Florida dentist Charles Adelson, 47, is sentenced to life in prison after hiring a hitman to kill his brother-in-law Dan Markel in his sister's bitter custody battle

By Nic White and Claudia Aoraha for Dailymail.Com

18:51 December 12, 2023, updated 19:24 December 12, 2023

• Charles Adelson, 47, paid for the murder of law professor Dan Markel, 41
• Mr. Markel was in a bitter custody battle with his sister, Wendi Adelson
• Adelson was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole following a previous conviction

A disgraced dentist will die in prison for hiring hitmen to shoot his former brother-in-law during a bitter custody battle.

Charles Adelson, 47, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for ordering the murder of law professor Dan Markel, 41, who was married to his sister Wendi Adelson.

Mr. Markel was shot twice in the head at close range outside his home in Tallahassee, Florida, on July 18, 2014.

Adelson was convicted Nov. 7 of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and solicitation to commit first-degree murder.

Disgraced dentist Charles Adelson, 47, will die in prison for hiring hitmen to shoot his former brother-in-law during a bitter custody battle. Dan Markel (right) was shot and killed outside his home in 2014. He was married to Wendi Adelson (left), but amid their bitter divorce, the two argued over where their children would live

With shaggy hair and a graying beard, Adelson proclaimed his innocence despite ending up in prison for the rest of his days.

“I just want to say that I maintain my innocence,” he told the court as Mr. Markel’s family watched via videolink from Canada.

The murdered lawyer's father, Phil Markel, previously called for the punishment in his victim impact statement, telling the court he had “suffered tremendously”.

“I not only lost my son, but also my two grandchildren,” he said.

“It is gratifying to see that justice has been served and it would be appropriate to seek the maximum sentence for the perpetrators of Danny's murder.” Thank you. Today is a good day,'

Adelson has 30 days to appeal his conviction and sentence. A jury unanimously convicted him after deliberating for just three hours.

He said “no” when his murder verdict was announced.

With shaggy hair and a graying beard, Adelson maintained his innocence despite ending up in prison for the rest of his days. Wendi wanted to move from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to her family, but a judge ruled that Wendi Adelson couldn't move without Markel's consent, and he refused

His mother, Donna Adelson, 73, also faces life in prison on the same charges as her son, and she caused a stir Monday with a tantrum at her arraignment.

The matriarch was handcuffed and shackled and wearing a purple prison jumpsuit as she appeared in court for her arraignment on Monday

As Gregg Toomey, an attorney with the Leon County Sheriff's Office, described her comments about wanting to take her own life before and after her arrest, Adelson yelled “Oh my God!”, prompting the judge to reprimand her .

“She spoke very clearly about a plan to commit suicide with sleeping pills,” Toomey said when Donna Adelson interrupted her.

Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett said, “Mrs. “Adelson, please keep your comments to yourself and let your attorney argue on your behalf.”

“When she was brought to prison here, she made a statement that she wanted to die,” Toomey said.

“Before her arrest in Miami, she also had… a 25-minute phone call.” I listened to it in person. She spoke very clearly about a plan to take her own life with sleeping pills.”

The Florida mother-in-law was reprimanded by Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett when she interrupted court with her screams while an attorney described her plan to end her life. Adelson was arrested at Miami-Dade International Airport after investigators learned she had a one-way ticket to Vietnam, which has no extradition treaty with the U.S. Donna Adelson, 73, was in a courtroom during her arraignment hearing on Monday Tallahassee lively. She pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering her former son-in-law

Arrest records show that Donna called Adelson after he was convicted of his involvement in the murder and discussed plans to commit suicide or flee to a non-extradition country.

Adelson was arrested at Miami-Dade Airport in November after investigators learned she had a one-way ticket to Vietnam, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, following her son's conviction.

Mr. Markel, who worked at Florida State University, was married to Adelson's sister Wendi for six years before their relationship collapsed.

They shared custody of their two young sons, but Wendi wanted to move from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to her family.

Markel, a father of two, was shot as he sat in his car outside his home

However, a judge at the time ruled that Wendi Adelson could not move without Mr. Markel's consent and refused.

Prosecutors told jurors during the trial that Adelson paid for the murder of the prominent professor and used his girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, to hire the father of her two children, Sigfredo Garcia, to commit the murder.

They said Garcia enlisted the help of his childhood friend Luis Rivera.

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 testimony against them.

Mr. Markel was shot as he sat in his car outside his home after taking his children to daycare and going to the gym.

The court heard that Donna Adelson “hated” Markel and was “desperately looking for a way” to overcome his determination to prevent his two sons from moving to South Florida.

Markel asked a judge to ban her from unsupervised contact with her grandchildren, and prosecutors uncovered a July 2013 email in which she responded to the court ruling.

Wendi Adelson giggles in court when asked about her brother Charles Adelson and the number of girlfriends he had. Charlie Adelson rubs his face as he waits for closing arguments in his trial

“It's time to take control of your life and not let Jibbers think he just 'gained' something by letting you stay in Tallahassee, eight hours away from your only family, and lose the job, “that you can afford” and your children benefits that they would otherwise never be able to enjoy,” she said to her daughter.

“Let's show this bastard what will make him absolutely miserable.” They know his vulnerabilities; Money, religion, control.'

Authorities alleged the Adelsons considered offering Markel $1 million so his ex-wife and sons could move, but then Charles Adelson and other family members began plotting his death.

During the trial, Wendi took the stand to testify that her family had nothing to do with her ex-husband's murder and denied knowing about the plot or being involved in it herself.

Wendi, who works as a lawyer, moved to Miami a few days after her husband was shot. She was granted limited immunity for her testimony.

After Adelson is found guilty on all three counts, Assistant District Attorney Georgia Cappleman speaks with Dan Markel's parents, Phil and Ruth Markel. Adelson testifies during his trial

Assistant District Attorney Georgia Cappleman asked her, “In all the years this case has been pending, your brother knew who killed your child's father and you didn't know?”

“I didn’t know,” Wendi Adelson replied. She stated that she only found out about the incident that same day.

Cappleman asked, “Your family had your ex-husband killed to help you, right?” And Wendi replied on the witness stand, “No, that's completely untrue.”

Wendi said in a police interview in 2014 that her brother Charles joked that he thought about hiring a hitman but bought her a TV instead because it was cheaper.

Cappleman asked in court: “Did he say that?”

Wendi replied: “That was the joke he made in poor taste, yes.”

The television has always been Wendi's alibi. She was never accused of involvement in her ex-husband's murder.

The mother of two was at home the morning of the murder, waiting for a member of the Best Buy Geek Squad to come by and look at her broken television.

Sigfredo Garcia during his trial in 2019. 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

In a nine-year-old case with many twists and turns, Adelson took the stand as the defense's only witness in the final days of the trial and insisted that prosecutors had misunderstood the facts of the case.

In his testimony, he said he felt a sense of relief at finally being able to tell the public that he was a victim of extortion and not the mastermind who hired the hitmen who shot Mr. Markel.

He further testified that he had nothing to do with the murder and was stunned when Magbanua came to his house and said her friends were the murderers.

The dentist said she told him he had to pay more than $300,000 in 48 hours or he would also be killed.

Prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments that there were far too many inconsistencies with Adelson's testimony at trial.

The high-profile case seeking justice for the law professor involved four arrests and three trials over a nine-year period.