On Tuesday, a judge decided that a South Florida dentist named Charlie Adelson will spend the rest of his life in prison. This is because he was found guilty last month of killing his former brother-in-law, Dan Markel, who was a well-known professor at Florida State University.
The crime happened in 2014 during a custody dispute. Adelson, 47, was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation. The prosecutors argued that Adelson paid someone to kill Markel, and the jury took only three hours to declare him guilty.
A stoic Adelson told the judge, “I would just like to say that I maintain my innocence,” and was also given a 30-year consecutive term on the lesser crimes.
During the eight-day trial, prosecutors presented evidence of wiretaps and secretly recorded conversations that implicated Adelson. Markel’s father, Phil Markel, expressed the immense suffering his family endured, losing not only his son but also the relationship with his grandsons.
Adelson’s sister, Wendi Adelson, who shares custody of the boys, had wanted to move closer to her family in South Florida after divorcing Markel. However, a judge ruled against the relocation without Markel’s consent, which he refused.
Prosecutors argued that Adelson orchestrated the murder of Markel by using his girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, to hire the hitman, Sigfredo Garcia. Garcia, in turn, enlisted the help of his friend Luis Rivera.
Magbanua and Garcia received life sentences for first-degree murder, while Rivera got a 19-year sentence for pleading guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying.
Adelson, denying the allegations, testified that he was a victim of extortion, not the mastermind. In a surprising turn, Donna Adelson, the 73-year-old matriarch, was arrested at Miami International Airport for allegedly orchestrating the hit-man murder of her ex-son-in-law.
This occurred one week after her son’s conviction in Tallahassee. Donna Adelson was apprehended as she tried to board a flight to Dubai and Vietnam, both countries lacking an extradition treaty with the United States.
She is currently held without bond in the Leon County Jail, facing the same charges as her son. As of Tuesday, jail records do not list an attorney for her.
Source: wfla
