Riddles still cloud Clovis woman's death

Linda Adanalian's husband speaks out a year later.

(Published February 12, 2001)

A year ago, Linda Dalition Adanalian suddenly complained of chest pains, said she couldn't breathe and fainted. She was rushed to a Fresno hospital and soon died.

Sunday, on the anniversary of her death, her husband spoke out against what he termed "ugly gossip" and "innuendo" that has followed him since his wife's mysterious passing.

In the year that has passed, Linda Adanalian's death has divided her family, spawned a Web site (whathappenedtolinda.com) and prompted accusations of murder. Extending the debate are medical experts who can't agree on her cause of death.

Did she die of a coronary spasm, as Mark Adanalian and his Fresno lawyer, family friend Warren Paboojian, say? Or did someone give her a fatal dose of selenium, as Linda's family contends?

Further blood and tissue testing may prove one side correct, but until the results are made public, Mark Adanalian must fight to save his reputation, Paboojian said.

"I'm not going to sit by on the sidelines anymore and watch them rob from our lives bit by bit," Adanalian said Sunday.

Both sides agree that Linda Adanalian was a vibrant soccer mom who had a lovely Clovis home but a rocky marriage when she died at age 37. When she died, Mark Adanalian, a Clovis carpet salesman with multiple sclerosis, became a single father of four children ages 3 to 8.

On the anniversary of Linda's death, Mark Adanalian invited the media to his home. After reading a prepared statement, he answered a few questions. The first question was enough to rock him.

For the record, a television reporter asked, did you kill your wife?

"No," Adanalian emphatically replied. He mentioned diet pills and an herbal drink but offered no explanation for his wife's death. He then left to join guests who had attended a memorial Mass for his deceased wife.

Paboojian said his friend could have lived with the gossip. But then Fresno lawyer Allan Melikian -- representing Linda's parents, George and Jane Dalition, her brother David and her sister, Meg -- practically accused Adanalian of killing his wife in television news accounts this month, Paboojian said.

"There is no evidence that links himåexcept ugly gossip," Paboojian said. "I think it's unfair and everyone should wait until the coroner issues a report, and then we'll go from there."

Questions about selenium

Melikian, in response, said he and Linda's family haven't accused Adanalian of homicide.

"We're not trying to make anyone look bad," Melikian said. "The fact is she died of selenium poisoning. How did she get poison in her? That's what we want to know."

At Sunday's news conference, Linda's brother Mitch Dalition, 32, hugged Adanalian and said Adanalian "had nothing to do with my sister's death."

Dalition, of Menlo Park, said his family disowned him six years ago because he is gay. He said Linda also distanced herself from him in order to not upset their parents.

He contended his family is out to smear Mark Adanalian.

"At this point, I don't know what heart defect or chemical imbalance caused my sister's death," Mitch Dalition said. "But I do know that Mark didn't poison her."

His estranged family members, he said, "are capable of great spite."

Before Linda's memorial Mass, David Dalition, the family's spokesman, said he felt hurt that his brother turned against the family's pursuit to discover the truth.

"The facts are my sister was in a terrible marriage, fearful of her life, had told people she feared Mark, and she was poisoned by someone," he said.

"Mr. Adanalian's diversionary tactics will not keep us from finding out who murdered his wife."

Paboojian said the cause of death is best left to medical experts, and until the Fresno County Coroner's Office makes a ruling, Adanalian should not be hounded as a suspect.

Experts disagree on cause

Coroner David Hadden said medical experts haven't agreed on what caused Linda's death.

"It's not clear-cut," Hadden said Saturday. "The case is complicated and requires careful evaluation."

Selenium, a naturally occurring, colorless and tasteless element, is found in many things: soil, plants, vitamin supplements and chemicals used in firearms manufacturing. At high levels, it can be poisonous.

In general, selenium poisoning is rare, Hadden said: "It's not a concept we typically encounter."

But the Dalitions said they are convinced Linda was poisoned. They contend she was a healthy woman, but stressed because of a deteriorating marriage.

On the day she died, she complained of flu-like symptoms. Despite being ill, she took her children to "The Little Mermaid" ice show at Selland Arena. When the show was over, she complained of chest pains, said she couldn't breathe, then fainted. Paramedics gave her first aid outside the nearby Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, then rushed her to Community Medical Center-Fresno, where she died within two hours.

Tests yield no answers

In the year since her death, the Coroner's Office has performed multiple tests but has not found definitive answers. A sample of Linda Adanalian's blood taken the day after her death showed a selenium level far below toxic levels, according to a coroner's document.

But that document seems to contradict results of hard-tissue tests run by Mayo Medical Laboratories and analyzed by the director of the Kentucky Regional Poison Center. Those tests show selenium levels in Adanalian's kidney and liver of more than 11 times the normal amount, far above toxic levels, according to toxicologist Henry Spiller, director of the Kentucky center.

"Someone gave this person a great deal of selenium," Spiller told The Bee on Jan. 30. "To get that dose, it would have to be a significant plan. You either purposely do it yourself, or somebody does it to you.

"It's not an accidental two pills, trust me."

While there are theories to explain the low selenium count in the blood, there are no similar theories to explain the high levels of selenium in the liver and kidney tissue, Spiller said. The tissues are being retested to make sure the high selenium readings were accurate.

But with each passing day, the rumors are getting stronger, Paboojian said. "Why can't the coroner make a ruling?" he asked at Adanalian's home.

The Dalitions said they, too, are eager for the coroner's ruling. They agreed to allow the Coroner's Office to exhume Linda's body several months after her death so that the tissue samples could be sent to the Mayo Clinic. They also paid the Kentucky Regional Poison Center to analyze the results.

Also at the family's request, Fresno police began a preliminary investigation, but it yielded nothing suspicious. Police are now awaiting word from the Coroner's Office.

The Dalitions contend Mark Adanalian didn't want his wife's body exhumed, but Paboojian said Sunday that's not true; Adanalian just wanted to know all the details before consenting, which he did.

Paboojian is a former Fresno prosecutor who specializes in civil law, including personal injury and product liability. He was best man at the Adanalians' wedding and is godfather to their children.

"He's my best friend. I'm not going to let them attack him," Paboojian said.

Lawyer defends Adanalian

Adanalian has hired medical experts to find his wife's cause of death and signed waivers to allow Paboojian to obtain his wife's medical records. "Why would a person with something to hide give me the authority?" Paboojian said.

Adanalian is a successful businessman, but no chemist, and is not sophisticated enough to poison his wife, Paboojian said. Because Adanalian has multiple sclerosis, why would he want his wife dead? "Do you think he wants to leave his children orphans?" Paboojian asked.

Adanalian also would not financially gain from his wife's death, Paboojian said. "He had a small life-insurance policy for her that he bought nine years ago. He had three or four times that amount in a bank account."

Linda's sudden death initially had Paboojian thinking lawsuit, he said. Paramedics arrived at the scene at 9:47 p.m., but she was admitted to Community Medical Center-Fresno at 10:30 p.m., medical records show.

"They were nine blocks away, and it took 43 minutes. Something's wrong here," Paboojian said.

But after 12 months, two autopsies and a battery of medical tests, Paboojian said he doesn't know how Linda died and has hired an expert to test for selenium in Linda's hair and tissue: "If she died of selenium poisoning, I want to know how she got it in her."

At the news conference, Adanalian stuck to his prepared statement. "I will not stand here and claim that our marriage was a perfect one," he said.

The couple disagreed, argued and sought counseling to save their marriage of 13 years, he said: "She was my wife and the mother of my children, and I loved her."

Part of the stress, Paboojian said, was from moving into a new home and dealing with Mark's illness, and part came from Linda's family for not fully accepting Mark.

Despite the stress, Adanalian never separated from his wife nor abused her, Paboojian said.

Since his wife's death, Adanalian said in his statement, "Every day I feel a void in our lives. Every day is a struggle to be both mom and dad to my children."

The reporter can be reached at plopez@fresnobee.com or 441-6434.