Nearly two years after she was charged in connection with her former son-in-law’s murder, a Florida jury has delivered its verdict in the case against Donna Adelson.
In July 2014, Florida State University law professor Dan Markel was ambushed and shot twice in the head at point-blank range while sitting in his car outside his Tallahassee home. He had just dropped off his children at preschool and gone to the gym. Fourteen hours later, he died at a nearby hospital. At the time, Markel was locked in a bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, whose family wanted her to move from Tallahassee to South Florida with their two young sons.
The murder set off a decade-long investigation that unraveled a tangled web of family conflict, betrayal, and a murder-for-hire scheme that shocked the community. Several people were eventually convicted for their roles in orchestrating the killing — including Wendi’s brother, Charlie Adelson, and now, her mother, Donna Adelson.
Donna, the matriarch of a wealthy Miami family that owned a dental practice, was arrested in November 2023. Authorities took her into custody at Miami International Airport just days after Charlie was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder. Prosecutors said she and her husband, Harvey, were preparing to board a one-way flight to Vietnam — a country with no extradition treaty with the United States — when she was detained.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(782x365:784x367):format(webp)/Donna-Adelson-3-090525-cc5feddff3da4221bb64012876e20635.jpg)
According to State Attorney Jack Campbell, Donna’s sudden travel plans prompted investigators to act. “We started talking to some of our law enforcement partners about the complexities of trying to bring someone back from either Dubai or Vietnam,” he said at the time. “And that might be a very complicated and lengthy process. So that’s why we had to make a decision quickly.”
Over the years, the Adelson family had repeatedly denied any involvement in Markel’s death. In a 2016 statement, their attorney described speculation about their role as “categorically false.” But investigators pressed forward, eventually linking the family to the plot through recorded conversations and testimony from those directly involved in the murder.
Prosecutors alleged that Donna helped fund and plan the killing, which cost more than $100,000. Two men — Luis Rivera, a Latin Kings gang leader, and Sigfredo Garcia — were hired to carry out the hit. Garcia was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years, while Rivera pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 19-year sentence. Katherine Magbanua, Garcia’s ex-girlfriend and Charlie Adelson’s former partner, acted as the middlewoman between the shooters and the Adelson family. After her first trial ended in a hung jury, she was convicted in 2022 of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation of murder, and sentenced to life in prison with additional consecutive terms.
Investigators later revealed that Markel’s murder appeared to stem from the Adelson family’s “desperate desire” for Wendi to move closer to them. According to a 2016 affidavit, the law professor had planned to request a court order limiting his children’s contact with Donna, who he said had made disparaging remarks about him to his sons. Prosecutors claimed Donna “hated” Markel for seeking to restrict her access to her grandchildren.
Emails presented at trial captured the tension between Donna and her daughter during that period. In one message, Donna urged Wendi to “take control” of her life and make Markel “absolutely miserable,” writing, “You can be a good actress when you want to. I’ve seen you in action. You need to put on the performance of your life! [Markel] hasn’t beaten the Adelson family yet.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(736x154:738x156):format(webp)/where-is-wendi-adelson-now-donna-sue-adelson-031725-e7d1c6653d2b4a229fbb2d31b8dfef83.jpg)
After years of speculation, arrests, and court battles, Donna’s trial began in August 2025. Following weeks of testimony, the jury found her guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder in the execution-style killing of Markel.
When the verdict was read on September 4, the 70-year-old broke down in tears, gasping “Oh my God!” in disbelief as she shook in her seat.
During sentencing, Markel’s father, Phil Markel, addressed the court directly, expressing his grief and anger. “I wish that every day of her remaining days she thinks about the harm she has caused so many,” he said, turning toward Donna. “Was it worth it?”
On October 13, Donna was sentenced to life in prison. Though she maintained her innocence, the judge said she showed “an utter lack of remorse.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/dan-markel-1-f2db5edc60f34e35abfafd2035d9dc7c.jpg)
“If I had become aware of this plan before Danny was murdered, I would have stopped it,” Donna said in court. “What happened to Danny is unforgivable. But I am an innocent woman convicted of this terrible crime without evidence. I swear to you on my life I was not involved in any way with Danny’s murder. I was not.”
Now serving a life sentence, Donna Adelson continues to proclaim her innocence — even as the verdict closes one of Florida’s most closely watched murder-for-hire cases.
