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The courtroom fell silent in Tallahassee, Florida, on Monday, October 13, 2025, as Donna Adelson, 75, learned she will spend the rest of her life in prison for masterminding the 2014 murder-for-hire of her ex-son-in-law, Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel.
Once the polished matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family, Adelson stood shackled in a purple jail jumpsuit as the sentence was read. “I am an innocent woman,” she said quietly. “I swear to you on my life, I had nothing to do with Danny’s murder.”
The life sentence marked the end of an eleven-year legal odyssey that exposed a dark underbelly of privilege, control, and vengeance — and left two young children without their father.
Prosecutors said the plot began as a custody dispute turned vendetta. When a judge blocked Adelson’s daughter, Wendi, from relocating her sons from Tallahassee to South Florida, family conversations allegedly shifted from frustration to fatal planning.
Wiretaps, undercover recordings, and a trail of bank withdrawals later revealed what investigators called a “family-funded hit.” The killers — Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, both tied to the Latin Kings gang — were hired through Donna’s son, Charlie Adelson, and his then-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua.
Rivera accepted a plea deal and testified that the group was paid around $100,000 to end Markel’s life. Garcia, the triggerman, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life. Magbanua and Charlie Adelson followed in 2023, each handed the same fate.
During sentencing, Judge Stephen Everett condemned Donna’s “utter lack of remorse,” calling her “a mother who turned a family dispute into a blood contract.” (AP News)
To outsiders, the Adelsons appeared to be a model Florida family — successful dentists, philanthropists, and tightly bonded. Behind the facade, prosecutors said, were coded conversations and concealed payments designed to distance Donna from the true crime.
Phone intercepts captured Charlie discussing “a problem” that could “go away for a price.” Emails and cash transfers filled in the missing pieces.
When Donna was finally arrested in November 2023 at Miami International Airport — carrying one-way tickets to Vietnam — prosecutors said it was “the clearest sign she knew justice was closing in.” (People Magazine)
“I did not pay for Danny’s death,” Adelson told the court, her voice steady but faint. “If I had known of this plan, I would have stopped it. What happened to Danny is unforgivable — but I am not the monster they say I am.”
Markel’s mother, Ruth Markel, then addressed the court. “We’ve waited eleven years for this moment,” she said through tears. “Danny deserves peace, and our family deserves closure.”
Under Florida Statute § 782.04, murder-for-hire is prosecuted as first-degree murder, even if the accused never pulls the trigger. The law allows equal punishment — life without parole or death — for anyone who “solicits, hires, or conspires” to commit homicide, as detailed in Statute § 777.04.
Florida’s principal liability rule (§ 777.011) extends that reach further, treating financiers, organizers, and planners as if they carried out the act themselves. Legal experts note the Adelson case will likely serve as a defining precedent in future conspiracy prosecutions.
More than a decade after Daniel Markel’s death, the Adelson case continues to grip the public imagination — not just for its brutality, but for what it reveals about the darker corners of family loyalty. A grandmother was accused of ordering the father of her own grandchildren to be killed, a detail so shocking it blurred the lines between family and foe.
It also forced Americans to confront the uncomfortable truth that wealth and education do not shield anyone from moral collapse. The Adelsons, once seen as a symbol of success, became a cautionary tale of privilege turned poisonous.
Beyond the headlines, the tragedy has also reshaped Florida law. The Markel Act, passed in 2022, expanded visitation rights for grandparents when an adult child is murdered — a direct response to the heartbreak faced by Markel’s parents, who fought for years to see their grandsons again.
For Florida, the case remains a haunting reminder of how obsession, power, and family pride can twist justice — and how even the most outwardly perfect lives can unravel in a single, devastating act.
Donna Adelson was convicted in 2025 for orchestrating the 2014 murder-for-hire killing of her ex-son-in-law, Daniel Markel, a law professor at Florida State University. Prosecutors said she financed and helped plan the hit after a family custody dispute between Markel and her daughter, Wendi Adelson.
As of October 2025, Donna Adelson is serving a life sentence without parole in a Florida state prison. She was transferred into state custody immediately after sentencing and remains under heightened security due to the case’s media attention.
Donna Adelson wore headphones during her trial and sentencing to assist with hearing the proceedings. Her legal team confirmed she has partial hearing loss, and the court allowed the use of audio devices for accessibility reasons, not as a legal tactic.
No. Wendi Adelson is not currently married. She lives in South Florida with her two sons and has not been charged with any crime related to her ex-husband’s death. Public records show she continues to work in the legal field while keeping a low public profile.
