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“Deadly Mischief”: Dateline Uncovers the Adelson Family’s Murder Plot Against Dan Markel October 24 2025

Ryan Gill

On Friday, October 24, 2025, Dateline NBC airs a gripping episode titled Deadly Mischief, reported by Dennis Murphy. The episode examines the decade-long investigation into the murder-for-hire of esteemed Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel. What began as a targeted assassination in a quiet Tallahassee neighborhood would eventually expose a web of lies, manipulation, and greed within a wealthy South Florida family.

This true-crime story unravels how a bitter custody battle led to one of the most high-profile murder conspiracies in recent legal history. After years of investigation, arrests, and multiple trials, five people have now been convicted in connection with Markel’s death — including Donna Adelson, the mother of Markel’s ex-wife and a woman once considered a respected Miami socialite.

A Sudden and Violent End: The Murder of Dan Markel

On the morning of July 18, 2014, Dan Markel was ambushed and shot twice in the head in his Tallahassee driveway. The Harvard-educated law professor succumbed to his injuries the next day. The brazen murder shocked the academic and legal communities, as Markel had been a vocal and well-regarded scholar of criminal law and sentencing.

Initially, investigators found little evidence linking the killing to any of Markel’s professional or personal dealings. However, suspicion soon shifted toward Markel’s contentious divorce and custody battle with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson. Though the motive was unclear at first, authorities began connecting the dots between Markel’s legal struggles and a family desperate to regain control over their daughter’s life.

The Custody Battle That Sparked a Deadly Plot

Wendi Adelson had been prohibited by court order from relocating her two young sons to South Florida following the couple’s divorce in 2013. Dan Markel was awarded joint custody and remained active in the lives of his children, which meant Wendi was required to remain in Tallahassee, far from her parents and brother in Miami.

Shortly before his murder, Markel filed a motion to limit Donna Adelson’s unsupervised contact with his children, citing inappropriate comments she had allegedly made about him to the boys. This move appeared to further inflame tensions. Prosecutors later argued this legal action served as the final spark that motivated the Adelson family to act on long-simmering resentment.

A Murder-for-Hire Unfolds: From Miami to Tallahassee

The investigation into Markel’s killing would take years to unravel. In 2016, police arrested Sigfredo Garcia, followed shortly by Luis Rivera — two men with known gang affiliations who were linked to a rental car seen near Markel’s home on the day of the murder. Rivera accepted a plea deal and revealed the plot was orchestrated through Katherine Magbanua, Garcia’s former partner and a woman then romantically involved with Charles Adelson, Wendi’s brother.

The emerging picture was chilling. Prosecutors alleged that Donna and Charles Adelson had funded and coordinated the hit, using Magbanua as the intermediary to hire Garcia and Rivera. The motive, according to authorities, was to eliminate Markel so Wendi could move back to Miami with her children.

Trials, Testimonies, and Life Sentences

Sigfredo Garcia was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison. After a mistrial, Katherine Magbanua was convicted in 2022 and received the same sentence. Rivera, who cooperated with prosecutors, is serving 19 years. Charles Adelson’s trial in late 2023 ended in a conviction on all counts — first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation — resulting in a life sentence plus 60 years.

Donna Adelson, the matriarch, had long denied any involvement. But wiretapped conversations, financial records, and coded exchanges during an undercover FBI sting placed her at the center of the plot. She was arrested in November 2023 at the Miami airport with a one-way ticket to Vietnam — a country with no extradition treaty. Her trial began in August 2025, and on September 4, she was found guilty on all counts. In October, she was sentenced to life in prison.

The Evidence That Convicted Donna Adelson

During her trial, prosecutors presented damning evidence. Financial records showed Donna Adelson had signed paychecks to Magbanua for over a year after the murder, despite no evidence Magbanua worked for the Adelson family dental practice. Text messages the night of the killing linked Donna to the payment drop-off that immediately preceded the killers receiving their fee.

Magbanua testified that Donna had “washed” the cash before handing it over. Surveillance audio, jail phone recordings, and testimony from family members painted a picture of a woman who, prosecutors argued, weaponized her wealth and influence to remove an inconvenient son-in-law.

A Fractured Family: Testimony from Within

Perhaps most damaging was the testimony from Donna’s own children. Wendi Adelson, granted immunity, took the stand. So did her estranged older son, Robert, who described his mother as controlling and unrelenting. Their testimonies helped underscore the prosecution’s argument that Donna was not simply a passive observer but the driving force behind the murder.

Despite claiming innocence at sentencing — stating she had never even received a parking ticket — Donna Adelson showed no remorse. Judge Stephen Everett rebuked her defiance and emphasized the premeditated, calculated nature of her actions in handing down the maximum penalty.

Legal Legacy: The Markel Act and the Push for Justice

In the wake of Dan Markel’s murder, his parents were cut off from their grandchildren. Wendi changed the boys’ last names to Adelson and moved them to Miami shortly after the killing. With Florida’s restrictive grandparent visitation laws offering no legal path forward, the Markel family pushed for reform.

In 2022, the Florida Legislature passed the Markel Act, allowing courts to consider grandparent visitation in cases involving deceased parents and suspected abuse. Governor Ron DeSantis signed it into law, a legislative legacy born from tragedy and injustice.

Conclusion: Justice, After a Decade

Deadly Mischief captures the full scope of a case that has haunted a decade. From a murder in a quiet driveway to the unraveling of a privileged family’s darkest secrets, the episode lays bare how personal resentment and unchecked control led to irrevocable loss.

While five individuals now sit in prison, the human cost remains enormous — for Markel’s family, for his children, and for the community he served. The episode serves as both a cautionary tale and a final reckoning for a case that once seemed beyond belief.

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