Friday, February 12, 2001

Man Denies Role in Wife's Death

Lance Williams, Chronicle Staff Writer

Clovis, Fresno County -- The husband of a woman whose parents believe died from a fatal dose of the poison selenium said yesterday he had nothing to do with her death.

In a press conference in the garage of his home, Mark Adanalian, a carpet salesman, denounced his in-laws for a campaign of "ugly gossip" that he said sought to link him to the unexplained death of his wife, Linda, last year.

"I have tried to take the high road and not dignify the campaign of innuendo and rumor conducted by my in-laws and the media," Adanalian said in a statement he read aloud. "But the attacks against me have become more vicious, and so I am choosing to speak out."

He acknowledged that his marriage had been less than perfect, but he said he had loved his wife and had no motive to cause her death. His in-laws, he contended, were wrongly accusing him in an effort to win custody of his four children, all younger than under 7 at the time of their mother's death.

Adanalian was joined by his wife's brother, Mitch Dalition, who said he was sure Adanalian had done nothing wrong.

Dalition said his parents disowned him six years ago because he is gay.

"I do know Mark didn't poison her," Dalition said. "If you knew Mark, you would know he simply doesn't possess that kind of character."

In response to questions, Adanalian denied killing his wife and speculated that her death was somehow related to the use of diet pills.

He declined to answer further questions.

His lawyer, Warren Paboojian, also refused to answer questions, complaining

that a Feb. 2 Chronicle story about the case contained "fiction."

David Dalition, another brother of the victim, called the press conference "a diversionary tactic."

"This will not keep us from finding out who poisoned my sister," he said.

The press conference was held on the first anniversary of the death of Linda Adanalian, a 37-year-old Clovis mother of four small children whose marriage was deteriorating, according to family members.

She collapsed after taking the children to see an ice show. Despite extensive efforts to revive her, Adanalian suffered a cardiovascular collapse and died at Fresno Community Hospital.

Two autopsies, batteries of medical tests and a Fresno police investigation were unable to identify the cause of death. But a panel of experts assembled by her father, George Dalition, a retired airline pilot from San Carlos, say they have performed new lab tests that solved the mystery.

The new tests show that Adanalian died of a fatal dose of an unusual poison

--selenium, according to the experts. Selenium is an odorless, tasteless trace element used in everything from vitamin supplements to firearms manufacturing.

The tests were performed at Minnesota's famed Mayo Clinic by Dr. Eric Pfeifer, a pathologist who said he worked on the case without pay. The results were reviewed by Henry A. Spiller, director of the Kentucky Regional Poison Center and a national expert on selenium poisoning.

Jack Baugh, a veteran homicide investigator who is advising the family, said that if the test results hold up, Adanalian was probably murdered.

This month, the family gave the results to Dr. David Hadden, Fresno County coroner. He said he would study them and take appropriate action.

Relations between Mark Adanalian and his in-laws have been strained since shortly after his wife's collapse. Court records show that last year, Linda Adanalian's father asked Fresno police to investigate Mark in connection with Linda's death. Mark Adanalian also claimed that his in-laws wanted custody of his children -- three girls and a boy, ranging in age from two to seven at the time of their mother's death.

Warren Paboojian, Mark Adanalian's attorney, has said that Linda probably died of a coronary spasm. Police found no wrongdoing, he said, but her parents persist in suggesting that Mark was involved.

"They have accused him of this, but Mark has nothing to hide, and he's done nothing wrong," Paboojian said earlier this month. "He's a victim, too, like the rest of the family."

He downplayed the selenium test results, contending that a blood test done by the coroner had found normal levels of selenium in the woman's blood.

The family's experts say they will redo the tests for verification, but Spiller, the poison expert, is confident of their accuracy. The Mayo Clinic's lab is world-renowned, he said, and Linda Adanalian showed "classic" symptoms of selenium poisoning.

E-mail Lance Williams at
lmwilliams@sfchronicle.com.

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