Donna Adelson appeared in a Leon County, Florida, courtroom Monday for a murder arraignment in the 2014 shooting death of her former son-in-law, FSU law professor Dan Markel, and it was clear that she was not pleased how things were going for her.
Adelson, now 73, repeatedly shook her head and smirked as a jail official explained that she was in solitary confinement because she allegedly made comments that she “wanted to die” and also made suicidal statements on jailhouse calls.
At one point, Judge Stephen Everett had enough of Adelson’s commentary. Adelson could be heard saying “Oh my God” as the judge discussed the defendant’s allegedly expressed plan to kill herself by taking sleeping pills.
Donna Adelson speaks out in court: When the prosecutor talked about #DonnaAdelson speaking of a plan to kill herself, Donna said “oh my God’, aloud in court. The judge admonished her to not speak out. pic.twitter.com/flxeblQ4kM
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) December 11, 2023
“Ms. Adelson, please keep your comments to yourself,” Everett said. “Let your lawyer [Marissel Descalzo] argue on your behalf.”
Donna Adelson was arrested in November at Miami International Airport one week after her 47-year-old dentist son Charlie Adelson — who is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday morning — was convicted of murdering Dan Markel. The Adelson family matriarch, prosecutors said, had allegedly purchased a one-way flight with her husband to Vietnam that would have had a layover in Dubai (Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates do not have bilateral extradition treaties with the United States).
She now faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
Prosecutors have said that Donna Adelson “hated” Dan Markel and that her emails with her daughter Wendi Adelson, Markel’s ex-wife, showed the grandmother was “desperate to find a way” to overcome the murdered law professor’s “adamant” opposition to relocating his sons from Tallahassee to South Florida.
Donna Adelson smirks in court on Dec. 11, 2023 (Law&Crime Network)
One email that Donna Adelson sent her daughter on July 2013 said, for example: “It’s time to take control of your life and not let Jibbers think he’s just ‘won’ anything by having you remain in Tallahassee, eight hours away from the only family you have, and lose out on what will be a job that will afford you and your children advantages that they will never otherwise be able to enjoy.”
“Let’s show this [expletive] what will make him absolutely miserable,” the email continued. “You know his weak points; money, religion, control.”
A probable cause affidavit also detailed the contents of jail calls Donna Adelson allegedly made after Charlie Adelson’s conviction, including her “plans for a suicide.”
Dan Markel (Law&Crime Network file photo), Donna Adelson (Leon County Sheriff’s Office)
“Jail calls from after Charles Adelson’s guilty verdict include multiple calls in which Donna Sue Adelson is telling Charles Adelson that she is getting things in order, creating trusts, and making she her grandchildren are taken care of,” the affidavit said. “Donna discusses plans for a suicide, but also discusses plans to flee to a non-extradition country.”
“Donna Sue Adelson has considerable financial resources to accomplish this,” the affidavit added.
Judge Everett denied Donna Adelson’s requested move from solitary to house arrest and set another court date for Jan. 9, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
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