Donna Adelson

Judge Everett reads the charges and instructs the jury before the State and defense deliver opening statements outlining competing theories of Donna Adelson's role in Dan Markel's 2014 killing, followed by crime-scene, forensic, and investigative testimony and the direct and cross-examination of cooperating co-defendant Luis Rivera, who describes driving the car and watching Sigfredo Garcia shoot Markel.

State investigator Jason Newlin presented emails and filings the State attributed to Donna Adelson, ending with testimony that the pending grandma motion was never heard because Markel was murdered. Wendi Adelson then testified under compelled immunity — confirming the relocation conflict and Charlie's hitman joke on direct, delivering three "Never" answers about Donna suggesting harm on cross, and declining to confirm Cappleman's "but definitely not kill him" premise on redirect. Robert Adelson described Donna as the family's controlling force and recounted a door-knock account Donna relayed, which troubled him because he wondered how she could know it.

Lacasse, Umchinda, Fitzpatrick, Hull, Lebredo, and Magbanua testified about the Adelson family's finances and Magbanua's account of the murder conspiracy, and Sergeant Corbitt began cell-data and email evidence linking family communications to the case.

Sergeant Corbitt's cell-site and route analysis is cross-examined at length; the court permits an adoptive-admission theory; FBI witnesses describe the 2016 undercover bump and wiretap surveillance operations.

Judge Everett resolved two late-disclosure issues before testimony resumed, finding an inadvertent discovery violation on an enhanced jail-call recording but no prejudicial effect. FBI Agent Patrick Sanford then completed his direct examination by presenting dozens of wiretap intercepts from April–June 2016, including Donna Adelson's own call to the FBI undercover in which she denied involvement in Dan Markel's murder, and recordings that Sanford used to describe selected post-bump communications among members of the Adelson family, Magbanua, and Garcia.

Day 6 completed the prosecution's case with the conclusion of FBI Agent Sanford's testimony, condo search evidence, two jailhouse informants alleging a confession and witness-tampering scheme, Bernhardt's allegation that Donna Adelson supplied a fabricated account for false testimony, and handwriting expert Kate Butler's identification of Donna as the writer of State's Exhibit 62. A recalled digital forensics analyst also presented post-verdict Vietnam travel planning. The state formally rested at the close of the afternoon session.

Judge Everett denied the defense motion for judgment of acquittal on counts one and three, and the defense opened its case. Character witnesses Ann Cunningham and Ron Gutterson described Donna Adelson as non-violent and portrayed the family's post-conviction Vietnam travel as a planned temporary trip. Digital forensics expert Kelsey Guay testified she could not reproduce the prosecution's figure of 417 call events between Charlie and Donna Adelson's phones and counted 211 deduplicated events from Donna's records. Defense investigators Tarana Khan and Eddie Varnes rebutted jailhouse informant Patricia Byrd's account, and Detective Josh Turner authenticated jail surveillance footage showing Bernhardt and Adelson exchanging notebooks the day before Bernhardt's State Attorney's Office interview.

Day 8 closed the evidentiary record after two defense family law witnesses characterized the Adelson-Markel divorce as routine, former defense attorney Marissel Descalzo testified about Donna's post-verdict mental state and travel plans, and Donna Adelson declined to testify following a court-administered colloquy.

Closing arguments consumed the morning and afternoon of the trial's final day; the jury deliberated approximately three hours before returning guilty verdicts on all three counts — first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation — against Donna Adelson.