The long-running and sensational murder case surrounding the death of law professor Dan Markel has taken a dramatic new turn with the arrest of his former mother-in-law, Donna Adelson.
Adelson, 73, was taken into custody just days after a jury convicted her son, Charlie Adelson, for his role in orchestrating the hit. She now faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation to commit murder.
A Web of Conspiracy and Family Strife
The roots of the case stretch back to the bitter divorce of Dan Markel and Wendi Adelson. Prosecutors allege the Adelson family, unhappy with the custody arrangements and the prospect of Wendi moving to South Florida with the children, conspired to have Markel eliminated.
According to court documents, the plot was set in motion with Charlie Adelson allegedly recruiting his former girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, to act as a intermediary. Magbanua then allegedly enlisted two hitmen, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera.
The Brutal Killing and a Decade-Long Investigation
On a July morning in 2014, Dan Markel was shot dead in his Tallahassee garage in a brazen broad-daylight attack. For years, the case remained cold, but a relentless investigation slowly unpicked the threads of the alleged conspiracy.
Rivera, one of the hitmen, eventually struck a plea deal and testified that the killing was a contract hit. His testimony was pivotal in securing convictions against Garcia, Magbanua, and most recently, Charlie Adelson.
The Net Closes on the Matriarch
Donna Adelson's arrest did not come as a complete surprise. During Charlie's trial, prosecutors presented wiretap evidence of phone calls between mother and son that heavily implied her knowledge of the plot.
In one particularly damning call, Charlie is heard telling his mother, "You can't trust anybody except family." The prosecution argued this was a direct reference to the murder conspiracy. Her attempt to secure one-way tickets to Vietnam, a country with no extradition treaty with the US, was seen as the final act of a person who knew the net was closing.
She was arrested at Miami International Airport before she could board the flight. Donna Adelson is now being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as she awaits the next steps in the legal process that has already ensnared her son.
