Donna Adelson Matriach Murder Trial, Day 9 Recap – Closing Arguments Madness

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4th September 2025!

Background of the case: Donna Adelson, 75, is on trial in Tallahassee for her alleged role in orchestrating the 2014 murder-for-hire of her former son-in-law, Dan Markel, a respected law professor at Florida State University. Markel was fatally shot in the head in his Tallahassee garage amid a bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson. The prosecution and the defense presented their theory of the case in the trial and a few witnesses took the stand and we shall be going through key parts of their testimony.

Case Info

Courthouse: Leon County, Tallahassee Florida.

Charges:

  • 1st Degree Murder – Guilty
  • Conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder – Guilty
  • Solicitation to commit 1st degree murder – Guilty
  • Verdict Rendered: 4 September 2025

Judge: Stephen Everett
Prosecutor: ADA Sarah Kathryn Dugan, ADA Georgia Cappleman
Defence Attorneys: Jackie Fulford, Josh Zelman
Victim: Daniel Markel (Deceased)

Closing Arguments

Prosecution – Conducted by Georgia Cappleman

  1. Starts by evoking emotion by highlighting that the defence has tried to say the divorce was not contentious.
  2. The state zero in on Donna Adelson being the reason for the murder of Dan Markel was because she lost the divorce and highlights Donna’s involvement in the divorce, from the mediation highlighting that it wasn’t just a heat of passion as the defence suggests, saying that Wendi had even admitted that she tried to get the kids to have a baptism and change their faith.
  3. The state highlights in the most sarcastic way that the sweet innocent grandmother who never hated Dan was speaking about Dan by highlight vulgar emails.
  4. She highlights that Dan noted to the court that Wendi’s affluent family is going to keep the litigation going and most of her filings were baseless.
  5. She also highlighted the control that Donna had in the proceedings by showing the plan of action email to Wendi and the emails encouraging her not to give up and the divorcing needing to be a must win for her.
  6. She went through the timeline showing the connection of Donna instructing Wendi to not buy the house on the 31st October 2013, the same time Katherine and Charlie met where he was asking if she knew someone who can harm someone.
  7. She went through more emails and messages by Donna where she had said that the divorce was drama and that Wendi should tread lightly not to cause anymore drama. Highlighting emails to Wendi on 14th Feb 2014 where Donna had said that Wendi should find ways to aggravate Dan Markel.
  8. She also highlights the dinner that Katherine, Jeff Lacasse and Charlie had where Jeff had known Katherine and Katherine mentioning that her boyfriends had a criminal history.
  9. She went through the timeline pertaining the timeline leading up to the murder of Dan Markel highlighting the message Wendi had sent to Dan asking if he will be in town for the days 14-18th July 2014 and how it coincides with the murder. She reminded the jury also of Wendi telling Jeff that Charlie had actually said that he was going to hire a hitman to take care of Dan.
  10. She went through the interactions post murder highlighting the money exchange, the message to Charlie by Donna being outside the house, the call to Rob Adelson saying that he should not speaking to the FBI and he doesn’t know anything anyway after he said he had already spoken to them.
    1. She also highlighted that she had washed the money for Charlie bringing in text messages of it and informing the Jury that Harvey and Charlie had signing authority over the checks but she is the one that signed it.
  11. She highlighted that her reactions to the bump was nothing ordinary people do and played wiretaps where she says does it involve me or other people and Donna replies to Charlie saying its both of us.
  12. She also highlighted that Donna highlighted that it was an ex girlfriend to Charlie and Charlie calls Katherine Magbanua and only Katherine and focused on Charlie’s defence in court for his trial where he had said Katherine was extorting him
  13. She highlighted that Donna had recorded the call with the blackmailer but never recorded being extorted by Katherine. They went onto show Charlie movements in trying to handle the blackmailer.
  14. She highlights that everyone were trying to reassure the coconsipirator that they are handling it and also highlighted that Donna and Charlie were theorising how the Dan had died despite knowing they supposedly extorted and says that they only made this defence in Charlie’s trial.
  15. She highlighted the text from Donna to Wendi saying you know im next, I will take care of that and urged the jury to keep that in mind as it shows her state of mind when planning to travel, highlighted that she had cancelled her insurance plan and also planned to stop over in another non extradition country.

Defense Closing Argument – Conducted by Jackie Fulford

  1. The defence highlights that they were the ones that showed how nice of a man Dan Markel and says that the details of the divorce are important.
  2. She highlights that Katherine Magbanua is not honest and has already lied to the court and highlighted the lie where she said that.
  3. She highlights all the insults Donna made about Dan Markel and said that insults are not motive for murder.
  4. She highlighted the e-vite saying both Wendi Adelson and Christopher Corbitt had said that Donna had no idea how to work it and it would be absurd to think deleting the E-vite is proof the murder that occurred.
  5. She highlighted Rob Adelson being estranged from the family saying that he had an axe to grind and he is not credible and he shouldn’t be believed.
  6. She highlights how in the mediation Donna had communicated to Wendi saying she should negotiate with Dan, take the kids and says “why would this matter if they were already planning to kill him?”.
  7. She highlights the grandma motion and went through the details saying that this does not mean that mean grandma committed the murder just because it was filed.
  8. She highlights that wanting Dan Markel to be murdered yet Donna making plans to pick up the kids earlier doesn’t seem like an alibi as the prosecution are trying to make it out to be.
  9. She highlights the police interview at 7:11PM on 18th July 2014 with Wendi Adelson where Wendi was on the phone to Donna where she learnt about Dan’s death.
  10. She highlighted the inconsistency and unreliability of jailbird Patricia Byrd saying that no one offered anything and that she as never on Donna’s witness list despite saying she was going to testify for her.
  11. She highlighted the unreliability of Drina Bernhardt highlighting that she had her notebook ready on the table she was sitting at saying that both these witnesses had incentives to fabricate for lighter sentences.
  12. She highlighted that Donna was not speaking in code, rather she was quite open in the calls regarding cash.

State rebuttal closing argument conducted by Georgia Cappleman

  1. She says that this trial is not about insults for murder, its about powder for sugar, Donna was careful but what the exhibits show are mistakes she made.
  2. She says that Donna mentioned the cash conversation and highlighted that she said pay for the dinner, highlighted that she wrote a perjurious note on how someone should testify for her and also highlighted that she said in the calls to Charlie that it involves both of us. She says that the jury should do justice and find her guilty.

Case handed over to the jury for deliberations!

Court Adjourned for the day!

Download the timeline of events PDF here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qy-QyT-brlzrrEaDS_FuwRvj0YNkswr2/view?usp=drive_link

Hope you are now caught up with the substance of what happened in court on Day 9.
Thanks for reading xo
Sources:

Trial clips of the full trial is from The Trial Channel, Youtube Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLq-6my_qlf8oMS9eGIfgoqSlfn4Vk6Vn&si=2m4b-tTAa2IwJVU4

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