TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Donna Adelson, 75, the matriarch of a wealthy Miami family, was convicted Thursday of orchestrating the murder-for-hire plot that killed her former son-in-law, Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel, in 2014.
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A jury found Adelson guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation, closing a chapter in a case that has gripped Florida for more than a decade with its mix of bitter custody disputes, family power struggles, and violence.
Markel, a respected legal scholar and observant Jew active in Tallahassee’s Jewish community, was shot outside his home after blocking his ex-wife Wendi Adelson’s attempt to relocate their children to South Florida. Prosecutors said Donna Adelson, furious over the custody ruling, helped arrange the hit when legal avenues failed.
At trial, prosecutors described her as the calculating matriarch of an affluent family with the means and motive to eliminate the man she “hated.” Defense attorneys countered that the evidence tied other family members to the killing but fell short of linking her directly.
When the guilty verdict was read in court, Adelson burst into tears and exclaimed, “Oh!” before shaking and crying.
She becomes the fifth person convicted in the case, joining her son Charles Adelson, who is serving a life sentence, along with ex-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, hitman Sigfredo Garcia, and getaway driver Luis Rivera.
The trial also highlighted Adelson’s Jewish identity. Her attorneys requested an expedited schedule earlier this year to avoid conflicts with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, reflecting her observance of the High Holidays.
Beyond the courtroom, Adelson had been a prominent civic figure. In May, she testified before the Senate Aging Committee as president of the Holocaust Survivors Foundation, where she advocated for the welfare of aging survivors.
Markel’s murder sent shockwaves through Tallahassee’s legal and Jewish communities. Friends recalled him as a devoted father, scholar, and mentor. For many, Thursday’s verdict closed one painful chapter but underscored the tragedy of a family feud that spiraled into violence.
There is an important fact that came out in the trial that the article doesn’t mention. Actually, Dan was a Baal Teshuva. His wife didn’t like the fact that he was becoming more from, so she divorced him. The mother, who was convicted, wanted the kids of this marriage to not be religious. So when they visited her, she brought them to a McDonalds. He was upset and therefore, seems like he fought that the kids should be with him so that he can bring them up frum. He won the case and Donna was furious..
observing Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur and killing her ex son in law, does that go together?
This horrific killing should awaken us to the much ignored happenings within our community. There are many instances ר”ל where parents of one of the parties of a divorcing couple employee all sorts of methods to ruin there soon to be ex child in-law. Many of these methods are in violation of halacah and while they are often effective in the Olam hsheker will be paid for in the Olam hemes by the dayan hemes!
Many are jealous of people with generational wealth. But the Yetzer hora isn’t impressed. He convinced this woman that she could get away with her plan.
Nebech the kids
Give her the needle
The mother-in-law is on an FBI recording suggesting they threaten the father that they would convert the grandchildren to Catholicism if the kids didn’t move to Miami.
The רוצח complete and total apathy and coldness is unfortunately something that is witnessed in too many divorces in our communities by purportedly Frum porkei ol.Whether it stems from rishus or mental health issues it must be called out and addressed!
When I was first becoming observant I was blessed with an incredible Mentor who could have been a rabbi. 9 out of 10 the things that he said concerning Judaism he was right. He explained to me that there are people out there that think they will get away with murder. and that’s exactly who evil prays on. he convinces them that it’s all going to be just fine, they always happen to be exceptionally successful and exceptionally smart doctors lawyers dentists. But in the end when they get caught they are shocked shocked that the very same evil that they made a pack with betrayed them and throws them under the bus to face Justice and pay for their evil actions
She was just being a Shviger…
Was there evidence that it was her or did the jury just not like rich Jewish women?