Donna Adelson is a Florida woman born around 1950 in New York, best known for her central role in a high-profile murder-for-hire case. She was educated at Queens College, part of the City University of New York, and began her career as a teacher before transitioning into managing her husband Harvey Adelson’s dental practice, the Adelson Institute for Aesthetics and Implant Dentistry, in South Florida. Over several decades, she worked as a bookkeeper and played a key role in the family’s business operations, also appearing on the television show Wheel of Fortune in 1986. Adelson gained national attention due to her involvement in the 2014 murder of Dan Markel, her daughter Wendi’s ex-husband and a law professor at Florida State University. Prosecutors alleged that she orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot, motivated by a bitter custody dispute between her daughter and Markel. In 2023, Adelson was arrested while attempting to flee to Vietnam and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation. She was the fifth person to stand trial in connection with the case. In 2025, after a lengthy trial, a jury found Donna Adelson guilty of conspiracy, solicitation, and first-degree murder. The death penalty was ruled out, and she now faces the possibility of a life sentence. Her son, Charles Adelson, is already serving a life sentence for his role in the murder. Throughout the proceedings, Adelson’s attorneys argued that the divorce between her daughter and Markel was not contentious and that she had no motive for the crime. Once known for her family’s community presence and business management, Donna Adelson’s public image has been defined by the legal case and its aftermath. Her trial continues to attract significant public and media interest, reflecting the complexities of family conflict and the consequences of criminal allegations.