The Florida dental matriarch accused of masterminding the 2014 murder-for-hire plot in opposition to her former son-in-law wished to flee the US along with her husband to search out “peace” in Vietnam earlier than turning themselves in on their very own will.
Donna Adelson, locked in shackles and a purple jumpsuit, made the stunning revelation as she sought her launch from jail and appeared in Leon County court docket Wednesday.
“I wasn’t afraid of being arrested,” she advised the court docket, in accordance with CourtTV. “My husband and I – literally shocked and traumatized at what had happened to Charlie – and he said ‘we need to just get some peace, we need to catch our breath, we’re gonna go away somewhere.”
Adelson, 75, was arrested at Miami Worldwide Airport in November 2023 when she and her husband, Harvey, have been about to make use of one-way tickets to Vietnam through Dubai — two nations with out extradition treaties with the US.
The couple understood what fleeing the US would seem like to regulation enforcement officers.
Nevertheless, they selected Vietnam as their vacation spot as a result of they loved the Southeast Asian nation throughout earlier holidays they usually might purchase a aircraft ticket again and switch themselves in on their very own accord.
Adelson assumed police within the US would have reached out with their counterparts in extradition nations that will have held the couple of their jails “for God knows how long.”
Calling Vietnam “a place of peace,” Adelson claimed her husband got here up with the concept so that they wouldn’t be saved in a overseas jail ready to be extradited again to Florida.
“He said ‘if we go to a non-extradition country, then if the 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,’” Adelson recalled. “My understanding was we could go home and I could turn myself in if that’s what they wanted.”
“I thought it was a good idea because I just couldn’t think straight,” she claimed in court docket.
Adelson was charged with first-degree homicide, conspiracy and solicitation within the 2014 loss of life of Dan Markel, a regulation professor at Florida State College.
Markel – who was fatally shot within the head inside his Tallahassee storage in July 2014 – was in a contentious custody battle along with his ex-wife and Adelson’s daughter Wendi, who wished to maneuver with their two sons to South Florida.
The loss of life remained unsolved for practically a decade earlier than Adelson’s son, Dr. Charlie Adelson was arrested in April 2022.
He was convicted of first-degree homicide and located to have employed the assassins who performed the hit on Markel.
Sigfredo Garcia was discovered responsible of being the triggerman within the killing and is serving a lifetime sentence behind bars.
Garcia, together with confederate Luis Rivera, have been members of the ruthless Latin Kings gang and have been contacted by the youthful Adelson to commit the heinous homicide.
Garcia is the ex-husband and father of Katie Magbanua, who was relationship Adelson on the time.
Magbanua was sentenced to life in jail for her function, whereas Rivera was handed 19 years after pleading responsible to second-degree homicide and testifying in opposition to his accomplices.
The Fort Lauderdale dentist’s conviction was the catalyst for his “shocked and traumatized” dad and mom’ try and flee to Vietnam two weeks later.
“I wanted to get away, he wanted to get away. That’s what we wanted to do,” Adelson mentioned.
She admitted to calling her legal professionals who advised her there have been no pending prices or warrants in opposition to them.
The couple have been allegedly warned they may very well be stopped and arrested on the airport however nonetheless started their journey.
“I thought if you asked your attorneys and they tell you that, I’m going,” she added.
