TALLAHASSEE, FL — With jury selection just days away, the courtroom drama surrounding Donna Adelson—the South Florida grandmother accused in the 2014 murder-for-hire of her former son-in-law, Florida State University law professor Dan Markel—is quickly intensifying.

In a final pretrial hearing Friday, attorneys clashed over key evidence, witness testimony, and the tone that will frame the coming trial.

Adelson, now facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation, stood before Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett as her legal team attempted to shape what jurors will hear when the case officially begins August 19.

At the center of the case is a complex and chilling story: after her daughter, Wendi Adelson, divorced Markel and lost a custody battle over their two sons, prosecutors say Donna Adelson helped orchestrate his assassination in Tallahassee.

During Friday’s hearing, Judge Everett fielded a barrage of legal motions. Among them: a request from Adelson’s defense team to exclude emails between her and her daughter, which they argued had “no relevance.” But Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman pushed back, saying the emails showed Donna Adelson’s deep involvement in the custody fight and her efforts to influence legal pleadings—details Cappleman called essential to understanding motive.

“It’s important for this jury to understand the foundation of this motive is this litigation that began with the divorce and continued beyond the divorce with the child custody issues,” she told the court, as reported by the Tallahassee Democrat.

Dan Markel, a Florida State University law professor, was shot and killed outside his Tallahassee home in 2014 in a murder-for-hire plot that has led to multiple convictions and an upcoming trial for his former mother-in-law. (via Florida State School of Law)

Judge Everett ruled that emails revealing Adelson’s role in the divorce or showing motive and intent could be admitted, but any that didn’t tie her directly to the chain of events would be excluded.

Another hot-button issue was the involvement of Luis Rivera, one of the two hitmen already convicted in the case. Rivera, a known gang member, was recruited along with Sigfredo Garcia to carry out Markel’s killing. Defense attorney Joshua Zelman argued that Rivera’s leadership role in the Latin Kings gang is critical to understanding Adelson’s state of mind during secretly recorded phone calls. Adelson, her lawyers said, will testify that she feared Rivera specifically because of his gang ties.

“I cannot make her testify,” Judge Everett noted, underscoring that the decision rests with the defendant. Still, he drew a firm line: questions about gang affiliation would be permitted, but direct references to the Latin Kings by name would not—unless brought up first by a state witness.

“If that horse gets out of the barn,” Everett said, according to WCTV, then the defense would be allowed to question further.

The judge also reaffirmed that jurors would be allowed to hear about Adelson’s attempted flight to Vietnam in November 2023, just days after her son Charlie Adelson was convicted in connection with Markel’s murder. FBI agents arrested Donna Adelson at Miami International Airport as she and her husband prepared to board a flight to the non-extradition country. Prosecutors argue this demonstrates “consciousness of guilt,” while the defense insists there was no arrest warrant and she intended to return if needed.

Dan Markel and Wendi Adelson, pictured during their marriage. The couple divorced in 2013, and the contentious custody battle that followed has been cited by prosecutors as the motive behind Markel’s 2014 murder.

“I think that it’s significant because it goes to her state of mind for making the travel plans,” Zelman said during the hearing, per WTXL.

Judge Everett denied the defense’s attempt to block that narrative, but gave them the green light to challenge witnesses on the issue during cross-examination.

Meanwhile, logistics for what’s expected to be a lengthy trial are in full swing. Nearly 300 prospective jurors have been summoned. Judge Everett plans to conduct a pre-screening on pretrial publicity and will bring in 50 jurors each morning and afternoon on August 19 and 20—and possibly the 21st—until a final jury of 12, plus three alternates, is selected.

Opening statements could begin immediately after the panel is finalized. The state expects its case to take five to seven days, and the defense has projected four to six days for its side. With Labor Day falling in the middle, Judge Everett expects the trial to stretch into the week of September 8.

In the courtroom, measures are being taken to prevent the issues that plagued Charlie Adelson’s jury selection last year. Jurors will not be allowed to speak to one another during the process, and the court will provide reading materials and extra bailiffs to enforce the rules.

Markel was gunned down in his garage on July 18, 2014, in the upscale Betton Hills neighborhood. In addition to Rivera and Garcia, Katherine Magbanua—believed to be the go-between—was also convicted in the plot. Charlie Adelson, Donna’s son, was convicted last year.

Now, with Donna Adelson set to stand trial, the final chapter in the nearly decade-long saga is about to unfold.