A new trial date has been set for Donna Adelson — August 19. But a secret investigation and recent wiretaps could have major consequences for the rest of the Adelson family.
Welcome to Surviving the Survivor, the show that brings you the very #BestGuests in all of #TrueCrime on trending criminal cases.
This is the twisted murder-for-hire that started it all — the case of Dan Markel. Dan Markel was shot and killed moments after he pulled up his driveway and into his garage. He died the next day. Now, almost 11 years later the story is still unraveling as alleged co-conspirators, like Donna Adelson, are going on trial one by one.
Markel was killed in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2014, in a murder for hire in what prosecutors say was motivated by child custody issues with Markel's ex-wife, Wendi Adelson. Wendi Adelson's brother, Charlie Adelson, was convicted of the murder of Dan Markel in 2023 just days before his mother, Donna Adelson, was also arrested.
We’re now learning that Donna Adelson’s trial, which was supposed to start in June 2025, is now set to begin August 19, but major questions still remain.
A hearing is scheduled this Friday, and at the center of it all:
• An apparent secret investigation involving new wiretaps that went through February 2024
• Speculation is mounting that the case may expand beyond Donna and Charlie
• What could this mean for the other Adelsons like Wendi and Harvey?
Jeremy Mutz, former Leon County prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney
Dr. Melissa Hamilton
Law Professor Jo Potuto