TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Court TV) — Wendi Adelson took the witness stand to testify against her own mother, Donna Adelson, who prosecutors say masterminded the murder-for-hire of Wendi’s ex-husband, Florida State University law professor Dan Markel.
Wendi Adelson testifies in the trial of her own mother, Donna Adelson on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Pool/Tallahassee Democrat)
During her testimony, Wendi repeatedly stated, “I was not involved in any plot to kill Danny.”
She admitted to using derogatory terms to describe Markel, including calling him an “STD,” a “dark lord,” and an “emotional terrorist” just three weeks before his 2014 murder. When asked about the nickname “Jibbers,” Wendi called it a “silly nickname,” but prosecutor Georgia Cappleman suggested it was a reference to “Jew in Boots.”
Donna is the fifth person charged in the murder case. Already convicted are her son, Charlie Adelson, his girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, and the two gunmen: Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera.
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The murder stemmed from a contentious custody battle after Wendi and Markel’s divorce. Wendi wanted to move their children to South Florida to be near her parents, but Markel insisted the family remain in Tallahassee, where he taught law at FSU.
“My mom was really upset” that the judge ruled they would have to stay in Tallahassee, Wendi said.
“My mom thought my life in Tallahassee wasn’t good.”
She described her mother as heavily involved in her life and divorce proceedings.
“My mom ‘micromanaged’ my life,” Wendi said.
Donna and Harvey Adelson would rent a car and drive to Tallahassee to then drive Wendi to their home in South Florida and back, according to testimony.
Wendi admitted to telling police that her “parents have more reasons to dislike Danny than anyone else.”
Wendi’s characterization of her mother’s controlling behavior was corroborated by testimony from Robert Adelson, Donna’s estranged oldest son.
Robert Adelson testifies in his mother’s murder trial on Aug. 25, 2025. (Court TV)
He testified that Donna had “certain fixed ideas throughout life for what she wanted for her kids. “If you went along, things were fine; if you didn’t, things were not fine,” Robert said.
According to Robert’s testimony, Charlie, the middle child, “always needed more attention than the other 2 kids.” When Wendi began having marital troubles, Donna’s attention shifted to her youngest child.
When asked about Donna’s plans for Wendi to leave her marriage, Robert testified that his mother said she was moving money around in preparation for Wendi’s departure. He said Donna spoke “somewhat gleefully” about timing a phone call from Wendi to Markel just before he was supposed to give a speech to deliver the divorce news.
“She sounded pleased to me,” Robert said.
After the court ruled against relocating the children, Donna wanted to fight the decision and suggested various plans of action, including having the boys baptized as Christians or dressing them in “Hitler Youth uniforms,” according to Wendi’s testimony.
In March 2014, Dan Markel filed a motion seeking to preclude Donna from having unsupervised contact with his children after one child told him “grandma says you’re stupid” because “you’re trying to take her sunshines away from her.” The motion was never heard because Markel was murdered before the court date.
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Wendi testified about an email from her mother that said: “The rest of your life, and consequently, dad’s, mine and yes, even Charlie’s, will be affected by how well you can perform/act before July 31st. You can be a good actress when you want to. I’ve seen you in action. You need to put on the performance of your life!” July 31 was the final divorce hearing date.
Donna Adelson watches her daughter Wendi Adelson walk into the courtroom to testify Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Pool/Tallahassee Democrat)
During testimony, Wendi addressed her brother Charlie’s joke about getting her a TV being cheaper than hiring a hitman. She received a TV as a divorce present, and on the morning of Markel’s murder, Geek Squad was at her house attempting to repair the damaged television. The TV could not be fixed. She denied that the TV was code for murder.
Wendi said that on July 18, 2014, she was driving near Markel’s house when she encountered police tape. The children had been with their father the night before, and he was scheduled to take them to preschool while she would pick them up later. She did not attempt to call Markel or the daycare after seeing the roadblock.
She testified that Markel had told her his schedule that morning, including his gym plans. He was killed after returning home from the gym. Wendi also conceded that Donna kept a schedule tracking when Markel left town.
Wendi denied ever communicating with Katherine Magbanua and said she didn’t consider Magbanua’s relationship with Charlie serious, describing her as one of many girlfriends who “all looked somewhat similar.”
She denied any recollection of a conversation with her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey LaCasse, about moving to South Florida if something happened to Markel, or that Charlie had looked into hiring a hitman.
After Markel’s death, Wendi changed her children’s last names from Markel to Adelson and changed her oldest child’s middle name before registering them for school. Dan Markel was buried in Toronto, and Wendi and the children were not present at his funeral.
Wendi testified that she last spoke to her mother in November 2023.
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