Jury convicts Florida matriarch in murder-for-hire killing of her former
son-in-law
[September 05, 2025]
By KATE PAYNE and HALLIE GOLDEN
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family
was convicted Thursday of murder in the killing of her former
son-in-law, a prominent law professor who was locked in a bitter custody
battle with his ex-wife when he was gunned down in 2014.
Jurors returned guilty verdicts in the weekslong trial of Donna Adelson
on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in the
killing of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel in
Tallahassee where he taught. The case had riveted attention in Florida
for more than a decade amid sordid details of a messy divorce, tensions
with wealthy in-laws and custody fights leading to the killing.
When the judge announced that the jury had convicted Adelson of
first-degree murder, the defendant exclaimed, “Oh!” and started shaking
and crying.
The jury was then taken out of the courtroom and Florida Second Judicial
Circuit Judge Stephen Everett gave Adelson a two-minute break to collect
herself.
“While this was not the outcome I’m sure that you desire, there will not
be any further outbursts in front of the jury," he told her.
In an impact statement after the verdict Ruth Markel, Daniel Markel’s
mother, spoke about her profound sadness and grief after her son's
death.
“We have lost a treasure. My son Dan's life was cut tragically short at
41 years old," she said. “For 11 years we have been forced to a life
filled with unimaginable pain and heartbreak.”
Daniel Markel and Wendi Adelson were divorced and shared custody of
their two children, but she had wanted to move them more than 370 miles
(595 kilometers) from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to the
rest of her family. A judge ruled, however, that Wendi Adelson couldn’t
move the children, and Markel refused to relocate.
Prosecutors had argued at trial that Donna Adelson helped orchestrate
Markel’s killing after he stood in the way of letting her daughter and
two young grandsons make the move south.
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Donna Adelson listens to her defense team's opening statements in
the courtroom on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025 in Tallahassee, Fla. (Alicia
Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via AP, Pool)
The judge said sentencing would come “at a later date,” but
scheduled case management for Oct. 14.
Adelson was the fifth person put on trial for what prosecutors cast
as a murder-for-hire plot to kill Markel. Among those already
serving a life sentence for the killing is Donna Adelson’s son,
Charles Adelson.
Wendi Adelson denied involvement in the killing and has not been
charged.
At trial, prosecutors had painted Donna Adelson as the calculated
and controlling matriarch of an affluent South Florida family with
the means and motive to orchestrate the killing of the ex-son-in-law
she “hated.”
Defense attorneys insisted the state didn’t have sufficient evidence
to link the aging grandmother to the murder plot, instead
emphasizing the roles played by others and casting suspicion on two
of Adelson’s adult children.
Charles Adelson is serving a life sentence, as is his ex-girlfriend
Katherine Magbanua. Prosecutors said Magbanua served as the
go-between for the two men hired to carry out the killing, Sigfredo
Garcia, who was sentenced to life in prison, and Luis Rivera, who is
serving a 19-year sentence after cooperating with the state.
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Golden reported from Seattle.
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