A 75-year-old grandmother has been handed a life sentence after orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting her daughter’s former husband.
Donna Adelson was apprehended in November 2023 at Miami International Airport while trying to board a flight to Vietnam with her husband, Harvey.
Last month, Adelson was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy. This was connected to the shooting of Daniel Markel, 41, in his Tallahassee garage in July 2014, carried out by hitmen she had hired.
This incident followed a contentious divorce and custody battle between Markel and Adelson’s daughter, Wendi.
On Monday, October 13, Adelson received a life sentence without parole for the murder charge, along with an additional 30 years for conspiracy and solicitation.
The sentences are to run consecutively, and Adelson has expressed her intention to appeal. In the Tallahassee courtroom, she maintained her innocence before the sentencing.
“What happened to Danny is unforgivable. But I am an innocent woman convicted of this terrible crime without evidence,” Adelson stated.
“I’ve always respected the law. I’ve never gotten a parking ticket, But I’m going to prison for a murder I did not commit.”
Circuit Judge Stephen Everett, during the sentencing, had to interrupt Adelson several times, stating: “You certainly can choose to deny your involvement and maintain innocence. The court finds the evidence in this case is clear.”
Alongside Adelson, her son Charles Adelson and his former girlfriend Katherine Magbanua had previously received life sentences.
Hitman Luis Rivera, who was already serving a 12-year federal prison term, received an additional seven years to be served concurrently as part of a plea agreement.
The other hitman, Sigfredo Garcia, Magbanua’s ex-husband, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Before Adelson’s conviction last month, prosecutors contended that she orchestrated Markel’s murder when Wendi intended to move 300 miles to be with her family following the divorce.
Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman informed jurors that there was no direct evidence implicating Adelson, “because she was too smart for that.”
“Don’t let the way she thought she’d get away with this be the way she gets away with this,” Cappleman urged the jury.
Adelson’s husband, Harvey, and her daughter, Wendi, have denied any involvement in the murder and have not faced any charges.