TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Court TV) — A jailhouse informant is claiming Donna Adelson offered to pay for witness testimony in her upcoming murder trial. Those allegations only became public knowledge recently, but they’ve already been investigated by the FBI, local police in Tallahassee and the prosecution. No charges were filed.
Donna Adelson appears in court for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 26, 2025. (Court TV)
According to documents obtained by Court TV, Adelson’s defense filed a motion on May 27 once again asking Judge Stephen Everett to recuse himself from the case, this time on the grounds that he improperly communicated with prosecutors.
In April, the appellate court denied Adelson’s two previous attempts to disqualify Judge Everett. They had alleged improper ex parte communications when he reviewed warrant applications for a wiretap of Harvey Adelson’s cell phone and phone records.
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Donna faces first-degree murder and other charges related to the shooting death of her ex-son-in-law, Dan Markel.
The prosecutors’ warrant affidavit states that a “jailhouse informant alleged Mrs. Adelson was offering to pay for witness testimony.”
Meanwhile, the defense is arguing that the jailhouse snitch has a “lengthy criminal record” including “numerous felony convictions and crimes involving dishonesty.”
The prosecution’s affidavit also cites “overlapping communication records” between Harvey, cell phones belonging to two members of Donna’s defense team, and meetings held between Donna and her attorneys at the Leon County Detention Facility. In other words, Donna allegedly called Harvey using her lawyers’ cell phones to avoid being recorded so they could make arrangements to tamper with witnesses.
Donna’s attorneys vehemently deny any suggestion that they utilized privileged visits to “coordinate illegal acts.” They wrote that “the mere suggestion proposed by the application concerning Mrs. Adelson and her communications are not only reckless, but deeply offensive and undermines the integrity of the proceedings entirely.”
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The defense used these latest allegations against Donna to fuel their argument that ongoing issues with Judge Everett could not only impact Donna’s right to a fair trial, but they also set a dangerous precedent by raising ethical concerns.
Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman denies the defense’s allegations. In May, Judge Everett ruled that the defense team could depose Donna and Harvey’s estranged son, Robert Adelson, FBI Agent Pat Sanford and Tallahassee Police Department Sgt. Chris Corbitt. All three witnesses have previously sat for depositions, and the judge made it clear that they are only to be questioned about this latest investigation.
Markel, an FSU law professor, was gunned down in his garage in what was eventually revealed to have been a murder-for-hire plot. Donna reportedly wanted Markel dead because he was in the middle of a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, Donna’s daughter Wendi Adelson. Donna’s son, Charlie Adelson, was convicted of hiring two hitmen to carry out the killing.
Charlie is currently serving life without parole, as is one of the hitmen. The other hitman took a plea deal. An ex-girlfriend of Charlie’s who served as the liaison between the Adelsons and the hitmen is also serving life without parole. Donna was arrested one week after Charlie’s Nov. 2023 conviction.
Jury selection in Donna’s murder trial is set to begin on Aug. 19.
