Donna Adelson Murder Trial: Slain Florida Law Professor’s Ex Shielded from Testifying
Share and Follow

A last-minute hearing in connection with the murder case against Donna Adelson took place Monday in Florida, involving the testimony of her daughter.

Adelson is set to appear before Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett in Tallahassee, on first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation charges, for the 2014 contract killing of Dan Markel.

Dan was the former husband of Wendi Adelson, who is Donna Adelson’s daughter.

Donna Adelson’s defense team sought to subpoena Wendi to testify during her mother’s trial. However, her lawyer, John Lauro, filed a motion on August 13, stating it would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

Everett ruled Monday in favor of Wendi Adelson’s request.

“I am going to grant the relief that is requested,” Everett said Monday, according to WCTV.

Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel/handout

As CrimeOnline previously reported, police found Markel, a Florida State University law professor, shot in his Tallahassee garage on July 18, 2014.

Donna’s son, Charlie Adelson, along with his ex-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, and hitmen Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, have been convicted in connection with the case.

FILE – Charlie Adelson looks at jurors as his defense attorney presents closing arguments, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. On Monday, Nov. 13, Donna Adelson, the matriarch of a South Florida family who made their fortune practicing dentistry, was arrested at Miami International Airport on charges of orchestrating the hit-man murder of her ex-son-in-law, one week after her oral surgeon son, Charlie Adelson, was convicted on the same first-degree murder charge. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via AP, Pool, File)

Police arrested Donna Adelson in November 2023, right before her reported attempt to escape the US.

“I wasn’t afraid of being arrested,” she previously told the court.

“My husband and I – literally shocked and traumatized at what had happened to Charlie – and he said, ‘We need to just get some peace, we need to catch our breath, we’re gonna go away somewhere.’”

Miami International Airport police arrested Donna Adelson as she and her husband, Harvey, prepared to board one-way tickets to Vietnam via Dubai—two countries without extradition treaties with the US.

Jury selection in the murder trial begins Tuesday.

[Feature Photo: Dan Markel/FSU College of Law faculty biographies; Donna Adelson/AP]

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

A Body Discovered in the River Unravels a Disturbing Family Mystery

Five days after a body was pulled from New York City’s East…

Fani Willis to Testify Under Oath Regarding Trump

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives during a hearing on the…

Kansas Man Stabs Grandmother for Criticizing How He Does Laundry

A Kansas man arrested for stabbing his grandmother did so because he…

First Woman from Tennessee to Face Execution in Over Two Centuries

Christa Gail Pike (Image courtesy Pike’s legal team). The Tennessee Supreme Court…

Trial Scheduled for Former Pageant Queen, Accused of Killing Boyfriend’s Tot in Her Dorm Room

A trial date has been scheduled for a former beauty queen titleholder…

What Kilmar Abrego Garcia and James Comey Might Share in Common

Left inset: Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a protest rally at the Immigration…

Justice Department Denies Correction Relief for Pardoned January 6 Protester

Inset: Thomas Webster preparing to strike a police officer using a flagpole…

Police: Woman Covered Mother’s Body with Blankets After Stabbing

Inset: Sarah Riste (Wesminster (Colo.) Police Dept.). Background: The neighborhood where Sarah…