Donna Adelson Sentenced to Life for Masterminding Her Ex-Son-in-Law's Murder, but Insists She's an 'Innocent Woman' By Escher Walcott

Donna Adelson, the matriarch of a wealthy Florida family who was convicted of murder for the death of her former son-in-law, has been sentenced to life in prison.

On Monday, Oct. 13, Donna, 75, was sentenced to life in prison for her role in the 2014 murder-for-hire plot against Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel, who was shot and killed by hitmen in Tallahassee, Fla., the Associated Press and Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The sentencing comes after Donna was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder in the for-hire killing on Sept. 4. She was arrested over the crimes in November 2023.

Donna appeared in the Tallahassee courtroom on Monday, shackled in a purple jumpsuit. Her demeanor was calm leading up to the sentencing and as the verdict was read out, as seen in a video shared by the Tallahassee Democrat.

Before the sentencing, Donna gave a statement in court in which she maintained her innocence in Markel’s murder and accused the state of not being able to make up its mind about who “the mastermind” was behind the murder in their case, per the Tallahassee Democrat. 

“If I had become aware of this plan before Danny was murdered, I would have stopped it,” she insisted. “What happened to Danny is unforgivable. But I am an innocent woman convicted of this terrible crime without evidence,” she said. 

“I swear to you on my life I was not involved in any way with Danny’s murder. I was not,” she concluded. 

Circuit Judge Stephen Everett accused Donna of having an “utter lack of remorse” for the crime during her statement, per the AP. “You certainly can choose to deny your involvement and maintain innocence. The court finds the evidence in this case is clear,” Everett said in court.

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In July 2014, Markel was shot twice in the head at point-blank range as he sat in his car outside his home after dropping off his children at preschool. He died in the hospital 14 hours later. 

Markel’s murder came amid a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson. The former couple were granted joint custody of their children and a judge had ruled against Wendi relocating out of Tallahassee to South Florida with her and Markel’s kids, against her family’s wishes at the time.

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Multiple people have been convicted for being involved in the murder-for-hire plot against Markel, including Donna’s son, Charlie Adelson, 47, who was found guilty of the same crimes in 2023, his former girlfriend Katherine Magbanua and the two men hired to kill Markel, Latin Kings gang leader Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia, who were both sentenced to time in prison.

Rivera was sentenced to 19 years, per WCTV, while Garcia was sentenced to life, per the AP.