TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Court TV) — Some explosive new details were revealed when filings were made public following a brief hearing where Donna Adelson appeared in court to ask a judge to allow her team to redepose some witnesses.
Donna Adelson appeared via Zoom at a court hearing on Feb. 12, 2024. (Court TV)
Adelson, 74, has pleaded not guilty to charges that she orchestrated the murder-for-hire of her former son-in-law, FSU professor Dan Markel. When he was murdered in 2014, Markel was in a custody battle with Adelson’s daughter, Wendi, over the couple’s two young sons.
Donna appeared remotely at the hearing via Zoom as her attorneys asked Judge Stephen Everett to grant them permission to redepose several witnesses in the case, including Donna’s estranged son, Robert Adelson. Prosecutors have opposed the request, saying that the witnesses in question have been questioned several times about their expected testimony.
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In the defense motion to take the depositions, which was redacted and unsealed following the hearing, Donna’s attorneys revealed that prosecutors disclosed “new” discovery on April 7, 2025. This discovery included previously undisclosed investigative work and wiretaps of conversations between a jailhouse informant and Donna’s husband, Harvey Adelson.
But Donna’s attorneys say that affidavits presented to the judge lied about the content of conversations between Donna and her husband and allege that among the false allegations were accusations “the Defendant and her spouse were engaged in conversations by use of the undersigned’s cell phone/watch to plan harm to Robert Adelson, Katherine Magbanua, and the mother of (a) jailhouse snitch.”
Donna’s defense used those affidavits presented to Judge Everett as evidence of “ex parte communications” between the judge and prosecution in her previous request to have the judge recuse himself. The First District Court of Appeals denied Donna’s appeal of Judge Everett’s refusal to step down, noting that it’s “routine for trial judges to review warrant applications and then preside over the resulting criminal trials.”
Donna’s attorneys want to know how the accusations could impact Robert’s potential testimony against his mother. They also want to depose Sgt. Chris Corbitt, who testified in Magbanua and Charlie’s trials about the wiretaps and phone records, about the timeline of the investigation.
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The defense maintains it needs to redepose the witnesses because the other interviews were done by Donna’s previous attorneys, who had also represented her son, Charlie Adelson. Charlie was convicted of hiring hitmen to kill Markel, and his attorneys were removed on the eve of jury selection for his mother after Judge Everett determined there was a conflict of interest.
“The Court is not even aware of the depth of that prior conflict,” Donna’s attorneys told the judge on Friday. “We don’t intend to go in and ask the same questions that have been asked before … that’s not our purpose. But we have a right to inquire as to what we want to know to represent her at trial.”
“If it’s something new, great. Let’s depose them on that,” Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman responded. “That’s not a waste of everyone’s time.”
Judge Everett agreed that if the defense has new questions not previously asked or new information, the witnesses can be deposed on that; otherwise, he will take the issue under consideration.
Donna’s former attorneys’ conflict of interest is also central to her son’s appeal. In a new filing, Charlie’s attorneys said the issue “infected” his trial. The appeal asks a judge to reverse Charlie’s conviction based on five issues, including juror bias and rulings that excluded defense evidence.
Donna’s murder trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 19.
