More than a decade after a hired hitman gunned down Florida State University law professor Dan Markel outside his Florida home, his former mother-in-law has been convicted of masterminding his murder.
Donna Adelson, now 75, cried out “oh my god,” and audibly wept when the guilty verdict for first degree murder was read on Thursday after the jury deliberated for just a few hours.
“Mrs Adelson, control yourself,” reprimanded the judge, declaring that he would remove her if she did not.
Donna chose not to testify in her own defense.
The Miami grandmother and matriarch of a prominent family faced charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for her alleged role in the murder-for-hire plot to settle her daughter Wendi Adelson’s bitter custody battle with Markel.
In a Tallahassee courtroom, the verdict capped a nearly two-week trial featuring FBI sting operations, wiretapped phone calls, testimony from her adult children, jailhouse informants, and alleged co-conspirators.
Donna was arrested in November 2023 at Miami International Airport while attempting to board a one-way flight to Vietnam, along with her husband Harvey.
Just days earlier, her dentist son Charlie Adelson was convicted of orchestrating Markel’s 2014 killing and in a recorded jail call, she told him that she was “getting things in order and that she was making sure her grandchildren would be taken care of.”
Four others, including Charlie, his then-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, and hitmen Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, are already serving time in prison for their roles in the murder.
Donna’s trial began in August and for 12 days, jurors listened to sordid details about a messy divorce, tensions with wealthy in-laws and custody battles that culminated in the murder.
Prosecutors painted Donna as the “domineering” mastermind who helped fund the hit and conspired with her son to cover it up for years.
Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman said during closing arguments that the evidence showed Donna was “all about psychological warfare” and “willing to do whatever it took to accomplish her non-negotiable, to get a win.”
“The defendants in this case have all attempted to point fingers at each other,” she added. “Despite their efforts to insulate themselves and distance themselves from their co-conspirators, they made enough mistakes to get themselves caught and held accountable for their respective roles.”
Adelson’s defense team argued there was no direct evidence that Donna planned or funded the killing, pointing instead to her son Charlie.
Defense attorney Jackie Fulford told the jury during closing arguments on Thursday that the prosecution proved everyone implicated in Markel’s murder was involved except Donna.
And while Donna may have been “active” in her children’s lives, she was just doing what any parent would do, Fulford said.
“She meddles in her children’s lives… gets involved in their divorce. She’s just being a parent, not a killer,” Fulford said. “She’s a meddler – not a murderer!”
Fulford also worked to poke holes in the state’s case and instead attempted to cast blame on Charlie and Wendi.
“You may be sitting in that jury room thinking, well Charlie did it. And it sure looks like Wendi did it,” she said.
“That doesn’t have an ounce to do with Donna Adelson doing a thing. Not a single thing.”
Donna’s husband Harvey, and daughter, Wendi Adelson, have denied involvement in the murder and have not been charged.
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