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Family matriarch Donna Adelson was scolded by a judge Thursday for weeping in the courtroom after being convicted of orchestrating a 2014 murder-for-hire plot of her former son-in-law, a prominent Florida State University law professor.
Adelson was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in the killing of Daniel Markel over a decade ago. Markel was gunned down in his driveway in Tallahassee in what prosecutors had called a cold-blooded family plot to free her daughter, Wendi Adelson, from a bitter custody battle following a messy divorce.
Adelson shouted, “Oh my God!” before breaking down in tears and shaking when Florida Second Judicial Circuit Judge Stephen Everett announced the jury had convicted her of first-degree murder, according to courtroom video from the Tallahassee Democrat.
“Mrs. Adelson, control yourself,” Everett ordered the 75-year-old grandmother as she openly wept.
GRANDMOTHER ACCUSED OF MASTERMINDING FAMILY MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT IN DENTIST’S KILLING OF PROFESSOR
Donna Adelson had an emotional outburst in court when a jury found her guilty of the murder of Dan Markel on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The judge then ordered the jury out of the courtroom and gave Adelson a two-minute break to collect herself.
“While this was not the outcome I’m sure that you desire, there will not be any further outbursts in front of the jury,” he told her.
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A judge reprimanded Adelson for the outburst and briefly removed the jury from the courtroom so she could recompose herself on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Prosecutors had argued during the trial that Adelson and her son, Charlie Adelson, arranged the murder so Wendi could gain full custody of their children and start a new life in South Florida.
Donna Adelson was arrested at Miami International Airport in 2023, one week after her oral surgeon son was found guilty in the case. She had a one-way ticket to Vietnam, which has no extradition treaty with the U.S.
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Donna Adelson is escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs after being found guilty on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Charlie is already serving a life sentence for the crime, as is his ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua. Prosecutors said Magbanua served as the intermediary for the two men prosecutors said were hired to carry out the killing, Sigfredo Garcia, who was sentenced to life in prison, and Luis Rivera, who is serving a 19-year sentence after cooperating with the state.
HIRING A HITMAN: INSIDE A FLORIDA DENTIST’S ALLEGED PLOT TO HAVE HIS SISTER’S EX, A PROMINENT ATTORNEY, KILLED
Wendi Adelson has repeatedly denied involvement in the killing and has not been charged.
This undated family photo shows Dan “Danny” Markel and his two sons. (Photo courtesy of Ruth Markel)
At the time of his murder, Markel was a rising legal scholar.
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“We have lost a treasure,” his mother, Ruth Markel, said in a victim impact statement after the verdict was read. “My son Dan’s life was cut tragically short at 41 years old. For 11 years we have been forced to a life filled with unimaginable pain and heartbreak.”
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The judge said sentencing for Donna Adelson would come “at a later date,” but scheduled case management for Oct. 14.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Michael Ruiz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.