Criminal Justice
In 3 hours, jury finds Donna Adelson guilty of murder
Florida Second Judicial Circuit Judge Stephen Everett is presiding over Donna Adelson’s murder trial. (Photo by Alicia Devine/The Tallahassee Democrat via the Associated Press)
Updated: Donna Adelson, the former mother-in-law of Dan Markel, was found guilty Thursday of murdering the Florida State University College of Law professor.
Adelson, 75, is convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. The jury deliberated for three hours, according to WCTV. She faces a life sentence in prison.
Markel, who was murdered in 2014, was divorced from Adelson’s daughter, Wendi Adelson. They had two children.
On Thursday morning, the defense announced Donna Adelson would not testify. But it took her a while to decide.
Judge Stephen Everett of Leon County, Florida, encouraged her to make up her mind with two timeouts to think about it and then a threat of contempt if she didn’t decide, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
On Wednesday, the defense presented testimony downplaying the contentiousness of the custody battle between Markel and Wendi Adelson, the Tallahassee Democrat reports in a separate story. Prosecutors have alleged the motive for the murder was the Adelson family’s “desperate desire” to move Wendi Adelson from Tallahassee to South Florida.
Donna Adelson’s son, Charlie Adelson, was convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder in November 2023 after testifying he was the victim of an extortion attempt rather than a perpetrator who hired two hit men to kill Markel. Wendi Adelson has not been charged.
Her former divorce attorney, Kristin Adamson, testified Wednesday that the divorce was “routine” and “amicable,” according to the Tallahassee Democrat coverage. Rather than characterizing the custody dispute as a “battle,” Adamson said it was “a relocation case” with a “run of the mill” parenting issue.
Adamson said she stepped down from the case after Markel’s post-divorce court filings became personal, Court TV reports. Markel had claimed his ex-wife committed fraud by failing to disclose retirement accounts and that both Wendi Adelson and Adamson should be disbarred. Adamson explained she withdrew because she could be a future witness on Wendi Adelson’s behalf, but she has withdrawn from cases on that ground before.
Assistant State Attorney Sarah Kathryn Dugan asked Adamson whether the murder of a divorce litigant happens very often.
“We’ve had a few people get murdered,” Adamson said. “And I’ve had a few suicides. But it’s rare, and I remember all of them.”
The defense began presenting its case on Tuesday. The first witness, Anne Elizabeth Cunningham, said she spoke with Donna Adelson on the day Markel was killed.
“Donna was quite hysterical” and concerned about the safety of Wendi Adelson and her grandsons, Cunningham said.
In previous testimony for the prosecution, two jailhouse informants testified that Donna Adelson offered them a grand piano, a trailer and other gifts in exchange for testimony that Charlie Adelson was the victim of extortion.
Also in previous testimony, Donna Adelson’s estranged son, New York physician Robert Adelson, testified that Donna Adelson avoided any discussion of the arrest of two alleged hit men in a phone call that occurred two days later. “That was the last time I spoke with her,” he said.
Defense attorney Jackie Fulford told jurors that Donna Adelson is “a meddler, not a murderer,” according to live updates by the Tallahassee Democrat on Thursday.
The defense pointed to a recording of Wendi Adelson informing her mother that Markel had been shot. Donna Adelson’s voice was elevated and she showed concern as she asked for details, Fulford said. “This is not somebody who has planned for him to be killed,” she told jurors.
No witness connected Donna Adelson to the murder, and there was no evidence she did anything until after the murder, Fulford said.
In the prosecution’s closing argument, Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman said Donna Adelson “micromanaged” her daughter’s life, and when she couldn’t accomplish something, she turned to her son Charlie Adelson. Prosecutors have said Charlie Adelson enlisted his girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, to hire the hit men, one of whom was the father of her children.
Magbanua had complained the money she got from Charlie Adelson was wet and moldy, and he said that was because his mother had washed it, Cappleman said. Also, checks written to Magbanua from the family dental practice were signed by Donna Adelson, the prosecutor told jurors.
Cappleman also commented that Donna Adelson called Charlie after a “bump” operation in which an undercover FBI agent approached Donna Adelson and gave her a newspaper article about Markel, according to the Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV. The article had $5,000 written on it along with a phone number.
Donna Adelson told her son she was hand delivered “some paperwork” and they had to speak in person, according to evidence at Charlie Adelson’s trial.
When Charlie Adelson asked who it involved, Donna Adelson replied, “Well, probably both of us.”
Donna Adelson has waived her right for jurors to consider lesser and included charges. A jury of eight men and six women, including two alternates, began deliberations Thursday afternoon, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
See also:
Prosecutors’ Pursuit: A timeline of the Dan Markel murder trials and convictions
Updated Sept. 4 at 7:21 p.m. to include new information about the jury verdict.
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