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11 months ago
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A Florida woman charged in the murder-for-hire plot of her former son-in-law claims she is being subjected to 'cruel and unusual punishment' while in prison.
Donna Adelson was arrested last month at Miami-Dade Airport, one week after her son Charles was convicted of hiring hitmen to murder her son-in-law Dan Markel.
Adelson, 73, had been attempting to fly to Vietnam on a one-way ticket investigators said, which has no extradition treaty with the US.
Since being taken into custody her lawyer, Marissel Descalzo, filed a motion alleging jail staff are forcing her to eat with her hands and sit naked.
The motion, seen by CNN, argues that the alleged treatment is a violation of her Sixth Amendment rights.
Donna Adelson was seized at Miami-Dade International Airport and booked into the county's Corrections and Rehabilitation facility last month
Charles Adelson (pictured) paid to have law professor Dan Markel - who was married to his sister, Wendi Adelson, killed. Adelson licked his lips as his defense attorney Daniel Rashbaum whispers to him before the verdict was delivered last week
The outlet reported that Descalzo is seeking for the court to release Adelson so she is on house arrest or force the jail's hand to improve her conditions.
Descalzo is also requesting the court issue Adelson with a 'psychological evaluation' that would place her in a different unit. A hearing on the allegations is due to take place on Monday.
Adelson was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire killing of Dan Markel, her former son-in-law.
Dan Markel, a dad-of-two, was shot as he sat in his car outside his home
Her son Charles, a dentist, was convicted of the murder of Markel one week before her arrest.
Charles had organized the killing through his girlfriend Katie Magbanua who then employed her ex-boyfriend Sigfredo Garcia and his friend Luis Rivera to carry out the killing.
Markel's death had revolved around a court battle that he had won to stop Adelson's daughter Wendi from moving from Tallahassee to South Florida with her two sons.
Markel was shot in the head as he sat in his car outside his Tallahassee home, after taking his kids to daycare and going to the gym.
The Adelsons immediately became suspects after Wendi Adelson told detectives that the killing of her ex-husband could have been arranged on her behalf, saying her parents were ‘very angry at Markel’.
The court heard that Donna Adelson ‘hated’ Markel and was ‘desperate to find a way’ to overcome his determination to stop his two sons moving to South Florida.
Markel had asked a judge to prevent her from having unsupervised contact with her grandkids and prosecutors uncovered a July 2013 email in which she reacted to the court ruling.
Sigfredo Garcia, left, and his friend Luis Rivera, right, had been hired to carry out the killing
Dan Markel (right) was shot dead outside his home in 2014. He was married to Wendi Adelson (left) but amid their bitter divorce the pair were fighting about where their kids would live. It was during this time that Markle was shot dead
‘It’s time to take control of your life and not let Jibbers think he’s just ‘won’ anything by having you remain in Tallahassee, eight hours away from the only family you have, and lose out on what will be a job that will afford you and your children advantages that they will never otherwise be able to enjoy,’ she told her daughter.
‘Let’s show this **** what will make him absolutely miserable. You know his weak points; money, religion, control.’
Authorities say the Adelsons considered offering Markel $1 million to let his ex-wife and sons move, but then Charlie Adelson and other members of the family began plotting his death.
During his trial, it was shown that Charles paid Magbanua $138,000, which she split with the killers.
The family then gave her a no-show job at their dental practice and other payments totaling more than $56,000. Charlie Adelson also gave her a used Lexus.
Magbanua and Garcia were convicted of first-degree murder and Rivera is serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against them.
Katherine Magbanua pictured in court in 2019
Wendi wanted to move from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to her family. However, a judge at the time ruled that Wendi Adelson couldn't relocate without Markel´s consent and he refused, saying she couldn´t move the children to Miami
Investigators were able to track phone records showing numerous calls between Charlie Adelson and Magbanua, her and the killers and Charlie Adelson, and his mother and his sister in the hours before and shortly after the killing, as well as large monetary transactions between the family and Magbanua.
Charlie Adelson was arrested last year after technicians enhanced a recording made of him and Magbanua inside a Mexican restaurant in 2016 while they were under surveillance discussing the extortion attempt.
In the conversation, Adelson told Magbanua that she would need to meet with the extortionist and agree to a one-time payment.
During the trial, Wendi took the stand to testify that her family had nothing to do with the 2014 murder of her ex-husband. She denied having any knowledge of the murder-for-hire plot or any involvement herself.
Wendi, who works as an attorney, ended up moving to Miami days after her husband was shot. She was granted limited immunity for her testimony.
Wendi Adelson and her father, dentist Harvey Adelson, have not been charged, but Campbell said the investigation remains open. They have denied involvement.
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