Wendi Adelson is the ex-wife of prominent Florida lawyer and professor Dan Markel, who was shot in his Tallahassee home on July 18, 2014. Markel died less than 24 hours later. The former couple were in the midst of a contentious custody battle over their children at the time. According to Times Now, Wendi demanded relocation to South Florida with their two sons after their divorce. However, a judge had denied her petition to relocate.
The subsequent investigation that involved the FBI, as well as the Tallahassee police, revealed a sinister murder-for-hire plot. This involved two hired hitmen—Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera—Wendi Adelson’s brother, Charlie Adelson, and his then-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua.
USA Today reported that according to prosecutors, Dan Markel’s murder “stemmed from the desperate desire of the Adelson family” to take him out of the way so that Wendi could relocate with their two sons. Last November, the case against Charlie Adelson resulted in a conviction. That same month, authorities arrested the Adelson family matriarch, Donna Adelson, for her involvement in the killing.
Wendi Adelson has not faced charges in her ex-husband’s murder and maintains her innocence. She has since relocated to Miami, Florida, with her two sons, Benjamin and Lincoln, as per The Cinemaholic.
Did Wendi Adelson face charges in ex-husband Dan Markel’s murder case?
While Wendi Adelson did not face charges in ex-husband Dan Markel’s murder-for-hire, two of her family members were implicated in the crime. An investigation into the murder case revealed that Wendi’s dentist brother, Charlie Adelson, hired two hitmen to have Markel murdered. A jury convicted Charlie of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder on November 6, 2023. The following month, he received a life sentence without parole.
Last November, authorities also arrested Wendi Adelson’s mother, Donna Adelson, for her role in the crime. ABC 15 News reported that Donna now faces charges including first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation to commit first-degree murder. She had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The U.S. Sun reported that authorities allege Donna solicited her son Charlie and the hitmen into murdering Dan Markel. The outlet stated that the mother-son duo, the two hitmen—Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia—and Charlie’s ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, were also involved in the plot.
The New York Sun mentioned that jailhouse tapes led to Donna Adelson’s arrest. She reportedly discussed suicide and plans to flee with Charlie Adelson in the days following his conviction. Moreover, ABC 15 News stated that Donna’s arrest affidavit said that Wendi Adelson spoke to Tallahassee police about Dan Markel’s murder. She made statements suggesting that someone could have arranged Markel’s murder “on her behalf, without her knowledge.”
According to sources such as ABC 7 Chicago and Tallahassee Democrat, authorities arrested Donna Adelson at Miami International Airport on November 13. The 73-year-old and her husband, Harvey, were attempting to board a one-way flight to Vietnam. Tallahassee Democrat’s December 6 report states that Donna’s last known whereabouts were at the Leon County Detention Facility.
Reportedly, one of the hired hitmen, Luis Rivera, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016. Rivera received a 19-year prison sentence. He also testified against his accomplices, Sigfredo Garcia, Charlie Adelson, and Katherine Magbanua. Donna Adelson is the fifth person to face murder charges in Dan Markel’s 2014 murder-for-hire. Rivera and Gracia shot Markel in his upscale Tallahassee home.
New York Sun also reported that prosecutors have indicated the involvement of Wendi Adelson and her father, Harvey, in the crime. However, they are yet to charge them.
Several true crime shows, such as Dateline NBC and ABC 20/20, have previously chronicled Dan Markel’s murder case.
