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Who is Donna Adelson & Where is She Now? 2025 Update & Background

Ryan Gill

Donna Adelson was, for many years, a fixture of South Florida’s professional and social circles. She lived with her husband, Harvey Adelson, in a luxury condominium in Miami and co-managed the family’s thriving dental practice, the Adelson Institute for Aesthetics & Implant Dentistry. Known publicly as a family-oriented mother and grandmother, she played an active role in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives. But behind the scenes, prosecutors would later allege, Adelson harbored deep resentment toward her former son-in-law, Dan Markel.

She was the mother of three children, including Wendi Adelson, a law professor at Florida State University and Markel’s ex-wife, and Charlie Adelson, a South Florida dentist. Her daughter’s contentious divorce and shared custody agreement with Markel became a source of ongoing tension. Donna Adelson believed the custody restrictions imposed on Wendi — particularly her inability to relocate with her children back to Miami — were unjust, and this belief would eventually spiral into a criminal conspiracy.

The Events Leading to the Crime

Following Wendi Adelson’s divorce from Dan Markel in 2013, a court order prevented her from moving their two sons out of Tallahassee. Donna Adelson had previously suggested, in emails, offering Markel $1 million to relinquish custody so Wendi and the children could return to South Florida — an idea that never materialized.

What did materialize, according to prosecutors, was a murder-for-hire plot. In July 2014, Markel was shot twice in the head while sitting in his car in his driveway. It took years for authorities to piece together the web of conspirators, but by 2016, two hired gunmen and an intermediary had been arrested. The full scope of the Adelson family’s involvement was not exposed until further investigation, wiretaps, and sting operations revealed Donna Adelson’s central role in the planning and funding of the murder.

The Evidence Against Her

Donna Adelson’s involvement was revealed gradually, with key evidence including financial records, wiretapped conversations, and testimony from co-conspirators. Paychecks written by Donna to Katherine Magbanua — who never actually worked at the family dental practice — were linked to payments made to the hitmen. Text messages from the night of the murder showed Donna informing her son Charles she was “outside your house,” coinciding with the timing of the money drop-off that was later split among the conspirators.

Undercover FBI operations in 2016 also captured Donna and Charles speaking in coded language about paying off someone who had “information” about the crime. After her son’s 2023 conviction, Donna and Harvey Adelson attempted to flee the country. They were arrested at Miami International Airport with one-way tickets to Vietnam, a country without an extradition treaty with the U.S. Phone calls between Donna and Charles in jail revealed that she had researched such countries prior to their planned departure.

Arrest, Trial, and Conviction

Donna Adelson was arrested in November 2023 and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder. Her trial was delayed several times due to changes in legal representation, but proceedings began in August 2025. Prosecutors argued that she was the orchestrator of the plot and that her desire to bring her daughter and grandchildren back to Miami drove her to participate in a plan to kill her former son-in-law.

The trial featured testimony from nearly all other convicted co-conspirators, including her son Charles Adelson and Magbanua. Her own daughter, Wendi, testified for the state under immunity. In September 2025, a jury found Donna Adelson guilty on all counts. The following month, she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, along with two consecutive 30-year terms for the conspiracy and solicitation charges.

Where She Is Now

As of late October 2025, Donna Adelson is serving her life sentence in a Florida state prison. At 75 years old, she faces the reality of spending the rest of her life incarcerated. Her attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial, but legal experts suggest the chances of a reversal are slim given the strength of the evidence and the breadth of witness testimony.

The fallout from her conviction has been profound. Her family has been fractured, with two children — Wendi and Robert — publicly testifying during the case. The Adelson name, once associated with professional success in Miami, has become synonymous with one of the most complex and shocking murder-for-hire cases in recent memory.

While Dan Markel’s family continues to fight for access to his children under Florida’s newly passed “Markel Act,” Donna Adelson’s story stands as a cautionary tale of how power, control, and resentment can converge in devastating ways — ending not only one man’s life but dismantling an entire family.

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