The Genesis of Control: How Donna Adelson Became Donna Adelson

Nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard should have been in a classroom in Lompoc, California. Instead, she’s missing—and the story unfolding around her disappearance is hauntingly familiar to anyone who followed the Harmony Montgomery case. Former FBI agent and expert witness Jennifer Coffindaffer returns to Break the Case to dissect every known detail of this developing investigation, from the last verified sightings to the eerie gaps that have law enforcement scrambling for answers. Coffindaffer recounts how the case began not with a frantic 911 call, but with a report from the Lompoc Unified School District after Melodee hadn’t attended school for months. The child’s father died in a motorcycle crash when she was only six months old, and her mother, Ashley, appeared to have spiraled since. A chilling interview with Melodee’s grandmother revealed a home in squalor, unfit for a child, and a family paralyzed by distance and dysfunction. By the time Child Protective Services intervened, it was already too late—Melodee had vanished. Law enforcement has released a crucial timeline. Melodee was last seen on October 7, 2025, at a California rental car agency, traveling with her mother, who reportedly planned a cross-country trip to Nebraska. Surveillance footage shows the child heavily clothed, possibly wearing a wig—a potential attempt to disguise her identity. As Coffindaffer points out, these details suggest intention, preparation, and deep secrecy. The FBI and Santa Barbara authorities have since executed search warrants, but so far, no confirmed trace of Melodee has been found. Through methodical breakdowns, Coffindaffer urges the public to share Melodee’s image widely, drawing parallels to how social media once led to the discovery of Gabby Petito. Every share, every view, could be the one that brings a missing child home—or finally reveals the truth about what happened to her. #MelodeeBuzzard #MissingChild #TrueCrime #JenniferCoffindaffer #BreakTheCase #FBIInvestigation #HarmonyMontgomery #CPSFailure #GabbyPetito #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

Sean “Diddy” Combs — the man who once ruled hip-hop, fashion, and nightlife — now faces a very different kind of countdown: 921 days until freedom. Federal Bureau of Prisons records confirm Diddy’s expected release date as May 8, 2028, following his 50-month sentence for charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. But the real story isn’t about a date — it’s about survival. In this Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski exclusive, we dive deep into what life behind bars really means for one of the most powerful figures in modern pop culture. What’s a day like for a man who once lived in penthouses and private jets, now forced to wake up at 5 a.m. for head count? What happens when a man used to commanding everyone suddenly has no control — not even over his own meals? Tony breaks down the stark reality of Diddy’s prison life — the monotony, the risk, the psychology — and explores the haunting list of famous figures who didn’t make it out alive. From Epstein to Bulger to Hernandez, history is full of men who thought they were untouchable… until the bars closed behind them. This is not the story of a comeback. It’s the story of a countdown. 👉 Subscribe for more Hidden Killers deep dives into the psychology, power, and downfall of the world’s most infamous figures. #Diddy #SeanCombs #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #DiddyPrison #TrueCrime #CelebrityJustice #FederalPrison #PrisonLife #BadBoy #Survive921Days 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

Before Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students, his defense team was quietly preparing a courtroom strategy that would have shocked the nation. According to newly unsealed court filings, Kohberger planned to call friends of the victims — and even the survivors themselves — as defense witnesses. Among them: Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, the two young women who lived through that horrific night in November 2022. Also on the list were Emily Alandt, Hunter Johnson, and Kaylee Goncalves’ ex-boyfriend, Jack DeCoeur. Imagine it — the two surviving roommates, who lost four of their closest friends, being forced to testify for the man accused of killing them. That was the reality Kohberger’s defense was preparing for before he struck a plea deal in July 2025 to avoid the death penalty. In this episode, Tony Brueski breaks down what that trial might have looked like — and how Kohberger’s strategy reveals far more about his psychology than any confession ever could. Why would a killer want his survivors on the stand? What kinds of questions would they have faced? And what kind of manipulation drives someone to keep controlling people even after their arrest? This deep-dive dissects the legal and psychological layers of the case: from the 138 witnesses Kohberger planned to call, to the devastating emotional toll that trial would have inflicted on every surviving friend and family member. Because for Kohberger, control wasn’t just about life and death — it was about owning the story. And this time, he lost it. 🎧 Watch the full analysis now on Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski. Subscribe for daily deep-dives into real crime, courtroom psychology, and the hidden human stories behind the headlines. #BryanKohberger #IdahoMurders #DylanMortensen #BethanyFunke #HiddenKillersPodcast #TrueCrime #TonyBrueski #UniversityOfIdaho #JusticeForTheFour #CrimeAnalysis 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

In this chilling segment of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski reads and dissects Chad Daybell’s Letter #7 — a rambling, supernatural account written years before the doomsday murders that would make him infamous. In the letter, Daybell claims that while working as the sexton of a Utah cemetery, he was haunted by the ghost of a petty thief named Eddie — a spirit that supposedly opened gates, picked locks, and moved padlocks onto pegs. He writes that he eventually told Eddie to “go toward the light,” and that the disturbances stopped. Then the letter descends into something far darker. Daybell describes being electrically jolted and shoved by an unseen force while probing a “haunted grave.” He calls it a demonic attack and connects it to the same “evil legions” described in 19th-century LDS texts. To him, it wasn’t psychosis or imagination — it was confirmation of his divine purpose. From there, he recounts hearing a dozen disembodied voices outside his window shouting, “We hate your books!” and claims this was proof that Satan opposed his writing. For Chad, it all fit the narrative: he wasn’t an aspiring author with an obsession — he was a spiritual warrior under attack. That mindset — the blending of fantasy, religion, and grandiosity — would become the foundation of his later relationship with Lori Vallow, the “prophetess” who believed their murders were part of God’s plan. Tony breaks down how this letter foreshadowed everything that came next: The God complex behind Chad Daybell’s self-anointed mission. His habit of reframing delusion as divine validation. The chilling psychological progression from “I saw a ghost” to “I’m chosen to cleanse the world.” It’s one of the most haunting pieces of writing from any modern-day killer — not because of its ghost story, but because of the mind telling it. #ChadDaybell #LoriVallow #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #CultCrimes #PsychologyOfEvil #ReligiousDelusion #MurderMystery #TonyBrueski #PrisonLetters 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

Nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard vanished after a mysterious three-day road trip with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, in early October 2025. Surveillance footage shows Melodee wearing a dark wig and hoodie at a California car-rental counter on October 7. Ashlee rented a white Chevy Malibu (plate CA 9MNG101), drove more than 1,500 miles to Nebraska, and returned alone on October 10. Four days later, on October 14, the Lompoc Unified School District reported the child’s prolonged absence. Deputies found Ashlee Buzzard at her home — but no Melodee. Officials say she has not provided a verifiable explanation and remains uncooperative. The FBI has joined the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, classifying Melodee as an “at-risk missing child.” In this episode of Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski, Tony examines the mounting evidence, the haunting disguise footage, and the public’s growing frustration that no arrest has been made. How can a mother drive across state lines with her child, return alone, and face no charges? Why hasn’t an AMBER Alert been issued? What does her silence tell investigators — and what does it hide? Join Tony for a raw, in-depth breakdown of a case that exposes the gaps in our missing-child system. Hear how the FBI is tracing license-plate readers, cell-site data, and rental-car GPS logs to piece together Melodee’s final known route. This story isn’t about custody disputes — it’s about accountability, and a little girl who deserves to be found. If you have information about Melodee Buzzard or Ashlee Buzzard’s travel between October 7 and 10, contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office (805-681-4150) or the FBI (1-800-CALL-FBI / tips.fbi.gov). #MelodeeBuzzard #MissingChild #AshleeBuzzard #FBI #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #TrueCrime #Lompoc #SantaBarbara #AtRiskChild #Investigation If you saw anything—any sighting of Ashlee Buzzard or a young girl between October 7 and October 10—call the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office at (805) 681-4150, or their anonymous line at (805) 681-4171, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Because the truth is simple: silence protects no one. And until the silence breaks, Melodee Buzzard is still missing. And that should haunt every single one of us. 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

Before Donna Adelson was a headline — before the mugshots, the trials, the whispers about murder-for-hire — she was a woman built for control. In this episode of Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski, we trace how Donna Adelson became Donna Adelson — from her 1950s New York upbringing to the mindset that would one day define her downfall. What happens when an entire generation is raised to believe obedience equals love, achievement equals safety, and perfection equals survival? Tony digs into the psychology of authoritarian parenting, the postwar obsession with order, and the quiet fear that can turn control into compulsion. This isn’t speculation — it’s context. Because before Donna Adelson ever micromanaged her family’s image or her son’s future, she lived in a world that worshiped control and punished chaos. A world that taught: if you can’t control the story, you lose it. This is where it all began — The Genesis of Control. #DonnaAdelson #DanMarkel #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #TrueCrime #Psychology #Control #AuthoritarianParenting #CriminalPsychology #Matriarch #PowerAndFear 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

In this episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels take listeners inside a letter that shocked everyone who followed the Dan Markel murder case — a 2024 note written by convicted killer Donna Adelson from her jail cell. It begins with a mother’s lament — the pain of missing her grandsons’ first day of school — but quickly morphs into something darker. “If I don’t get out, then hopefully I die soon so that no one remembers me in prison garb behind bars.” The words read less like remorse and more like resentment — a woman consumed by self-pity, not guilt. Donna paints herself as the victim of “vigilante justice” and a hometown prosecutor’s ambition, calling the case “another notch in her belt.” She even asks that her grandsons never see her in prison, telling them instead to “remember the good times.” But the Markel family’s statement after sentencing makes clear what they think of that narrative. “Her display of emotion was not remorse for Danny’s death, but sorrow for the consequences she now faces for causing it.”  They recount how Donna and Harvey Adelson kept Dan Markel’s sons from their paternal grandparents for six years — until Florida passed the Markel Act — and describe her “callous indifference” to the murder she helped set in motion. This letter, and the family’s response, expose the heart of the Adelson saga: control, image, and denial.  Donna’s words show a woman who cannot see beyond her own suffering — who views justice not as accountability but as persecution. Tony breaks down what these lines reveal about her psyche, her obsession with narrative control, and the haunting reality that even behind bars, Donna Adelson still sees herself as the wronged party. #DonnaAdelson #DanMarkel #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurderForHire #PrisonLetter #JusticeForDanMarkel #FamilyControl #PsychologyOfEvil #TonyBrueski 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

In a quiet Virginia suburb, what looked like a perfect family hid something unthinkable. When police walked into the Banfield home in Herndon, they found 37-year-old nurse Christine Banfield stabbed to death and 39-year-old Joseph Ryan shot in the head. Her husband, former IRS agent Brendan Banfield, claimed it was self-defense — that Ryan had broken in and attacked his wife. But investigators soon discovered the scene was staged.  Christine had never met Joseph Ryan. In reality, he had been lured to the house through a fetish site called FetLife, believing he was meeting Christine for a consensual role-play encounter. The account that contacted him used her photo and name — but wasn’t her. It was allegedly created by her husband. Living in that same home was their Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, who was having an affair with Brendan. She later admitted to helping orchestrate the meeting — and described the entire deadly plan as “part of the game.” Prosecutors say the “game” was a plot to kill Christine and stage it as a home invasion gone wrong. Both Christine and Joseph Ryan ended up dead. Juliana has since pled guilty to manslaughter and agreed to testify against Brendan Banfield, who now faces aggravated murder charges in Fairfax County. His trial, most recently delayed, is set for January 13, 2026. In this Hidden Killers deep dive, Tony Brueski exposes the chilling story behind the façade of suburban normalcy — how power, fantasy, and control converged into one of Virginia’s most disturbing murder cases. This isn’t a story about sex. It’s a story about manipulation, obsession, and the fatal delusion of control. Because when you start to play God, eventually, someone bleeds for it. #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #BanfieldCase #JulianaMagalhaes #ChristineBanfield #BrendanBanfield #JosephRyan #VirginiaCrime #TonyBrueski #CrimePodcast #FetishMurder #HerndonCrime #MurderCase #TrueCrimeStories 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

In this full episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels take you inside the minds of two of America’s most notorious convicted murderers — Donna Adelson and Chad Daybell — through the words they wrote themselves. Segment 1: Donna Adelson’s Prison Letter  From a Florida jail cell, Donna Adelson wrote a 2024 letter to her husband Harvey describing how her heart “breaks” over missing her grandsons’ first day of school. What could have been a rare glimpse of remorse quickly spirals into denial and bitterness: “If I don’t get out, then hopefully I die soon so no one remembers me in prison garb.” She paints herself as the victim of “vigilante justice” and a “southern sweetheart prosecutor,” refusing to accept any role in the plot that left her former son-in-law, Dan Markel, dead.  The Markel family’s official statement, read in court, shredded that illusion — accusing Donna of callous indifference and of cutting off Markel’s parents from their grandsons for six years.  Tony unpacks the psychology of control, image management, and moral blindness that define the Adelson saga — and why Donna’s letter might be the most revealing confession she never meant to write. Segment 2: Chad Daybell’s Ghost Story Letter  Then, we shift from manipulation to mysticism. In “Letter #7,” Chad Daybell — the self-proclaimed prophet now convicted of multiple murders — recounts his time as a Utah cemetery sexton.  He writes of being haunted by a thief’s ghost, attacked by unseen forces, and taunted by demonic voices shouting, “We hate your books!” He interprets it all as proof that Heaven had chosen him for a divine mission. Tony dissects how this “ghost story” maps the arc of Daybell’s descent — from fantasy and grandiosity to apocalyptic belief — showing how delusion and ego fused into a theology that justified murder. Two letters. Two minds. One terrifying common thread: a total inability to see reality — or remorse — through the walls they built around themselves. #DonnaAdelson #ChadDaybell #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #DanMarkel #LoriVallow #MurderForHire #CultCrimes #PsychologyOfEvil #TonyBrueski 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

For more than twenty years, the name Scott Peterson has been synonymous with guilt. A husband who smiled on camera, a pregnant wife who vanished on Christmas Eve, and a nation that decided — almost instantly — that he was the killer. But now, the Los Angeles Innocence Project has filed a 2,600-page petition that could force the courts — and the public — to look again. Their filing doesn’t claim Scott Peterson is innocent. It asks a harder question: What if the story we all accepted isn’t the whole truth? Inside the petition are four explosive claims: 🔸 The Orange Van Theory — New evidence suggests a burglary across the street from the Petersons’ home happened on December 24, 2002, not two days later. Witnesses say a pregnant woman matching Laci’s description was seen confronting men near an orange van that morning. 🔸 The Burned Mattress — That same van was later found on fire, less than a mile away. Inside, investigators found a mattress soaked in blood. Testing confirmed it was human, but the case file shows it was never fully DNA-typed. 🔸 The Science That Doesn’t Add Up — New hydrodynamic analysis argues the bodies could not have drifted from Scott’s fishing location to where they were found. The tides, currents, and physics simply don’t match the prosecution’s 2004 theory. 🔸 The 126-Page Declaration — Scott Peterson himself has finally spoken, dismantling the case point-by-point. He maintains, “There was no direct or forensic evidence ever linking me to the crime.” Could this be the first real crack in one of America’s most famous murder convictions — or just the latest illusion from a man who’s been lying since day one? In this episode of Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski, we take the objective view almost no one dares to ask: What if Scott Peterson didn’t do it? #ScottPeterson #LaciPeterson #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #LosAngelesInnocenceProject #TrueCrime #WrongfulConviction #DNAEvidence #OrangeVan #JusticeForLaci 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