America’s Bravest Boyfriend Dates Widow Whose Mother Allegedly Ordered Hit on Her Ex

Wendi Adelson has reportedly started a new relationship years after her mother was accused of arranging the killing of her former husband—a case recently revisited in a high-profile true-crime documentary.

Adelson, 47, is now with George Estrada, 12 years after her ex-husband, Dan Markel, 41, was shot outside their Tallahassee, Florida, home amid a bitter custody battle.

She has relocated to Austin to live with Estrada and appears to use his surname on social media, though it remains unclear whether the pair have married. Meanwhile, her mother, Donna Adelson, 76, and brother, Charlie Adelson, 50, remain behind bars after being convicted in Markel’s first-degree murder.

The case—centered on the killing of law professor Markel, who was shot in his garage by contract killer Sigfredo Garcia—was recently featured in Hulu’s true-crime documentary Welcome to the Family: The Murder of Dan Markel.

Wendi Adelson was never charged in connection with Markel’s death. Prosecutors, however, described her as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the alleged murder plot.

She received immunity from prosecution and later testified at the trials of the five people ultimately convicted in connection with Markel’s killing.

Katherine Magbanua, Charlie Adelson’s former girlfriend, was also found guilty after prosecutors said she helped link Adelson to Garcia.

Donna Adelson, Charlie Adelson, Magbanua and Garcia are each serving life sentences, along with an additional 60 years.

Luis Rivera, who prosecutors said supplied the gun and drove the getaway vehicle, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is serving a 19-year prison sentence.

Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel married in 2006 before separating six years later.

Markel, a University of Florida academic, returned from a work trip to find that his two sons had been taken away, much of the household furniture was gone and divorce papers had been left on his bed. Two years later, he was shot at his home.

Adelson’s two sons now live with her and Estrada in Austin, where the family occupies a home valued at about $550,000. On social media, Adelson has increasingly signaled her commitment to her new relationship.

In an Instagram post shared last September, another woman uploaded a photograph of Adelson and identified her as “Wendi Estrada.”

The Daily Mail also reported finding photographs of Adelson and Estrada together at a legal conference in 2024.

Estrada previously held the position of executive strategist at Amazon Web Services. He is now chief technology and innovation officer at a credit union.

Estrada’s former wife, Maggie, died unexpectedly in 2021, according to tributes posted online by relatives at the time.

Family members did not publicly provide further information about the circumstances of Maggie’s death.

Posts Maggie made to her own Instagram profile indicate that at the time of her death she and Estrada had already split. 

There are no new legal clouds on the horizon for Wendi as regards her ex-husband’s murder. 

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Under questioning in court in 2019, she partially revealed the immunity deal she struck with prosecutors. 

It was agreed that any testimony was never to be used against her, but it does not stop the state from ever charging her. 

After Donna was found guilty last year, State Attorney Jack Campbell was questioned over what would happen next in the case. 

He told reporters: ‘I understand everyone’s curiosity and interest, but for now, we’re going to let our team rest.’

The murder case sparked intense public interest for more than a decade due to the sordid details of the divorce, tensions with wealthy in-laws and custody battles. 

And Estrada will likely be thankful that his prospective mother-in-law Donna Adelson is locked behind bars, after bloodcurdling details of her schemes were outlined during her trial for murdering Markel.

She was painted as a controlling matriarch who had all the money and the motive to orchestrate the murder of Markel, who she ‘hated.’

They said Donna planned out the murder after Markel stood in the way of letting her daughter move her two grandsons to South Florida to be closer to her family. 

They played calls in court which revealed Donna’s plans to flee to Vietnam just one week after her son, Charlie, was convicted of Markel’s murder in 2023. 

She was arrested attempting to board a one way flight to the country, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, alongside her husband Harvey. 

Prosecutors said she signed checks that were given to Magbanua, and that she also dropped off the cash used to pay the gunmen at Charlie’s home the day of the killing. 

Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman said in her closing arguments: ‘She was paying for a murder. She knew it was going to be murder; she’s the one who wanted it done.’

Cappleman said that all of the evidence against Donna proved she was ‘all about psychological warfare’ and was willing to do ‘whatever it took to get a win.’

Donna’s defense attorneys said that the state didn´t have sufficient evidence to link the grandmother to the murder plot. 

They instead sought to emphasize the roles played by others and cast suspicion on two of Donna´s adult children.

Attorney Jackie Fulford told the court: ‘She meddles in her children’s lives, gets involved in their divorce. She’s just being a parent, not a killer. She’s a meddler – not a murderer.’

When the judge announced that the jury had convicted Donna of first-degree murder, she shouted out: ‘Oh! My God’ and started shaking and crying. 

‘Mrs. Adelson, control yourself,’ the judge told her, warning her that he would remove her from if she did not. 

The Daily Mail contacted Estrada and Wendi for comment.