Reid Carter covers Day 1 of Donna Adelson's murder trial where the 75-year-old grandmother faces life for allegedly orchestrating her ex-son-in-law's execution over custody rights. Opening statements reveal she called the hitmen "two thugs" in wiretapped calls while prosecutors say she was the puppet master. Plus, shocking acquittal as Hernandez Govan walks free in Young Dolph's murder despite being accused of arranging the $100,000 hit. And a California horror story: parents charged with murdering 3-month-old baby Emmanuel after claiming he was kidnapped, with sheriff revealing "major inconsistencies" in mother's story. From grandmothers ordering hits to parents killing infants, Tuesday's trials prove family can be deadlier than strangers.
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We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Reid's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.
Join the Celebrity Trials community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Celebrity Trials Podcast" on either platform. You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Reid Carter's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.
But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.
We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Reid's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Caalarogu Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Red Carter. Tuesday August
twenty sixth, twenty twenty five. Today on Celebrity Trials, Donna
Addlson's murder trial is underway and grandma's defense is exactly
what you'd expect. Blame the dead son in law for
his own murder. Then another killer walks free in the
(00:26):
Young Dolph case, Hernandez Govan, accused of being the middleman
in the cookie shop execution, just got acquitted because apparently
arranging murder for hire isn't illegal if the jury likes you.
And the most heartbreaking story of the day, Baby Emmanuel Harrow,
three months old, is missing and his parents are charged
(00:46):
with murder. They claimed he was kidnapped. The sheriff says
they're lying. All that and more on today's Celebrity Trials.
Let's start in tallahe where seventy five year old grandmother
Donna Addelson is finally facing justice for allegedly orchestrating the
murder of FSU law professor Dan Markel eleven years ago.
(01:11):
Trial began Friday with jury selection twelve jurors and three
alternates chosen from a pool that's been hearing about this
case for over a decade. Finding impartial jurors in Tallahassee
for the Addleson family murder conspiracy is like finding virgins
in Vegas. But they managed yesterday. Opening statements laid out
the state's case, and it's exactly what we've been saying
(01:33):
for years. Donna Addelson was the puppet master. Assistant State
Attorney Sarah Dugan didn't mince words. This defendant, Donna Addelson
is the person who put everything into motion. She's the
reason Dan Markell was murdered. Here's the state's theory, backed
by years of evidence. Donna couldn't stand that her grandchildren
(01:53):
lived four hundred and fifty miles away in Tallahassee. When
the court wouldn't let her daughter Wendy move the kids
to Miami, Donna an allegedly decided murder was the solution.
The prosecution played wire tapped calls where Donna refers to
the actual killers as two thugs, not those murderers who
killed Dan, not the men who destroyed our family. Two thugs,
(02:14):
like they were random criminals who just happened to shoot
her ex son in law in broad daylight. But here's
the smoking gun. Charlie Adelson, her son who's already serving
life for this murder, was recorded on a wire tap
saying his mother was involved in ways you can't even imagine,
ways you can't even imagine from her own son's mouth.
(02:36):
The state also revealed that immediately after Dan's murder, Donna
started researching grand jury proceedings and what happens when someone
is arrested for murder. Not who killed Dan Markel, not
how to help find Dan's killers. She was researching what
happens when you get caught. Defense attorney Robert Morris tried
the only play he had blame the victim. He actually
(02:58):
stood up and told the jury that Dan Markell was
every difficult to deal with and made the divorce unnecessarily hard.
Oh I'm sorry. Was he difficult? Was he making divorce hard? Well?
Then clearly he deserved two bullets to the head in
his own garage. Morris argued that Donna had nothing to
do with the murder plot, that it was all Charlie
(03:20):
acting alone. Right, the devoted son who'd never made a
major decision without mommy, suddenly decides to orchestrate a murder
for hire all by himself. The defense also claims Donna
was fleeing to Vietnam not because she was guilty, but
because she was despondent over Charlie's conviction. One way ticket,
non extradition country, but sure, just a grieving mother needing
(03:43):
a vacation. Here's what really happened and what the evidence
will show. Donna Addelson couldn't control the custody situation through
legal means, so she chose murder. She got her son,
Charlie involved, Charlie got his girlfriend Catherine Magbanua involved, we
got the Latin Kings involved, and Dan Markel ended up dead.
(04:04):
Everyone else in this conspiracy has already convicted Luis Rivera
nineteen years after cooperating, Sigfredo Garcia life for being the triggerman,
Catherine Magbanua life for being the go between, Charlie Adelson
life without parole for financing it. Now it's Grandma's turn.
The state has phone records showing constant communication between Donna
(04:26):
and Charlie around the murder. They have financial records showing
large cash movements. They have Charlie's own words saying mom
was involved in ways you can't even imagine, but most damning,
they have Donna's actions after Charlie's conviction, discussing suicide, creating trusts,
making sure grandchildren are taken care of, then trying to
(04:48):
flee to Vietnam. Those aren't the actions of an innocent grandmother.
Those are the actions of someone who knows the walls
are closing in. Dan Markell's parents haven't seen their grandchildren
in seven years. Seven years because Donna Addilson allegedly couldn't
handle being a long distance grandmother. Two boys lost their
father and their paternal grandparents. The trial continues this week
(05:11):
with witness testimony. The state says they'll prove Donna was
the mastermind who set everything in motion because she wanted
her grandchildren closer. Well, congratulations, Donna, your grandchildren are definitely closer.
Now they can visit you in prison for the rest
of your life. Now for an update that's going to
(05:33):
make your blood boil. Remember the Young Dolph murder we
covered last week, the rapper gunned down in a Memphis
cookie shop in broad daylight. Well, Hernandez Govan just walked free.
Let me refresh your memory. Young Dolph was murdered November seventeenth,
twenty twenty one, at Mikitah's homemade butter cookies, twenty two
shots through the window in broad daylight while he was
(05:56):
buying cookies. We already have convictions. Justin Johnson life in prison,
convicted last month. Cornelius Smith, awaiting sentencing after confessing. Both
admitted they were hired to kill Dolph for one hundred
thousand dollars. Smith testified that Anthony big Juk Mims Jogatti's
brother ordered the hit. Smith only got eight hundred dollars
(06:18):
of the promised forty thousand dollars. He murdered a man
for less than a month's rent. Hernandez Govan was supposed
to be the middleman, the go between who helped arrange
the murder. The prosecution said he facilitated communication between big
Jok and the shooters. Yesterday, a Memphis jury acquitted him
not guilty on all counts. His defense attorney, William Massey,
(06:39):
said there was no proof Govin was involved. No proof
despite testimony from the actual shooters, despite phone records, despite
the fact that everyone else involved is either dead or
in prison. Here's what happened. The jury didn't like the
state's witnesses. Cornelius Smith, who confessed to the murder, was
(06:59):
an credible enough. A man who admitted shooting Young Dolph
through a window wasn't believable when he said Govan helped
arrange it. This is the problem with conspiracy cases. You
need conspirators to testify, and conspirators, by definition, are criminals.
So defense attorneys get to stand up and say, you're
going to believe a murderer. Yes, when the murderer is
(07:21):
confessing and implicating his co conspirators, yes, you believe him.
But this Memphis jury decided that Hernandez Govan, who everyone
agrees was connected to the killers, who everyone agrees was
in communication with them, somehow had nothing to do with
the murder. So let's recap the Young Dolph murder case.
The shooters convicted, The money man Big Jook dead shot
(07:46):
outside a restaurant. The alleged middleman, Govan, walks free. Young
Dolph's family has to watch another person connected to his
murder walk out of court, a freeman. His children have
to grow up knowing that not everyone who helped kill
their father will pay for it. This is justice in America.
If you're the trigger man, you go to prison. If
(08:07):
you're the one who arranged it all, maybe you walk
free if the jury doesn't like the prosecution's witnesses. Hernandez
Govan is out there right now, probably having breakfast somewhere,
while Young Dolph's kids don't have a father, while his fiancee,
Mia Jay raises their children alone. While Memphis lost a
legend who gave back to his community. The system failed
(08:30):
Young Dolph again. We'll be right back with the horrifying
case of baby Emmanuel, a three month old whose parents
claimed he was kidnapped but are now charged with his murder.
(08:56):
We close today with every parent's nightmare turned into something
even worse. Three month old Emmanuel Harrow is missing in Modesto, California.
His parents, Martin Harrow and Jasmine Munos, told police someone
kidnapped him from their apartment Friday afternoon. They said a
stranger took their baby. Yesterday, both parents were charged with murder.
(09:16):
Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirksey didn't hold back. We have
major inconsistencies in the mother's story. The timeline doesn't match up,
the evidence doesn't support kidnapping. Here's what the parents claimed. Friday,
around two thirty PM, someone entered their apartment and took
Ammanuel while they were somewhere else in the apartment. The
(09:38):
story keeps changing. First mom was in the bathroom, then
she was in another room, Then she heard something but
didn't check immediately. The Sheriff's office spent the weekend searching
K nine units, helicopters, dive teams, checking waterways, FBI involvement,
Amber alert issued. The whole community mobilized to find this baby,
(09:59):
but inst gaters noticed problems immediately. No signs of forced entry,
No witnesses saw anyone enter or leave with a baby.
Security cameras in the area showed nothing. The parents' stories
didn't match each other. Their timeline kept shifting. Then came
the forensic evidence. The sheriff won't specify what they found,
(10:20):
but he said it was enough to arrest both parents
for murder, not child endangerment, not neglect murder. They haven't
found Emmanuel's body yet. Let that sink in. A three
month old baby is missing, his parents are charged with
killing him, and we don't even know where this infant's
remains are. The parents are being held without bail. They
(10:42):
haven't entered pleas yet. Their public defenders haven't commented. But
here's what we know from similar cases. When parents claim
kidnapping and there's no evidence of an intruder, when their
stories don't match, when the timeline doesn't work, the child
is usually already dead. Three months old. Immanual Harrow was
three months old. He couldn't walk, he couldn't talk, he
(11:04):
couldn't defend himself. He was completely dependent on the two
people now charged with murdering him. The sheriff said, the
investigation is ongoing. They're still searching for a Manuel, but
charging the parents with murder means they believe this baby
is dead and they believe the parents killed him. This
is what we've become, parents murdering their infants and claiming kidnapping,
(11:28):
using the entire community's resources, having hundreds of people search
for a baby, they allegedly already killed. Every cop, every volunteer,
every neighbor who searched for a manual did so believing
they might save a baby's life. Instead, they were unknowingly
helping parents cover up a murder. Martin Harrow and Jasmine
(11:49):
Munos will face a judge later this week. They'll plead
not guilty. Their lawyers will claim rush to judgment, but
the sheriff says the evidence is clear. Major inconsistencies forensic evidence,
and a missing baby who never left that apartment alive.
Emmanuel Harrow should be learning to laugh right now, should
be starting to recognize his parents' faces, should be beginning
(12:10):
to grab toys. Instead, he's gone and the two people
who were supposed to protect him are charged with ending
his life before it ever really began. Three months old,
murdered allegedly by the people who brought him into this
world just to take him out of it. That's Celebrity
Trials for Tuesday, August twenty sixth. Tomorrow updates from the
(12:32):
cardib assault trial as her former security guard testifies about
the alleged beating, plus the latest from Donna Addelson's trial
as prosecution witnesses take the stand, and a programming note
our Eight Days of OJ series begins one month from today,
eight episodes examining how a double murder became entertainment and
taught celebrities they could get away with anything. I'm reed Carter.
(12:55):
Today we saw grandmother on trial for murder, a middleman
walk free, and parents charged with killing their baby. Family.
It's supposed to be everything. Instead, it's increasingly becoming the
most dangerous relationship you can have until tomorrow,
Caalarogu Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Red Carter. Tuesday August
twenty sixth, twenty twenty five. Today on Celebrity Trials, Donna
Addlson's murder trial is underway and grandma's defense is exactly
what you'd expect. Blame the dead son in law for
his own murder. Then another killer walks free in the
(00:26):
Young Dolph case, Hernandez Govan, accused of being the middleman
in the cookie shop execution, just got acquitted because apparently
arranging murder for hire isn't illegal if the jury likes you.
And the most heartbreaking story of the day, Baby Emmanuel Harrow,
three months old, is missing and his parents are charged
(00:46):
with murder. They claimed he was kidnapped. The sheriff says
they're lying. All that and more on today's Celebrity Trials.
Let's start in tallahe where seventy five year old grandmother
Donna Addelson is finally facing justice for allegedly orchestrating the
murder of FSU law professor Dan Markel eleven years ago.
(01:11):
Trial began Friday with jury selection twelve jurors and three
alternates chosen from a pool that's been hearing about this
case for over a decade. Finding impartial jurors in Tallahassee
for the Addleson family murder conspiracy is like finding virgins
in Vegas. But they managed yesterday. Opening statements laid out
the state's case, and it's exactly what we've been saying
(01:33):
for years. Donna Addelson was the puppet master. Assistant State
Attorney Sarah Dugan didn't mince words. This defendant, Donna Addelson
is the person who put everything into motion. She's the
reason Dan Markell was murdered. Here's the state's theory, backed
by years of evidence. Donna couldn't stand that her grandchildren
(01:53):
lived four hundred and fifty miles away in Tallahassee. When
the court wouldn't let her daughter Wendy move the kids
to Miami, Donna an allegedly decided murder was the solution.
The prosecution played wire tapped calls where Donna refers to
the actual killers as two thugs, not those murderers who
killed Dan, not the men who destroyed our family. Two thugs,
(02:14):
like they were random criminals who just happened to shoot
her ex son in law in broad daylight. But here's
the smoking gun. Charlie Adelson, her son who's already serving
life for this murder, was recorded on a wire tap
saying his mother was involved in ways you can't even imagine,
ways you can't even imagine from her own son's mouth.
(02:36):
The state also revealed that immediately after Dan's murder, Donna
started researching grand jury proceedings and what happens when someone
is arrested for murder. Not who killed Dan Markel, not
how to help find Dan's killers. She was researching what
happens when you get caught. Defense attorney Robert Morris tried
the only play he had blame the victim. He actually
(02:58):
stood up and told the jury that Dan Markell was
every difficult to deal with and made the divorce unnecessarily hard.
Oh I'm sorry. Was he difficult? Was he making divorce hard? Well?
Then clearly he deserved two bullets to the head in
his own garage. Morris argued that Donna had nothing to
do with the murder plot, that it was all Charlie
(03:20):
acting alone. Right, the devoted son who'd never made a
major decision without mommy, suddenly decides to orchestrate a murder
for hire all by himself. The defense also claims Donna
was fleeing to Vietnam not because she was guilty, but
because she was despondent over Charlie's conviction. One way ticket,
non extradition country, but sure, just a grieving mother needing
(03:43):
a vacation. Here's what really happened and what the evidence
will show. Donna Addelson couldn't control the custody situation through
legal means, so she chose murder. She got her son,
Charlie involved, Charlie got his girlfriend Catherine Magbanua involved, we
got the Latin Kings involved, and Dan Markel ended up dead.
(04:04):
Everyone else in this conspiracy has already convicted Luis Rivera
nineteen years after cooperating, Sigfredo Garcia life for being the triggerman,
Catherine Magbanua life for being the go between, Charlie Adelson
life without parole for financing it. Now it's Grandma's turn.
The state has phone records showing constant communication between Donna
(04:26):
and Charlie around the murder. They have financial records showing
large cash movements. They have Charlie's own words saying mom
was involved in ways you can't even imagine, but most damning,
they have Donna's actions after Charlie's conviction, discussing suicide, creating trusts,
making sure grandchildren are taken care of, then trying to
(04:48):
flee to Vietnam. Those aren't the actions of an innocent grandmother.
Those are the actions of someone who knows the walls
are closing in. Dan Markell's parents haven't seen their grandchildren
in seven years. Seven years because Donna Addilson allegedly couldn't
handle being a long distance grandmother. Two boys lost their
father and their paternal grandparents. The trial continues this week
(05:11):
with witness testimony. The state says they'll prove Donna was
the mastermind who set everything in motion because she wanted
her grandchildren closer. Well, congratulations, Donna, your grandchildren are definitely closer.
Now they can visit you in prison for the rest
of your life. Now for an update that's going to
(05:33):
make your blood boil. Remember the Young Dolph murder we
covered last week, the rapper gunned down in a Memphis
cookie shop in broad daylight. Well, Hernandez Govan just walked free.
Let me refresh your memory. Young Dolph was murdered November seventeenth,
twenty twenty one, at Mikitah's homemade butter cookies, twenty two
shots through the window in broad daylight while he was
(05:56):
buying cookies. We already have convictions. Justin Johnson life in prison,
convicted last month. Cornelius Smith, awaiting sentencing after confessing. Both
admitted they were hired to kill Dolph for one hundred
thousand dollars. Smith testified that Anthony big Juk Mims Jogatti's
brother ordered the hit. Smith only got eight hundred dollars
(06:18):
of the promised forty thousand dollars. He murdered a man
for less than a month's rent. Hernandez Govan was supposed
to be the middleman, the go between who helped arrange
the murder. The prosecution said he facilitated communication between big
Jok and the shooters. Yesterday, a Memphis jury acquitted him
not guilty on all counts. His defense attorney, William Massey,
(06:39):
said there was no proof Govin was involved. No proof
despite testimony from the actual shooters, despite phone records, despite
the fact that everyone else involved is either dead or
in prison. Here's what happened. The jury didn't like the
state's witnesses. Cornelius Smith, who confessed to the murder, was
(06:59):
an credible enough. A man who admitted shooting Young Dolph
through a window wasn't believable when he said Govan helped
arrange it. This is the problem with conspiracy cases. You
need conspirators to testify, and conspirators, by definition, are criminals.
So defense attorneys get to stand up and say, you're
going to believe a murderer. Yes, when the murderer is
(07:21):
confessing and implicating his co conspirators, yes, you believe him.
But this Memphis jury decided that Hernandez Govan, who everyone
agrees was connected to the killers, who everyone agrees was
in communication with them, somehow had nothing to do with
the murder. So let's recap the Young Dolph murder case.
The shooters convicted, The money man Big Jook dead shot
(07:46):
outside a restaurant. The alleged middleman, Govan, walks free. Young
Dolph's family has to watch another person connected to his
murder walk out of court, a freeman. His children have
to grow up knowing that not everyone who helped kill
their father will pay for it. This is justice in America.
If you're the trigger man, you go to prison. If
(08:07):
you're the one who arranged it all, maybe you walk
free if the jury doesn't like the prosecution's witnesses. Hernandez
Govan is out there right now, probably having breakfast somewhere,
while Young Dolph's kids don't have a father, while his fiancee,
Mia Jay raises their children alone. While Memphis lost a
legend who gave back to his community. The system failed
(08:30):
Young Dolph again. We'll be right back with the horrifying
case of baby Emmanuel, a three month old whose parents
claimed he was kidnapped but are now charged with his murder.
(08:56):
We close today with every parent's nightmare turned into something
even worse. Three month old Emmanuel Harrow is missing in Modesto, California.
His parents, Martin Harrow and Jasmine Munos, told police someone
kidnapped him from their apartment Friday afternoon. They said a
stranger took their baby. Yesterday, both parents were charged with murder.
(09:16):
Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirksey didn't hold back. We have
major inconsistencies in the mother's story. The timeline doesn't match up,
the evidence doesn't support kidnapping. Here's what the parents claimed. Friday,
around two thirty PM, someone entered their apartment and took
Ammanuel while they were somewhere else in the apartment. The
(09:38):
story keeps changing. First mom was in the bathroom, then
she was in another room, Then she heard something but
didn't check immediately. The Sheriff's office spent the weekend searching
K nine units, helicopters, dive teams, checking waterways, FBI involvement,
Amber alert issued. The whole community mobilized to find this baby,
(09:59):
but inst gaters noticed problems immediately. No signs of forced entry,
No witnesses saw anyone enter or leave with a baby.
Security cameras in the area showed nothing. The parents' stories
didn't match each other. Their timeline kept shifting. Then came
the forensic evidence. The sheriff won't specify what they found,
(10:20):
but he said it was enough to arrest both parents
for murder, not child endangerment, not neglect murder. They haven't
found Emmanuel's body yet. Let that sink in. A three
month old baby is missing, his parents are charged with
killing him, and we don't even know where this infant's
remains are. The parents are being held without bail. They
(10:42):
haven't entered pleas yet. Their public defenders haven't commented. But
here's what we know from similar cases. When parents claim
kidnapping and there's no evidence of an intruder, when their
stories don't match, when the timeline doesn't work, the child
is usually already dead. Three months old. Immanual Harrow was
three months old. He couldn't walk, he couldn't talk, he
(11:04):
couldn't defend himself. He was completely dependent on the two
people now charged with murdering him. The sheriff said, the
investigation is ongoing. They're still searching for a Manuel, but
charging the parents with murder means they believe this baby
is dead and they believe the parents killed him. This
is what we've become, parents murdering their infants and claiming kidnapping,
(11:28):
using the entire community's resources, having hundreds of people search
for a baby, they allegedly already killed. Every cop, every volunteer,
every neighbor who searched for a manual did so believing
they might save a baby's life. Instead, they were unknowingly
helping parents cover up a murder. Martin Harrow and Jasmine
(11:49):
Munos will face a judge later this week. They'll plead
not guilty. Their lawyers will claim rush to judgment, but
the sheriff says the evidence is clear. Major inconsistencies forensic evidence,
and a missing baby who never left that apartment alive.
Emmanuel Harrow should be learning to laugh right now, should
be starting to recognize his parents' faces, should be beginning
(12:10):
to grab toys. Instead, he's gone and the two people
who were supposed to protect him are charged with ending
his life before it ever really began. Three months old,
murdered allegedly by the people who brought him into this
world just to take him out of it. That's Celebrity
Trials for Tuesday, August twenty sixth. Tomorrow updates from the
(12:32):
cardib assault trial as her former security guard testifies about
the alleged beating, plus the latest from Donna Addelson's trial
as prosecution witnesses take the stand, and a programming note
our Eight Days of OJ series begins one month from today,
eight episodes examining how a double murder became entertainment and
taught celebrities they could get away with anything. I'm reed Carter.
(12:55):
Today we saw grandmother on trial for murder, a middleman
walk free, and parents charged with killing their baby. Family.
It's supposed to be everything. Instead, it's increasingly becoming the
most dangerous relationship you can have until tomorrow,
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