Criminal Justice
‘Can a killer look like a granny?’ Prosecutor poses questions as mother-in-law of slain law prof goes on trial
Donna Adelson, who is charged in the 2014 murder-for-hire of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel, listens to potential jurors answer questions during the first day of jury selection Aug. 19, 2025, in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Alicia Devine/The Tallahassee Democrat via the Associated Press)
Lawyers questioned potential jurors this week as 75-year-old Donna Adelson went on trial for the July 2014 murder of her son-in-law, Florida State University College of Law professor Dan Markel.
Florida Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman asked what a killer looks like. “Can a killer look like a granny?” she asked. She went on to ask jurors whether they could keep an open mind.
The Tallahassee Democrat reported on Cappleman’s question in its live updates on the trial at Tallahassee.com.
Donna Adelson was arrested in November 2023 when she was at the Miami International Airport after she and her husband bought one-way tickets to Vietnam. She is charged with murder, conspiracy and solicitation in the slaying that happened during a custody dispute between Markel and Donna Adelson’s daughter, Wendi Adelson.
Donna Adelson’s son, Florida dentist Charlie Adelson, was convicted on the same charges for hiring hit men to kill Markel. He was convicted a week before his mother’s arrest.
The alleged motive was to allow Wendi Adelson to move with the children from Tallahassee, Florida, to be near her family in Miami.
One of Donna Adelson’s lawyers, Joshua Zelman, asked jurors about jailhouse snitches. The question was apparently spurred by an investigation into allegations that Donna Adelson offered money in exchange for favorable testimony while at the Leon County Courthouse, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. A previous story is here.
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