Prosecutors say Adelson conspired to have her son-in-law, law professor Dan Markel, shot to death in a murder-for-hire plot. Markel was assassinated in the driveway of his home in Tallahassee in 2014.
Authorities released bodycam footage of the moment Donna Adelson, a grandmother accused of hiring a hitman to kill her son-in-law and flee to Vietnam, was arrested in November 2023.
The 73-year-old appeared stunned as she was arrested for murder at a departure gate at the Miami International Airport.
Prosecutors say Adelson conspired to have her son-in-law, law professor Dan Markel, shot to death in a murder-for-hire plot. Markel was involved in a bitter custody battle with Adelson’s daughter, Wendi, over their two children. Markel was assassinated in the driveway of his home in Tallahassee in 2014.
The former New York City elementary school teacher berated police officers as she was getting handcuffed. “This is terrible. You can’t do this. This is insane,” Adelson told police.
Adelson’s arrest came minutes before she and her husband, Harvey, were about to board a plane with one-way tickets, first to the United Arab Emirates, then to Vietnam, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.
Last year, Adelson’s son, Charles, a 47-year-old dentist, was convicted of arranging the murder-for-hire, allegedly at his mother’s behest. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release or parole.
At the time of her arrest, Adelson kissed her husband goodbye and had him remove a necklace and other jewelry before she was taken away.
She was escorted through the Miami airport in handcuffs past other travelers and taken to the county jail.
Adelson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges, conspiracy and solicitation.
