TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Court TV) — Donna Adelson took the stand twice at a pretrial hearing Wednesday morning, breaking down crying and shaking on the stand as she detailed her life in jail.
Donna Adelson cries while recounting an assault in jail while testifying on Feb. 26, 2025. (Court TV)
Adelson is charged with masterminding the murder-for-hire of her former son-in-law, FSU professor Dan Markel, who was shot and killed in his driveway in 2014. Adelson’s son, Charlie, has already been convicted for his role in the plot, along with Charlie’s ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, and two other men.
Donna has been in custody since her arrest in Nov. 2023 and described moving through phases of protective custody and living in an “annex” with 65 other women. During her period in the annex, Donna said she was assaulted multiple times, the first time being in the shower. “All of a sudden I felt a hand go up my back from the top of my butt up my back.” Donna, who began to cry while recounting the tale, said when she screamed the inmate ran away.
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Another assault allegedly occurred while Donna was brushing her teeth and led to ongoing extortion. Donna said that another inmate told her, “Unless you want those pretty white teeth knocked out of your mouth, you’re going to buy me commissary.” Donna said she complied and refused to name the inmate, describing her only as a “big woman” out of fear. “One thing I’ve learned since I’m there,” Donna said, “you don’t snitch. You don’t tell on anyone.”
Police moved in to arrest Donna while she was on the jetway about to board a flight with a one-way ticket to Vietnam. When asked about that, Donna denied trying to leave the country in an attempt to escape criminal charges and insisted she was looking to get away for some “peace” following her son’s conviction.
Donna also detailed other medical issues she’s faced behind bars, including sciatica and earwax buildup, as she fights to be released on bond pending her trial, currently scheduled to begin in June. Her defense pointed to inadequate medical care for a cut that resulted in her stemming the bleeding using sanitary pads.
Donna Adelson appears in court for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 26, 2025. (Court TV)
At Wednesday’s hearing, Donna and her attorneys also asked a judge to suppress a recording following a phone call Donna had with Charlie in November 2023. At the end of that call, Charlie was disconnected unbeknownst to Donna. Donna continued talking and, even after realizing Charlie was no longer connected, had conversations with others in the room with her. The phone was never properly hung up and continued recording.
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Describing the call from the witness stand, Donna said, “All of a sudden I asked him something, and I said, ‘Charlie, do you hear me? Charlie?’ I said it a few times, but he didn’t respond anymore. The call was over.” Donna said the disconnections are nothing new; “it happens a lot, unfortunately.”
Donna acknowledged the warning before the jail call began that she would be recorded, but she maintained the call was over while the recording kept going: “It ended when Charlie hung up.”
However, prosecutors said Donna should have known the call was still being recorded and that her failure to hang up the phone properly didn’t impact the admissibility of the call. “The State did not intend to record the conversation in her home … the fact that she was recorded was not caused by the state’s actions, it was caused by the Defendant’s actions.”
In separate orders issued several days following the hearing, the judge denied both motions.
