Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘Deadly Mischief’ of NBC’s ‘Dateline’ chronicles the horrific murder-for-hire case of a reputed law professor named Daniel Markel. When the detectives delved into his personal life, they discovered that he was embroiled in a court battle with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson. The investigation eventually led the police to Wendi’s brother, Charles “Charlie” Adelson, who had a significant role in orchestrating the murder of Daniel outside his house in Tallahassee, Florida.
Charles Adelson Plotted the Murder of Daniel Markel With His Mother
Born to Donna Sue Adelson and Harvey J. Adelson in Florida, Charles “Charlie” Adelson grew up alongside his sister, Wendi Adelson, who married a legal scholar and Florida State University law professor named Daniel Markel. The couple had two children during their marriage, but later parted ways. In 2014, Wendi and Daniel were in the middle of a heated custody battle, during which Charles and his mother, Donna Adelson, reportedly planned a murder-for-hire plot to have Daniel killed. According to reports, Donna assigned Charles the responsibility of handling the logistics necessary for the assassination, while she funded the plot.
In order to carry out the killing, Charles, who was a Ferrari-owning periodontist from South Florida, reached out to his ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, who then contacted her children’s father, Sigfredo Garcia, and his friend Luis Rivera — the latter a confessed Latin Kings member — to carry out the hit. Katherine, Sigfredo, and Luis were reportedly given around $100,000 to carry out the killing. Prosecutors theorized that the motive for the killing was the frustration of Wendi’s family over her custody dispute with Daniel. It is imperative to note that Wendi has not been charged and has denied any involvement.
On July 18, 2014, the hitmen fatally shot Daniel in the driveway of his Tallahassee house on Trescott Drive. Although the two hit men were arrested in 2016, it took the authorities several more years and a sting operation to tie Charles Adelson to the murder of Daniel Markel. Luis took a plea deal in 2016 and played a crucial role in helping the authorities gather evidence against Sigfredo, Katherine, and Charles. With the help of new technology to enhance the sound quality of one of the audio-recorded meetings between Charles and Katherine, the police managed to collect incriminating statements that linked him to the crime. Thus, on April 21, 2022, he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder.
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Charles Adelson is Currently Incarcerated at a South Dakota Prison Facility
On October 26, 2023, Charles Adelson’s murder trial in connection with Daniel Markel’s killing commenced. During the trial, he admitted to paying his ex-girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, after the two hitmen committed the crime. Still, he claimed that the reason he did that was that he was a victim of an extortion scheme, and he didn’t want to be on her hit list, as she could pay the two men to kill him if he failed to pay one-third of $1 million within 48 hours. However, when Katherine took the stand, she testified that Charles described Daniel as a terrible man who had troubled his family and orchestrated the plan to have his former brother-in-law killed.
Moreover, the defense argued that Katherine had not only orchestrated the murder but also the extortion because Charles had refused to marry her. After a long eight-day trial, on November 6, Charles was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation of first-degree murder. A few days later, his mother, Donna Adelson, was also taken into custody from the Miami International Airport while she was trying to flee the country and fly to Vietnam, a non-extradition country.
The following month, on December 12, Charles Adelson was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and an additional 30 years each for conspiracy and solicitation convictions. In January 2025, he and his defense counsel filed an appeal to have him resentenced on two of the three counts, alleging an error. However, the judge denied his appeal. A few months later, in May, Charles filed another complaint to have his conviction reversed and get a new trial. In September, his appeal was denied again. In May 2024, he was transferred from Florida to South Dakota. As of today, the 49-year-old convict is serving his sentence at a South Dakota prison facility, the details of which remain concealed due to safety or security reasons.
