TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (COURT TV) — Donna Adelson appeared in court today via Zoom for her first case management hearing since January.
Adelson, the matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family, is the latest person to be formally charged in the death of FSU law professor Dan Markel.
Donna Adelson reacts to statements made about her treatment at the Leon County Jail by LSCO Chief Norman Mack during a motion hearing on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat/Pool)
Leon County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Everett granted Adelson’s defense team’s request to push back an Aug. 12 deadline concerning demonstrative exhibits. They now have until Sept. 4 to ensure all demonstrative exhibits are traded between the two parties.
All other deadlines will remain in place: The witness list and the exhibit list itself must be presented by Aug. 12, which is also the deadline for all motions and discovery.
Aside from a series of motions hearings that are expected to come up, a final pretrial hearing is set for Sept. 12.
Jury selection is still on track to begin Sept. 17, and Judge Everett said he expects the timeline will be three to four days of jury selection followed by a trial.
Adelson’s lead defense attorney, Daniel Rashbaum, requested that the case be tried in a different courtroom within the courthouse, which Judge Everett is considering. Rashbaum also made the court aware that he would be filing several motions.
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When defense attorney Alex Morris expressed concern regarding the volume of expected witnesses, the judge urged him to adhere to the expected timeline.
Adelson is charged with first-degree murder for her alleged role in the plot to kill Markel, who was her ex-son-in-law.
L to R: Charlie Adelson, Dan Markel.
Markel’s death turned out to be a murder-for-hire for which four people are already serving sentences: Charlie Adelson, Katherine Magbanua, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera.
Charlie, a periodontist whose family ran a lucrative dental practice, hired hitmen Garcia and Rivera to kill Markel. Charlie’s ex-girlfriend, Magbanua, was the point person between him and the hitmen.
Last Friday marked the 10-year anniversary of Markel’s death.
At the time of his death, Markel was in a bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, over their two preschool-aged sons. Wendi is Charlie’s sister and Donna’s daughter. It is believed that Charlie arranged the murder at the behest of Donna, who wanted Wendi and her grandsons to relocate from Tallahassee to South Florida.
Donna was arrested last November, exactly one week after Charlie was convicted of first-degree murder. She was attempting to board a one-way flight to Vietnam when she was apprehended.
