Jury begins deliberations in trial of Florida matriarch charged in her ex-son-in-law's death
Share and Follow

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Jurors began deliberating Thursday in the murder trial of a 75-year-old woman accused of being the mastermind behind a plot in which hired hit men shot her former son-in-law in the head in his Tallahassee garage.

Attorneys finished their closing arguments in the afternoon following more than two weeks of trial. Donna Adelson faces charges of first-degree murder as well as conspiracy and solicitation to commit first-degree murder. If convicted, she could spend the rest of her life in prison.

Adelson is accused of orchestrating the 2014 murder of Daniel Markel, a Florida State University law professor who at the time of his death was locked in a bitter child custody fight with his ex-wife, and Adelson’s daughter, Wendi Adelson. The couple had been married seven years before finalizing their divorce in 2013.

Adelson’s defense attorneys argued at trial that the state lacks sufficient evidence to link her to the murder plot. Instead they emphasized roles played by others, including the hired gunmen and Adelson’s own son, who prosecutors say handed over the money to pay for the killing.

Assistant state attorney Georgia Cappleman said during her closing argument that all the defendants in Markel’s killing have pointed fingers at each other and Donna Adelson is no different. The prosecutor outlined Adelson’s controlling relationship with her children and involvement in her daughter’s divorce, saying she tried to insulate herself by using her son to hire the people who killed Markel.

“Don’t let the way she thought she’d get away with this be the way she gets away with this,” Cappleman told jurors.

The case has riveted Florida’s capital for more than a decade as sordid details emerged about the messy divorce, tensions with wealthy in-laws and custody battles that culminated in the killing.

The defense team uses a display depicting photos and arrows of how people are connected in the murder of Dan Markel during opening statements in the trial of Donna Adelson on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025 in Tallahassee, Fla. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via AP, Pool)

Four others are already serving prison time for what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire plot hatched by members of the Adelson family and carried out by paid gunmen. Three people have been sentenced to life, including Adelson’s son Charles Adelson.

During the trial prosecutors painted Donna Adelson as the calculated and controlling matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family with the means and motive to orchestrate the killing of a former son-in-law she hated. They said the disdain grew from his standing in the way of letting her daughter and two young grandsons leave Tallahassee for South Florida to live closer to the rest of the family, more than 370 miles (595 kilometers) away.

Defense attorney Jackie Fulford said the facts of the case do not support the narrative that prosecutors created.

“There’s not a single piece of evidence that connects my client to that murder,” Fulford said. “Charlie Adelson? Yep. Potentially Wendi Adelson? She’s the one who said she hated him. She’s the one fighting with him court. Donna Adelson? Nothing. Not a single piece of evidence.”

A week after Donna Adelson’s son was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2023, she was arrested at the Miami airport as she and her husband, Harvey Adelson, tried to board a flight to Vietnam — a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States — using one-way tickets.

Harvey Adelson and daughter Wendi Adelson have denied involvement in the murder and have not been charged.

The others who are serving time for the killing are Katherine Magbanua, Charles Adelson’s then-girlfriend, who prosecutors say served as the go-between with the two men hired to carry out the killing, and those men, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

Georgia Families Struggle as SNAP Benefit Cuts Intensify During Government Shutdown

ATLANTA — On Monday, Senator Raphael Warnock visited the Goodr Community Market…

South Carolina Authorities Detain Man Following School Window Break-In and Child Abduction Attempt

In a startling event in Chester, South Carolina, a 20-year-old man is…

Key Races to Watch: Unmissable Highlights of Tuesday’s Off-Year Elections

As voters make their way to the polls this Tuesday, the nation…

Urgent Alert: Suspect Sought in Disturbing Barber Park Assault – Orange County Deputies Need Your Help

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Authorities in Orange County are actively searching for…

Controversy in NYC: How Assemblyman Mamdani’s Stance on Israel is Stirring Debate in the Jewish Community

NEW YORK – On the eve of a historic election, New York…

Storm Team 3 Forecast: Brief Showers Tonight, Sunshine and Blue Skies Await This Week

SAVANNAH, Ga. — As the weekend wraps up, residents should prepare for…

Rescue Efforts Intensify for Worker Trapped in Rome’s Collapsed Medieval Tower

ROME (AP) — On Monday, firefighters in Italy’s capital were engaged in…

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Drummer Strikes a Chord: Launches Inspiring Music Scholarship at University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – While the Red Hot Chili Peppers are famously…