To the people who knew her in the wealthy South Florida circles she moved through,Donna Sue Adelson was a devoted mother and grandmother. Her friends called her one of the sweetest women they’d ever known. She lived with her husband Harvey in a luxury Miami condo. She was 75 years old.
Then a Florida jury deliberated for just over three hours, came back into the courtroom, and convicted her of first-degree murder.
What happened between those two versions of Donna Sue Adelson is one of the most closely watched criminal cases in Florida history, a story that took eleven years to reach its conclusion and left behind a dead law professor, two boys growing up without their father, and an entire family facing life behind bars.
This article covers the case accurately and completely. Donna Adelson has maintained her innocence and has filed an appeal, which is currently pending. All facts presented here reflect what was established at trial and confirmed by multiple credible news sources.
Quick Facts Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Donna Sue Adelson |
| Age at Conviction | 75 years old |
| Residence | Miami, Florida (luxury condo) |
| Husband | Harvey Adelson (dentist; not charged with any crime) |
| Children | Wendi Adelson, Robert Adelson, Charles “Charlie” Adelson |
| Victim | Daniel Markel, FSU law professor and former son-in-law |
| Crime | First-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder |
| Murder Date | July 14, 2014, Tallahassee, Florida |
| Charged | 2023 |
| Trial Date | August–September 2025 |
| Verdict | Guilty on all three counts, September 4, 2025 |
| Sentence | Life without parole + consecutive 30 years for other charges |
| Sentenced | October 13, 2025 |
| Sentencing Judge | Circuit Judge Stephen Everett |
| Appeal Status | Filed; pending |
| Others Convicted | Charles Adelson (son), Katherine Magbanua, Sigfredo Garcia, Luis Rivera (plea) |
Who Was Donna Sue Adelson Before This Case?
Before these events unfolded, Donna Sue Adelson led a life that many would have considered comfortable and prosperous. Her husband, Harvey Adelson, worked as a dentist, and the family enjoyed financial stability while being part of well-established social circles in the Miami area.
She raised three children: Wendi, Robert, and Charles, who goes by Charlie. In that family, by most accounts, Donna was the center of gravity. Prosecutors would later describe her as controlling, someone who had strong opinions about every major decision in her children’s lives, from their careers to their relationships to the homes they bought.
That description would become central to the case against her.
Daniel Markel: The Central Figure in the Story
To understand this story, you have to understand who Daniel Markel was, and what his death meant. He was a prominent law professor at Florida State University, a rising academic with a specialty in criminal law and punishment. He was also a Canadian-born Jewish man who had married into a family that, by the time things fell apart, apparently couldn’t stand him.
Markel and Wendi Adelson had met during law school. They both took positions at Florida State University’s law school. They had two sons together. And then the marriage fell apart.
Wendi Adelson would later describe her marriage in painful terms. She said the loneliness of being with someone who didn’t view her as an equal had ultimately driven the relationship to its end. By 2013, they had separated and were working through a divorce. With that divorce came a custody dispute that would become, according to prosecutors, the motive for murder.
The Adelson family wanted Wendi and the two boys to move back south, closer to Miami, closer to them. Markel refused to agree to anything that would take his sons away from Tallahassee. He had legal rights. He wasn’t going anywhere.
And that refusal, prosecutors argued, signed his death warrant.
The Murder: July 14, 2014
On the morning of July 14, 2014, Daniel Markel arrived at the garage of his home in Tallahassee’s Betton Hills neighborhood. There, he was shot several times in the head. He succumbed to his injuries the next day at the age of 41.
He left behind two young sons.
The gunmen drove away in a rental car. For a while, investigators had few leads. But the trail eventually led south to Miami, and then deeper into the Adelson family’s private world.
The Men Who Pulled the Trigger
The first break in the case came in 2016, when police arrested two men: Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera. Both had ties to the Latin Kings gang. Garcia had been linked to Katherine Magbanua, a woman who was, at the time of the murder, dating Charlie Adelson.
Rivera took a plea deal in 2016 and began cooperating with investigators. His information helped law enforcement trace the connection between the hitmen and the Adelson family. Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison in 2019.
The chain of connection looked like this: Garcia and Rivera were hired to commit the murder. According to prosecutors, Magbanua served as the intermediary through whom both the payment and the instructions were delivered. Magbanua was connected to Charlie Adelson. And behind Charlie, prosecutors alleged, was Donna.
Katherine Magbanua: The Link Between the Family and the Hitmen
Katherine Magbanua was a central figure in the prosecution’s case. She had a child with Sigfredo Garcia. She was also dating Charlie Adelson at the time of the murder. Prosecutors argued she served as the conduit between the Adelson family and the men who carried out the killing.
Her first trial concluded without a verdict after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. Her second trial, in 2022, resulted in conviction. She was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 60 years for the conspiracy and solicitation charges.
Charlie Adelson: The Son Who Was Convicted First
Charlie Adelson, Donna Sue Adelson’s son, was arrested in 2022, more than eight years after the murder. His arrest came after law enforcement ran an elaborate FBI sting operation targeting the Adelson family.
In that operation, an undercover agent posed as a blackmailer who claimed to have information about the murder. The operation captured conversations and reactions from family members that prosecutors argued showed consciousness of guilt.
Charlie was convicted in 2023 of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation. He was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 60 years for the other charges. His own adult son, Robert Adelson, would later testify against his grandmother Donna at her trial.
The Arrest at the Airport
The timing of Donna Sue Adelson’s arrest is one of the most cinematic details in the entire case. When Charlie was convicted in 2023, Donna and her husband Harvey did not simply go home and wait for whatever came next.
They bought one-way tickets to Vietnam. They were at Miami International Airport, preparing to board, when law enforcement arrested them. Harvey has not been accused of any wrongdoing. But recorded phone calls later revealed that Donna Sue Adelson, in the days between her son’s conviction and her arrest, had considered suicide as an alternative to fleeing the country.
She was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder. She pleaded not guilty.
The Long Road to Trial: 2023 to 2025
From her arrest in 2023 to the start of her trial in August 2025, Donna Sue Adelson’s legal team fought on multiple fronts. They challenged evidence. They argued for a change of venue, contending that years of intense media coverage had made it impossible for Donna to receive a fair trial in Leon County. That motion was denied.
The defense also challenged aspects of the FBI sting operation and the reliability of various witnesses. They would argue throughout the trial that the prosecution’s case rested on unreliable informants and that Donna had never known anything about her son’s alleged plot.
The Trial: August and September 2025
The trial began in late August 2025 in Tallahassee and lasted roughly two weeks. It attracted significant national attention. Court TV covered it extensively. Several major networks followed the proceedings.
The prosecution’s case rested on several pillars. Phone records showed communication patterns prosecutors argued were consistent with involvement in planning the murder. The FBI sting operation produced evidence that prosecutors said demonstrated Donna’s knowledge of what had happened. Testimony from Donna’s son, Robert, along with statements from other witnesses, placed her at the heart of the family’s discussions.
One particular moment from the FBI sting was highlighted by juror Evan Higginbotham after the verdict. During the operation, an undercover agent handed Donna Sue Adelson a piece of paper that appeared to contain information about the murder. Instead of looking at it, Donna immediately put it in her bag without reading it. The juror said that single action stuck with him, suggesting that she already knew what the paper contained.
Donna chose not to testify in her own defense. The ruling followed a period of deliberation that was marked by disagreements with the presiding judge. Her defense team acknowledged she had considered taking the stand but ultimately decided against it.
The jury deliberated for just over three hours before returning to the courtroom on September 4, 2025.
The Verdict: Guilty on All Counts
When the judge announced that the jury had found Donna Adelson guilty of first-degree murder, she reacted with an audible “Oh!” before breaking down in tears and trembling. The judge briefly dismissed the jury from the courtroom and instructed Donna to regain her composure before the remaining verdicts were announced.
She was found guilty of all three charges: first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
After her outburst, the judge ordered the Leon County Sheriff’s Office to take precautions to prevent Donna from harming herself before sentencing. She was held in an area where she could be closely monitored.
Her attorneys immediately began preparing motions for a new trial, challenging juror conduct and the judge’s handling of the proceedings.
The Sentencing: October 13, 2025
On October 13, 2025, Donna Adelson appeared before Circuit Judge Stephen Everett for sentencing. She was shackled and dressed in a purple jail jumpsuit. Harvey Adelson sat in the front row of the gallery, as he had done throughout the trial.
Several of Donna’s longtime friends spoke on her behalf, calling her the sweetest woman they knew and a devoted grandmother. They painted a portrait of someone entirely inconsistent with the crimes she’d been convicted of.
Then Donna herself addressed the court. She maintained her innocence completely. She said she had never received a parking ticket. She said she was going to prison for a murder she did not commit. She also claimed she had listened throughout the entire trial and had heard witnesses she believed told outright lies.
Circuit Judge Everett interrupted her multiple times. He warned her that her statements were displaying what he described as an utter lack of remorse. When Donna finished, he sentenced her to the mandatory life term without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder conviction, and an additional 30 years for the conspiracy and solicitation charges, to be served consecutively.
He told her: the court finds the evidence in this case is clear.
The Statement From Dan Markel’s Family
Dan Markel‘s parents responded to the sentencing with a statement that reflected over a decade of grief and waiting. Ruth Markel, Dan’s mother, spoke publicly. She expressed a wish that Donna live to 120 years old, alone in her jail cell, thinking every day about the harm she had caused, and especially about the two boys she had claimed to love so much, who grew up without their father because of what happened on July 14, 2014.
Her words carried the weight of eleven years of watching a case unfold, watching five people be convicted, and still having to sit in a courtroom and listen to the woman they believe ordered their son’s death proclaim her innocence.
Harvey Adelson: The Husband Who Has Not Been Charged
Throughout all of this, Harvey Adelson, Donna’s husband, has not been accused of any crime. He sat in the front row every day of Donna’s trial. He was with her at the airport when she was arrested. He has maintained his presence beside her throughout.
Whether investigators have any further interest in any other members of the Adelson family remains an open question. State Attorney Jack Campbell told reporters after Donna’s conviction that the investigation was not over, that his office would continue examining the evidence and holding accountable everyone who was responsible, though he could not predict where that would lead.
Wendi Adelson: The Daughter Who Has Not Been Charged
Wendi Adelson, whose custody dispute with Dan Markel formed the alleged motive for his murder, has not been charged with any crime in this case. She testified at her brother Charlie’s trial. She was not present in the courtroom for her mother’s sentencing.
Her position in this entire tragedy is its own complicated story. She married a man, had two children with him, divorced him, and then watched her mother and brother go to prison for conspiring to have him killed. She has largely chosen not to discuss the matter in public or speak about it at length.
The Fifth Conviction: What It Means
With Donna Adelson’s conviction and sentencing, five people have now been convicted in connection with Daniel Markel’s murder. Sigfredo Garcia is serving life in prison. Luis Rivera took a plea and cooperated with investigators. Katherine Magbanua is serving life plus 60 years. Charlie Adelson is serving life plus 60 years. And now Donna Adelson is serving life plus 30 years.
The prosecution characterized Donna as the mastermind, the person whose desire to bring her daughter and grandchildren home to Miami set everything else in motion. Whether any additional prosecutions follow remains to be seen.
The Appeal
Donna Adelson has filed a notice of appeal. Her attorneys are challenging pretrial and evidentiary rulings, as well as the guilty verdict itself and the sentence imposed. Appeals in complex murder cases frequently take years to work through the appellate courts.
She maintains that she is innocent and that she was denied a fair trial by a jury that had been unduly influenced by years of negative media coverage surrounding the case.
A Case That Captivated Florida for Over a Decade
The Markel murder case has been the subject of a true-crime podcast and multiple television specials over the years. The combination of a prominent victim, a wealthy family, an alleged murder-for-hire, a long investigation, and ultimately five convictions made it one of the most closely followed criminal cases in Florida’s recent history.
For Dan Markel’s sons, now teenagers, the case represents something no court verdict can fully address. They grew up without their father because of what prosecutors argued was a family’s refusal to accept that a custody dispute had to be resolved through the courts rather than through violence.
Final Words
Donna Sue Adelson is 75 years old and is serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 30 years, in a Florida prison. She maintains she is innocent. Her appeal is pending.
The jury that heard her case, saw the evidence, and deliberated for just over three hours came to a different conclusion. So did the judge who sentenced her.
Whatever the appeals process ultimately determines, the case of Daniel Markel’s murder stands as a stark reminder of how far family grievance, when it goes unchecked, can travel from anger to tragedy.
FAQ Section
1. Who is Donna Sue Adelson?
She is a 75-year-old South Florida woman who was convicted in September 2025 of orchestrating the 2014 murder-for-hire of her former son-in-law, Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel.
2. What was Donna Adelson convicted of?
She was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
3. What sentence did she receive?
She was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the murder charge, plus an additional 30 years for the conspiracy and solicitation charges, to be served consecutively.
4. Who was Daniel Markel?
He was a prominent law professor at Florida State University who was killed at his Tallahassee home on July 14, 2014, while in the middle of a custody dispute with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson.
5. What was the alleged motive?
Prosecutors argued that Donna Adelson wanted her daughter Wendi and her two grandsons to move back to South Florida, but Markel’s custody rights prevented the relocation. The alleged motive was eliminating that obstacle.
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