Donna Adelson, the head of a prosperous South Florida family, was sentenced on Monday to life imprisonment for orchestrating the murder of her ex-son-in-law, Daniel Markel, in 2014. Her conviction arose from her involvement in the plot to kill him.
Markel, a respected law professor at Florida State University, was embroiled in a contentious custody dispute with Adelson’s daughter, his ex-wife, when he was tragically shot dead at his Tallahassee residence in 2014.
The video featured is from a previous report.
Last month, the 75-year-old Adelson was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation following a lengthy trial. She received a life sentence without parole for the murder and an additional 30 years for the conspiracy and solicitation charges, to be served one after the other. Adelson has announced plans to appeal the decision.
In a heartfelt statement before her sentencing in the Tallahassee courtroom, Adelson maintained her innocence, describing her trial as unjust, influenced by what she viewed as a biased jury due to extensive negative media portrayal.
“What happened to Danny is unforgivable. But I am an innocent woman convicted of this terrible crime without evidence,” Adelson said.
“I’ve always respected the law. I’ve never gotten a parking ticket, But I’m going to prison for a murder I did not commit,” she added.
Circuit Judge Stephen Everett intervened several times during Adelson’s address, cautioning her that her comments reflected an “utter lack of remorse” for the crime she was convicted of.
Clad in a purple jail outfit and shackled, Adelson listened as Judge Everett delivered the sentence. “You have the right to deny your role and claim innocence,” Everett stated. “However, the court finds the evidence in this case is unmistakable.”
The case had captivated people 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.
Adelson was the fifth person sentenced for what prosecutors say was a plot to kill Markel. Among those already serving a life sentence for the killing is Adelson’s son, Charles Adelson.
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. Wendi Adelson denied involvement in the killing and has not been charged.
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