TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (COURT TV) — Charlie Adelson, the wealthy Fort Lauderdale periodontist who’s serving a life sentence for plotting to murder Florida State University law professor Dan Markel, has been transferred to a prison in South Dakota.
Charlie Adelson’s current booking photo. (Florida Dept. of Corrections)
Markel, who was Adelson’s former brother-in-law, was gunned down by hitmen in the garage of his Tallahassee home back in 2014. He was 41. At the time of his death, Markel was in a bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, over the couple’s two preschool-aged sons. Wendi is Charlie’s sister.
Last November, Charlie was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in a trial that was covered by Court TV. He is appealing.
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Joel Waldman and Karm Waldman, co-hosts of the podcast “Surviving the Survivor,” were guests on Court TV’s “Opening Statements with Julie Grant” Friday, where they provided some inside scoop on all things Adelson. They explained that Charlie, who claimed at trial that the Latin Kings tried to extort him, was transferred to South Dakota for his own safety. According to Joel and Karm’s sources, the notorious gang put a hit out on Charlie.
Joel and Karm, who are currently promoting their new book, “Surviving the Survivor,” also had some intel about Wendi. They heard she’s headed to Austin. While Wendi does have family in the Texas, they say rumor has it she’s possibly planning to slip across the border into Mexico.
WATCH: Why Charlie Adelson Was Transferred To South Dakota: Insiders Tell All
The Florida Department of Corrections website lists Charlie, 47, as being incarcerated in South Dakota, but does not say what city or facility he’s located in. The reason why he was moved is not stated, but inmate transfers are typically initiated as a result of concerns about safety and security, so it stands to reason that Charlie may have been threatened.
FILE – Dan Markel (Florida State University)
According to the the Florida Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) system, Charlie was moved last Thursday. How he made the nearly 2,000-mile journey is unclear as well.
Charlie has relocated multiple times since he was sentenced in December. He went from the Leon County Detention Facility, where he was being housed during trial, to the Northwest Florida Reception Center Annex in Chipley.
In January, he was moved to the Wakulla Correctional Institution in Crawfordville. In February, he was transferred to the Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City. In March, Charlie was moved into “administrative confinement” and barred from having visitors. “Administrative confinement” is an internal term within the Florida Department of Corrections that refers to a temporary separation from general population for security and safety reasons.
Charlie’s ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, and the hitmen who carried out Markel’s slaying, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, were previously convicted of murder.
Donna Adelson reacts to a statement made in the courtroom during a hearing for a motion filed by her defense attorney Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat/Pool)
Charlie’s mother, Donna Adelson, was arrested in connection with the murder plot back in November, in the days following Charlie’s conviction. Donna, 73, was attempting to board a one-way flight to Vietnam when she was taken into custody. Her trial is set to begin in September.
Wendi, 44, has not been charged in relation to the death of her ex-husband. How much she knew about the murder plot, if anything at all, has yet to be revealed. Wendi and Markel’s sons are now in their teens. They were toddlers when they lost their dad, and it was revealed at Charlie’s trial that Donna was desperate for Wendi and the boys to move to South Florida to be near her. According to prosecutors, Donna and Charlie orchestrated the murder plot and arranged to pay Magbanua, Garcia and Rivera to kill off Markel so Wendi would be free to relocate.
