two of her children, Robert and Wendi Adelson, including a podcast-exclusive clip in which Wendi describes her mother’s reaction to the news of the murder. Plus, they answer your social media questions. Have a question for Talking Dateline? DM us a video to @DatelineNBC or leave a voicemail at (212) 413-5252. Your question may be featured in an upcoming episode. Listen to the full episode “Deadly Mischief” on Apple: https://apple.co/4nvYSSu Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rQ8PE9UWxPW3W95g2Ihwb

Episode 251029 of the Dateline NBC podcast, hosted by NBC News, titled "Talking Dateline: Deadly Mischief" was published on October 29, 2025 and runs 27 minutes.

October 29, 2025 ·27m · Dateline NBC

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Summary

Blayne Alexander talks with Dennis Murphy and Dateline producer Brad Davis about their episode, “Deadly Mischief.” In 2014, after esteemed FSU law professor Dan Markel was fatally shot, investigators uncovered a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated, according to prosecutors, by Markel’s former mother-in-law, Donna Adelson. Blayne, Dennis, and Brad discuss the circumstantial case against Donna and do a deep dive on the witness testimony of two of her children, Robert and Wendi Adelson, including a podcast-exclusive clip in which Wendi describes her mother’s reaction to the news of the murder. Plus, they answer your social media questions. Have a question for Talking Dateline? DM us a video to @DatelineNBC or leave a voicemail at (212) 413-5252. Your question may be featured in an upcoming episode. Listen to the full episode “Deadly Mischief” on Apple: https://apple.co/4nvYSSu Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rQ8PE9UWxPW3W95g2Ihwb

Episode Description

Blayne Alexander talks with Dennis Murphy and Dateline producer Brad Davis about their episode, “Deadly Mischief.” In 2014, after esteemed FSU law professor Dan Markel was fatally shot, investigators uncovered a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated, according to prosecutors, by Markel’s former mother-in-law, Donna Adelson. Blayne, Dennis, and Brad discuss the circumstantial case against Donna and do a deep dive on the witness testimony of two of her children, Robert and Wendi Adelson, including a podcast-exclusive clip in which Wendi describes her mother’s reaction to the news of the murder. Plus, they answer your social media questions.

Have a question for Talking Dateline? DM us a video to @DatelineNBC or leave a voicemail at (212) 413-5252. Your question may be featured in an upcoming episode.

Listen to the full episode “Deadly Mischief” on Apple: https://apple.co/4nvYSSu

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rQ8PE9UWxPW3W95g2Ihwb

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