Testimony continued Tuesday in the murder case against Florida matriarch, Donna Adelson, accused of murdering her former son-in-law, Dan Markel.
As previously reported, Donna Adelson, 75, is accused of orchestrating the 2014 murder of Dan Markel. She faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation for the planned killing.
Her son, Charlie Adelson, his former girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, and the hitmen Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera have been convicted for their roles in the crime.
Wendi Adelson, her daughter, who hasn’t been charged, was married to Markel, a law professor at Florida State University. They were in the midst of a contentious divorce when Markel was found shot in the head on July 18, 2014, in his driveway in Tallahassee.
The state claimed that Adelson was the mastermind who recruited her son, who then recruited his ex and the hitmen to carry out the murder.
The state claims the motive was to remove Markel so that Wendi and her children could move to South Florida, where the Adelson family resided. A judge had previously denied permission for such a relocation.
On Tuesday, some of Adelson’s friends took the stand and described her as “hysterical” upon learning of Markel’s death.
“Donna was quite hysterical,” recalled her close friend Anne Cunningham, noting that Adelson was “very concerned” about Wendi since she “didn’t know who shot [Markel].”
Adelson later told Cunningham about Markel’s funeral services, describing it as “incredibly sad, and painful, and wrenching.”
In 2023, police arrested Adelson and her husband, Harvey, at the Miami airport as they tried to board a flight to Vietnam.
When the defense questioned Cunningham’s knowledge about the trip, she claimed Adelson “definitely” had plans to return home, WCTV reports.
Cunningham added that Adelson was supposed to return home before her grandchild’s Bar Mitzvah.
During cross-examination, Chief Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman pointed out that Adelson had expressed a desire to get away to clear her mind, yet she opted for “a non-extradition country.”
Another friend, Richard Chagrin, took the stand and told the court he helped Adelson and her husband, Harvey, book travel to Vietnam.
He testified that the couple appeared “shocked and distraught” and at his suggestion, Harvey booked a one-way ticket to the country, since round trip tickets were more pricey, according to Court TV.
Adelson and Harvey both requested a 90-day visa and, according to Chagrin, had plans to return for their grandchild’s Bar Mitzvah.
Digital forensics expert Kelsey Guay took the stand Tuesday and discussed communication between Adelson and Charlie before and after the murder.
Guay said that the pair had communicated a lot before the murder, but that the state had inflated the number of calls made. Instead of 80 calls, evidence indicated that Charlie and Adelson had 69 calls or attempted communication.
Guay also said that there is no evidence that placed Adelson near Charlie’s home on the evening of the murder, although the prosecution had argued that she went to his home that night to deliver money for the hit.
The state told the court during cross-examination that Adelson sent an iMessage that read, “outside your house,” on the night in question.
Guay admitted that Adelson’s location when she sent the message could not be verified, since it wasn’t a text message.
Also on Tuesday, Adelson’s lawyers pushed to drop the charges against her, claiming the state lacked evidence for a murder conviction.
The prosecution argued that the evidence in the years following Markel’s showed she had complicit in the crime.
Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett dismissed the defense’s request.
The trial continues. Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Dan Markel/FSU College of Law faculty biographies; Donna Adelson/AP]
