Donna Adelson Gets Life Plus 30 Years for Orchestrating 2014 Dan Markel Murder
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 19
Donna Adelson Gets Life Plus 30 Years for Orchestrating 2014 Dan Markel Murder
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 19
Summary
Life without parole plus 30 years was imposed on Donna Adelson after her 2025 conviction for first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in the 2014 killing of Florida State law professor Dan Markel.
Prosecutors said a 2013 custody fight drove the plot: Markel opposed ex-wife Wendi Adelson’s bid to move their two sons to South Florida, and Donna grew furious after the relocation request was denied.
Trial evidence traced the murder-for-hire scheme through Donna’s son Charlie Adelson, who prosecutors said used Katherine Magbanua to reach hitman Sigfredo Garcia, with Luis Rivera driving the getaway car.
The case took years to build through cellphone records, surveillance, financial records and FBI wiretaps; Charlie, Magbanua and Garcia are serving life sentences, while Rivera got 19 years after cooperating.
A new ABC News Studios docuseries, now streaming on Hulu, revisits the killing and the Adelson family dynamics that prosecutors argued culminated in Markel’s murder.