TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (COURT TV) — The case against Donna Adelson has been continued. Jury selection was supposed to begin this afternoon, but defense attorney Dan Rashbaum abruptly resigned.
L to R: Donna Adelson, Charlie Adelson. (Leon County Sheriff’s Office)
Adelson, who is the fifth person to be charged in the murder of FSU law professor Dan Markel, was scheduled to go on trial this week. However, the delay has to do with the fact that Rashbaum also represented Donna’s son, Charlie Adelson, at his murder trial. Charlie says he never signed a waiver saying he was aware of the conflict of interest, which would make it impossible for Rashbaum to properly cross-examine him as a State witness. Alex Morris will stay on retainer as Donna’s attorney, but he needs more time to prepare as well as bring on co-counsel.
Prosecutors say Donna was behind the plot to kill Markel, her ex-son-in-law, who was gunned down while pulling into his garage.
Adelson, the matriarch of a prominent South Florida family that ran a successful dental practice, was allegedly so desperate to have her divorced daughter, Wendi Adelson, and young grandsons closer to her South Beach, Miami home that prosecutors say she arranged to have Markel killed. A judge had granted Wendi and Markel shared custody of the boys, virtually tethering Wendi to Tallahassee — 500 miles north of Donna.
When Wendi unsuccessfully petitioned to relocate with the children, Donna allegedly involved her periodontist son Charlie Adelson, who brought his ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, into the mix. Magbanua, in turn, arranged for hitmen Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera to gun Markel down. Markel was shot twice in the head while pulling into his Tallahassee garage on July 18, 2014. He succumbed to his injuries the next day.
READ MORE: Guilt. Graves. Ghosts: Adelson saga a modern-day Shakespearean tragedy
The first person brought to justice for Markel’s murder was Luis Rivera, who agreed to a plea deal in 2016. Rivera testified that he and Garcia, his lifelong friend, drove from Miami to Tallahassee to carry out the murder-for-hire. He told the jury that Garcia was the triggerman. Rivera, who was once a Latin Kings gang leader, accepted a 19-year prison sentence in exchange for his testimony.
Up next were Garcia and Magbanua, who were tried jointly in 2019. Garcia was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, while jurors were deadlocked on charges against Magbanua. At her 2022 retrial, Magbanua was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation to commit murder. She is currently serving a life sentence.
Charlie was brought to justice in 2023, a Leon County jury having rejected his claims that he’d been extorted by Garcia and Rivera. Charlie, now 47, was sentenced to life without parole.
READ MORE: FL v. Adelson: Dentist Mastermind Murder Trial
FILE – Dan Markel (Florida State University)
Donna was apprehended at Miami International Airport on Nov. 13, 2024, exactly one week after Charlie’s conviction, while attempting to board a flight to Vietnam on a one-way ticket alongside her husband, Harvey Adelson. Like Wendi, Harvey has not been charged in connection with Markel’s death. It is not yet clear if either of them were involved.
Soon after her arrest, Donna was transported to the Leon County Jail, where she’s been ever since. She is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder.
No new trial date has been announced, but a case management hearing is set for Oct. 15.
