A Leon County jury on Thursday found Donna Adelson, 75, guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation in the 2014 killing of her former son-in-law, Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. The verdict was returned in Tallahassee after roughly three hours of deliberations.

Adelson faces a mandatory life sentence. Judge Stephen Everett set the case to return to court on October 14; sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

Prosecutors argued Adelson helped arrange a murder-for-hire to end a protracted custody dispute between Markel and Adelson’s daughter, Wendi, who sought to relocate with the couple’s two children to South Florida over Markel’s opposition. The defense said there was no direct proof she ordered the killing.

Evidence presented at trial included recorded calls and testimony about Adelson’s November 2023 arrest at Miami International Airport as she boarded a one-way flight to Vietnam, days after her son, Charlie Adelson, was convicted in the case. Jurors also heard wiretapped conversations involving members of the Adelson family.

Adelson is the fifth person convicted in connection with Markel’s shooting. Earlier cases led to life sentences for Charlie Adelson and for shooter Sigfredo Garcia; go-between Katherine Magbanua also received a life sentence. Luis Rivera pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and received a shorter sentence after cooperating.

Markel, 41, was shot in the garage of his Tallahassee home in July 2014. The case drew sustained attention as investigators traced links from the Miami-area hitmen to members of the Adelson family.

Under Florida law, first-degree murder includes any unlawful killing “from a premeditated design to effect the death” of the victim; it is a capital felony. A defendant may be convicted as a “principal” even if they did not pull the trigger, so long as they aided, abetted, counseled, hired, or otherwise procured the killing. In this case, prosecutors said Adelson helped orchestrate a murder-for-hire plot; the jury returned guilty verdicts for first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation. Sentencing will follow, with a case-management hearing set for October 14. Conspiracy to commit murder

Florida defines criminal conspiracy as an agreement between two or more people to commit an offense, paired with the intent that the offense be committed. The statute does not require the State to prove an “overt act” in furtherance of the agreement. Because the object here was a capital felony (first-degree murder), conspiracy is punished as a first-degree felony. At trial, the State pointed to family communications, wiretapped/jail calls, and the broader murder-for-hire theory to show an agreement and intent involving Adelson and others; the jury agreed. Criminal solicitation (solicitation to commit murder)

Solicitation occurs when a person, “in the course of such solicitation, commands, encourages, hires, or requests” another to engage in conduct that would constitute the offense or an attempt. The crime is complete when the ask is made; success or acceptance is not required. When the solicited offense is a capital felony, solicitation is a first-degree felony. The State’s murder-for-hire theory (i.e., recruiting or directing others to kill Markel) fits the definition the jury was instructed on and supports the separate solicitation count.

Florida treats murder, conspiracy, and solicitation as distinct offenses that can be charged and punished separately if each set of elements is proved. Conspiracy and solicitation tied to a capital offense are first-degree felonies; first-degree murder is a capital felony with a sentence of life or death (if the State seeks death and a jury recommends it). In related proceedings, Charlie Adelson received life for murder plus consecutive 30-year terms on conspiracy and solicitation, illustrating how the inchoate counts are sentenced in practice. What evidence jurors heard in Adelson’s trial

Coverage of the weeks-long trial described recorded calls and the State’s presentation of a murder-for-hire plan linked through family members and intermediaries. Jurors also heard about Adelson’s November 2023 arrest at Miami International Airport while boarding a one-way flight to Vietnam—evidence prosecutors argued showed consciousness of guilt. The jury convicted on all counts after roughly three hours of deliberations.