Donna Adelson is on trial for the murder of her former son-in-law, Dan Markel.Prosecutors allege Donna orchestrated the murder due to a desire to have her grandchildren relocate closer to her.Several members of the Adelson family, including Donna’s convicted son Charlie, may testify.Markel’s ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, will testify for the prosecution under immunity.
The murder of Professor Dan Markel in 2014 is like a modern-day Shakespearean tragedy.
Donna Adelson now stands trial for the murder of her former son in law, Dan Markel. It’s possible that four members of the Adelson family will testify in this high-profile murder case: Donna, Charlie, Wendi and Robert may raise their right hands, swear under oath and offer testimony.
How and why did this successful and well-educated family find themselves in this situation? How do these family members fit into a diabolical plot that led two paid hitmen to an affluent Tallahassee neighborhood to assassinate a renowned law professor?
Let’s meet the family.
The mother and doting grandmother of two beautiful grandkids finds herself fighting for her freedom in the Leon County courthouse due to what prosecutors say is a controlling and desperate desire to have her divorced daughter Wendi and her grandchildren relocate from Tallahassee to south Florida against the wishes of her former son-in-law, Markel.
Prosecutors say the matriarch of the Adelson family orchestrated and directed her loyal son, Charlie, to hire hit men to kill Markel.
After 14 years of waiting for justice, the state of Florida will introduce evidence aiming to prove Donna’s involvement in Professor Markel’s murder. Based on pretrial motions, it appears Donna Adelson will testify in her defense during her trial this month.
Can the alleged controlling and conniving matriarch convince 12 jurors that she did not orchestrate the killing of her son in law?
Charlie Adelson: Could a convicted murder mastermind be his mother’s best hope?
Charlie Adelson, a well educated and prosperous south Florida oral surgeon, is a convicted murderer and was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his ex-brother in law.
Prosecutors allege the steep and dramatic fall from living the high life in south Florida was a result of the controlling actions of his mother, Donna.
A jury determined that Charlie voluntarily directed his ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, to hire hit men to kill Markel in Tallahassee enabling his sister and her kids to relocate to south Florida against Markel’s wishes.
When a $1 million dollar “bribe” was rejected by Markel, prosecutors maintain Donna and Charlie ordered and paid for Markel’s gruesome murder. Unbeknownst to Charlie, he hired two inept assassins to commit the murder.
In addition, Charlie’s girlfriend, Magbanua – whom he later put on the payroll at the family dental clinic – tied him directly to the two hired assassins. After the conviction of the killers and Magbaunua, Charlie was arrested and convicted for his role in the murder.
Charlie now has been listed as a witness by both the state and the defense. While it’s unclear whether he will actually testify, Charlie could offer insight into to the highly suspect “double extortion” defense, which could help save his mother from a life sentence for her alleged role in the murder.
But it seems doubtful that a different jury in the same community will believe a defense that was so soundly rejected in his own trial.
And Donna’s attorneys may agree in that extortion was never mentioned in their opening arguments. In fact, her attorney Jackie Fulford conceded that proof exists that Charlie was involved in the conspiracy, but no such evidence ties Donna to the murder.
Wendi Adelson: The ex-wife of Dan Markel compelled to testify against her brother and mother
Wendi Adelson will testify for the fourth time for the prosecution against those responsible for the murder of her ex-husband.
Her testimony has been compelled by the state and she receives immunity for such testimony. Her words have been the basis for proving the motive for Markel’s murder – the bitter divorce, acrimonious child custody issues, and her inability to relocate her boys to south Florida.
Wendi does not want to be in Tallahassee and certainly does not want to be offering evidence that will prove problematic for her mother’s defense on these horrendous charges.
As with Charlie, Wendi’s testimony could contribute to a damaging portrait of her mother and provide the state evidence of motive that the jury can consider when evaluating the case against Donna.
It is Shakespearean that the alleged beneficiary of the crime could be the most damaging witness for the state against her own mother.
Unfortunately for her, Wendi has no choice but to testify in Donna’s trial even after she knows her testimony was crucial in the conviction of her brother, Charlie Adelson.
Robert Adelson is the estranged brother of Charlie and Wendi, and a respected doctor who was reportedly excommunicated by the family due to his independent thinking. He chose to lead a life of his own choosing, including his spouse.
Court records, however, suggest Robert is aware of the family dynamics and the allegedly controlling nature of his mother in his siblings’ lives.
It is a twist of fate that the son who went his own way may be called to testify against his mother and shine light on controlling behavior that is consistent with the state’s theory of Donna’s motivations in orchestrating Markel’s murder.
He could be called as a rebuttal witness by the state to impeach expected defense arguments that Donna is gullible, naive, and was incapable of knowing what was happening with the killers and Charlie when she spoke in secret code, called the undercover FBI agent and put Magbanua on the company payroll.
Upon the death of their father, Wendi’s two sons were taken to south Florida. They had little if any communication or contact with their paternal grandparents. Their entire lives have been altered in an unimaginable way.
It is as if their father has been erased from their family history. Their mother changed their last names from Markel to Adelson, even changing their middle names, completely voiding any connection to their father.
As such, in a true Shakespearean plot, the boys may forever carry the family name of a family member that orchestrated and committed the murder of their father.
A jury will decide whether the tragedy will include their grandmother, as well as their uncle, as the murderers of their father.
Tim Jansen, partner in Jansen & Davis, P.A., is a prominent and nationally recognized criminal defense attorney in Tallahassee and a former assistant U.S. attorney both in Tallahassee and Tampa. He has represented numerous high-profile clients for years and is offering regular legal analysis and insights on the Donna Adelson trial to readers of the Tallahassee Democrat. He also provides analysis to ABC News Live and appears regularly on Court TV, Nancy Grace and Law and Crime.