Accused Mastermind of Law Professor’s Murder-for-Hire Plot, Donna Adelson, Faces Trial: Four Co-Conspirators Already Convicted

In 2014, Dan Markel, a Florida State University law professor and Harvard graduate, was fatally shot in his garage in Tallahassee. Over seven years later, Donna Adelson, the victim’s former mother-in-law, stands trial for first-degree murder, solicitation, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Adelson, now 75, previously enjoyed a life of luxury in Miami, but faces a potential life sentence if found guilty on all counts. Her co-conspirators, including her son, have already been convicted in the plot that allegedly began with Adelson’s desire to solve a contentious custody dispute involving her daughter and Markel.

Markel and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, were embroiled in a heated custody battle following their 2013 divorce. Court documents reveal that Markel shared custody of their two young children with Wendi, and that the Adelsons had the means to fund a murder plot given their thriving dentistry practice.

Prosecutors will aim to prove that Adelson tasked her son with logistical aspects of the plot, while providing funding for its execution, which reportedly cost over $100,000. Adelson’s trial follows four previous trials and a plea deal, and is one of several high-profile criminal cases this summer, including the Karen Read and Diddy verdicts, Bryan Kohberger’s guilty plea, and the ongoing Luigi Mangione saga.

The two hit men responsible for Markel’s murder were apprehended in 2016, but it wasn’t until Charles Adelson’s arrest in 2022 that an FBI undercover sting operation led to the dismantling of the conspiracy. Donna Adelson was arrested on a Miami International Airport jetway in November 2023, just days after her son’s conviction, and fled with her husband to Vietnam – a country without extradition agreements with the US.

Investigators discovered recorded jail phone conversations between Donna Adelson and Charles discussing countries without extradition agreements prior to her arrest. Wendi Adelson and her father have not been charged in connection to Markel’s murder.

Emails exchanged around the time of the divorce indicate that Donna Adelson suggested Wendi offer Markel $1 million to relocate their children to South Florida, with the cost to be split between Wendi, Donna, and Charles. However, Wendi testified during trial that she never made such an offer.

In the months leading up to Markel’s death, he filed a motion in civil court to restrict Donna Adelson from unsupervised visits with her grandsons due to her allegedly disparaging remarks about Markel to the children. Markel was murdered before this motion could be resolved, and Wendi relocated to South Florida with her sons shortly after his death.

Wendi initially told investigators that her parents were angry with Markel, and during the trial it was revealed that Charles had joked about hiring a hit man to kill him prior to the murder. Prosecutors allege that Donna Adelson, who relied on Charles to solve problems, orchestrated a plan to remove Markel from the picture due to her desire to have her daughter and grandchildren near her.

Charles Adelson had ties with Katherine Magbanua, a woman with connections to the Latin Kings gang, whom he was dating at the time of the murder. Magbanua ultimately testified against Charles in his trial, revealing that he had discussed the plot with her in code and even joked about paying someone $5,000 for their silence.

During the murder, text message records show Donna Adelson texted her son “outside your house.” Financial records also indicate that Magbanua received paychecks from the Adelsons’ dentistry practice for over a year after the murder, which were signed by Donna Adelson. Magbanua testified that she never worked for the Adelson Institute for Aesthetics & Implant Dentistry but consistently received these checks until April 2016, around the time of the FBI’s undercover operation against the Adelsons.

The trial is expected to feature testimony from all four convicted co-conspirators – Charles Adelson, Magbanua, and the two hired hit men – as well as Wendi Adelson and her other brother, who will testify for the prosecution. The defense has not yet announced whether Donna Adelson will testify in her own defense.