Dan Markel was a law professor who taught Criminal Law at Florida State. His life was cut short on June 18th, 2014 by Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera. But they weren’t the only ones responsible. Over time the evidence showed that Garcia and Rivera were paid to kill him. Markel’s death followed a heated custody battle over his children with his ex-wife Wendi Adelson. Since then more names have roped in to his murder: Kathrine Magbanua, Charlie Adelson, and most recently Donna Adelson. The head of the Adelson family has finally been sentenced on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
ABC has coverage on the sentencing:
Donna Adelson, the matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family who was convicted in the hired killing of her former son-in-law, was sentenced Monday to life in prison for her role in the 2014 murder-for-hire of Daniel Markel.
As it stands, she was sentenced to life without parole in addition to another 30 years on top. Before she was sentenced, Adelson seemed to be about as far from a “the jig is up” moment as you could imagine:
“What happened to Danny is unforgivable. But I am an innocent woman convicted of this terrible crime without evidence…”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,” she added.
Those sentiments may have flown (pun intended) when you were on your way to board a one way flight to a country with no extradition to the United States, but they ring hollow after a drawn out trial where the jury was confident in a beyond a reasonable doubt verdict after seeing the evidence you’ve discounted. That said, due process is worth preserving no matter how unsavory of a crime someone was accused of. Adelson argued that the jury’s minds were swayed by years of negative media coverage and plans to appeal the outcome.
Donna Adelson Sentenced To Life In Prison For Hired Killing Of Ex-Son-In-Law [ABC]
Earlier: Jury Reaches Verdict In Donna Adelson Trial
TikTok Fails To Win Donna Adelson A New Trial
Donna Adelson’s Lawyer Pushes To Exclude Divorce Evidence From Trial
Donna Adelson Pushes Judge For Another Delay
Donna Adelson’s Attempt To Disqualify Judge Fails
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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