A grandmother from Florida, accused of planning the murder of her former son-in-law, was overwhelmed with emotion as her long-awaited trial commenced.
Donna Adelson, 75, faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation related to the 2014 death of Daniel Markel, a law professor at Florida State University who was fatally shot in his garage.
Prosecutors assert that the murder stemmed from a plan devised by Adelson and her family to get rid of Markel, who had stopped her daughter, Wendi Adelson, from relocating their two young sons to South Florida.
At the time, Markel and Wendi had been divorced for a year and were locked in a bitter custody dispute, the Associated Press reported.
Adelson appeared notably distressed on the first day of the trial as an expert in forensics testified. The expert detailed findings at the crime scene, including Markel’s eyeglasses and cell phone, discovered near his car in the garage.
As the forensic expert noted the absence of any struggle or burglary signs and the secure condition of the home, Adelson sat in the courtroom, visibly shaken, with tears streaming down her face.
During opening statements days prior, prosecutors characterized Adelson as a manipulative and strategic leader of an affluent South Florida family, who allegedly “despised” Markel and was resolved to eliminate him as a hindrance to her daughter’s plans.
‘The defendant said that she would never, never, never give up and never stop fighting for Wendi and the boys to be relocated to Miami. And she never did,’ prosecutor Sarah Kathryn Dugan told jurors.
‘The defendant acted in furtherance of this murder plot that went beyond just thinking about it or talking about it,’ Dugan added.
‘And these acts make her guilty as a principal in first-degree murder, just as if she was the one pulling the trigger in the garage herself,’ she continued.
Four people are already serving prison sentences for their roles in the killing, including Adelson’s son, Charles Adelson, who was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to life in prison.
Prosecutors say the family at one point considered offering Markel $1 million to allow Wendi to move the children to Miami – before allegedly turning to murder, with Adelson as a key player.
Throughout the trial however, Adelson has remained active in her defense, taking notes on a legal pad and closely watching testimony from behind tortoise-shell-style glasses, according to the Associated Press.
Her attorneys argue there is no direct evidence linking her to the crime, and insist the prosecution’s theory relies solely on motive and speculation.
‘It is truly outrageous,’ defense attorney Jackie Fulford said of the killing.
‘But what’s more outrageous is, without any evidence, only motive and theory, they put her at the top of this pyramid.’
Adelson was arrested at Miami International Airport in 2023, just one week after her son’s conviction.
She and her husband, Harvey Adelson, were at the airport reportedly preparing to board a one-way flight to Vietnam – a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.
Harvey and Wendi Adelson have denied involvement in the murder and have not been charged.
Prosecutors plan to call both Charles and Wendi Adelson as witnesses during the trial, along with Katherine Magbanua – Charles’s former girlfriend – who prosecutors say acted as the go-between with the two hired gunmen, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera.
Rivera also took the stand Friday and testified that he did not believe Adelson was involved in the plot, which he said was carried out to give Wendi full custody of her two sons.
If convicted, Adelson could spend the rest of her life in prison. Her trial is expected to extend into September.
