Testimony resumes Friday morning in the murder trial of Donna Adelson, a Florida matriarch accused of orchestrating a hit on her daughter’s ex.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Adelson, 75, is on trial in Tallahassee, accused of planning the murder of her former son-in-law, Dan Markel.
She’s facing first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation charges, for the 2014 contract killing.
Donna’s son, Charlie Adelson, along with his ex-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, and hitmen Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, have been found guilty in relation to the case.
Authorities discovered Markel, who was a law professor at Florida State University, fatally shot in his garage in Tallahassee on July 18, 2014. Dan was previously married to Wendi Adelson.
Wendi is Donna Adelson’s daughter.
Investigations revealed that the motive for Markel’s murder was linked to the Adelson family’s wish for Wendi Adelson and her two young sons to relocate from Tallahassee to South Florida, where the Adelsons resided.
In their 2013 divorce agreement, Wendi and Dan had agreed to share custody equally, but the Adelson family, dissatisfied with the joint custody decision, persistently sought greater custody rights.
Since her arrest after trying to flee the country in November 2023, Donna Adelson has been held without bail.
[Feature Photo: Dan Markel/FSU College of Law faculty biographies; Donna Adelson/AP]
