Donna Adelson, the Florida woman accused of orchestrating the murder-for-hire plot against her former son-in-law, Dan Markel, claims she and her husband, Harvey Adelson, intended to travel to Vietnam to “catch their breath” before turning themselves in, not to escape justice.

Adelson, 75, made the stunning revelation during a court appearance in Leon County, where she sought her release from jail. Dressed in a purple jumpsuit and shackled, she testified that her husband suggested the trip to Vietnam—where they had previously vacationed—after their son, Dr. Charlie Adelson, was convicted for hiring hitmen to kill Markel in 2014.

“I wasn’t afraid of being arrested,” Adelson stated in court, according to CourtTV. “My husband and I—literally shocked and traumatized at what had happened to Charlie—he said, ‘We need to just get some peace, we need to catch our breath, we’re gonna go away somewhere.’”

In November 2023, authorities arrested the couple at Miami International Airport as they prepared to board a flight to Vietnam via Dubai. Both Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates lack extradition agreements with the United States. Law enforcement officials viewed the move as an attempt to flee prosecution.

Despite the circumstances, Adelson maintained they had every intention of returning to the U.S. voluntarily. “If we go to a non-extradition country, then if law enforcement decided that they wanted to arrest you or me, we won’t be sitting in a foreign prison waiting months to go back,” she recalled her husband saying.

She insisted they understood what their trip might look like to authorities but believed traveling to Vietnam would provide them with a chance to clear their heads before turning themselves in.

“I thought it was a good idea because I just couldn’t think straight,” Adelson told the court.

The case stems from the 2014 murder of Markel, a Florida State University law professor who was embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, Donna’s daughter. Wendi had wanted to move with their two children from Tallahassee to South Florida, a request Markel had fought in court.

Prosecutors allege that Donna and her son Charlie conspired to have Markel killed to resolve the family’s custody battle. The case remained unsolved for years until law enforcement arrested Charlie Adelson in April 2022.

In November 2023, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation. Prosecutors proved he had hired gang members Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera to carry out the hit. Garcia, the triggerman, is serving a life sentence, while Rivera, who cooperated with authorities, received a 19-year sentence.

Garcia’s ex-wife, Katherine Magbanua, who had been dating Charlie Adelson at the time, was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison for her role in arranging the murder.

Charlie Adelson’s conviction appeared to trigger his parents’ attempt to leave the country just two weeks later.

“I wanted to get away, he wanted to get away. That’s what we wanted to do,” Donna Adelson said of her husband.

She testified that she had consulted with her lawyers before the trip and was assured that there were no active warrants or charges against them. “I thought if you asked your attorneys and they tell you that, I’m going,” she said.

Despite allegedly being warned they could be stopped at the airport, the couple proceeded with their travel plans—only to be intercepted by authorities before boarding their flight.

With her son convicted and her own trial ahead, Adelson continues to fight the charges, maintaining that her travel plans were not an attempt to flee justice but rather a desperate attempt to process what had happened to her family.

#FloridaCrime #TrueCrime #DanMarkel #MurderForHire #DonnaAdelson #FSU #Justice

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