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True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

BREAKING: Charlie Adelson Appeal Set for February | Donna Adelson Files Her Own Appeal

True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

Tony Brueski

True Crime, News Commentary, News

4.2612 Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2026

⏱️ 18 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The next chapter in the Dan Markel murder saga is about to unfold — in an appellate courtroom with no cameras and no jury. Charlie Adelson's appeal is scheduled for oral argument on February 3rd, 2026. His attorneys will have twenty minutes to convince three judges that his 2023 conviction should be overturned. The arguments: pretrial publicity made a fair trial impossible, jurors discussed the case after being told not to, critical text messages were improperly excluded, and his own attorney had a disqualifying conflict of interest. That last one is especially interesting — because Charlie himself triggered his mother's trial delay by revoking his conflict waiver on the morning Donna Adelson's jury selection was supposed to begin. 

Now he's arguing that same conflict compromised his defense. Donna, meanwhile, was convicted in September 2025 and sentenced to life. She's filed her notice of appeal but hasn't submitted her full brief yet. Mother and son — both serving life without parole, both fighting through the same appellate court, neither willing to take the stand for the other. We break down what happens next, what Charlie's team is actually arguing, and why the odds of success in criminal appeals hover around five percent. The Markel case isn't over. It's just entering its quietest phase.


#CharlieAdelson #DonnaAdelson #DanMarkel #TrueCrimeToday #MurderForHire #AdelsonTrial #FloridaCrime #TrueCrimeNews #TonyBrueski #CourtUpdate

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

As you can hear from my voice, I'm in a state of high acceleration.

0:05.0

Yes, I am positively beside myself.

0:09.0

The reason that I can barely contain my enthusiasm is the Ikea Winter Sale,

0:15.0

for weeks of incredible bargains, the inexpressible thrill of finding precisely the right thing at the right price.

0:25.4

Sail now on.

0:27.4

IKEA, the wonderful every day.

0:30.1

This is Hidden Killers with Tony Bruske.

0:33.1

Here now, Tony Bruske.

0:36.5

On the morning of September 17th, 2020,

0:39.9

more than 100 prospective jurors were already

0:43.0

inside the Leon County courthouse.

0:45.1

Donna Adelson, the 74-year-old South Florida

0:48.8

matriarch accused of masterminding the murder

0:51.5

of her former son-in-law, Dan Markell,

0:53.3

was finally about to face trial.

0:56.7

Her defense attorney, Dan Rochbaum, had been preparing for months, along with Tom Fetty, Jackie Fulford.

1:04.5

The state was ready. The judge was ready. And then, before a single juror could be questioned the whole thing collapsed because

1:11.5

Charlie Adelson Don his son already convicted of serving life for the same murder pulled

1:20.1

the rug out from everyone. Did you know that? Were you aware that Charlie not testifying he did

1:25.6

not make a special appearance in this edition of the

1:27.8

program.

1:30.2

It made a big difference in Donna's trial.

...

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