Dentist Receives Sentence in Murder of Former Brother-in-Law

(USNewsBreak.com) – An unknown assailant shot and killed a well-known Florida State University law professor while he stood in his driveway in July 2014. Authorities had to unravel a complex plot against Dan Markel to solve his murder. It started because he had become embroiled in a bitter custody dispute over his two young children. Finally, last month, after nine years, a jury convicted 47-year-old Charlie Adelson, Markel’s brother-in-law, on charges of conspiracy, solicitation, and first-degree murder. A court recently sentenced him for his crimes.

On Tuesday, December 12, a judge handed Adelson a life sentence. The prosecution laid the case out meticulously for the jury to understand how the plot took shape. The case involved secret conversations and wiretaps that painted the suspect in a guilty light. Despite his sentence, Adelson maintains his innocence. He said he was happy to testify because he wanted the public to see that someone was extorting him and his family, and he had nothing to do with plotting his brother-in-law’s murder as the prosecution alleged.

Haggard-looking FL dentist gets life in prison for arranging murder of ex-brother-in-law FSU professor https://t.co/iWr7Bz9FwZ pic.twitter.com/UAiucQXEaM

— New York Post (@nypost) December 13, 2023

Markel’s family appeared in the courtroom via Zoom to give an impact statement. Phil Markel, the deceased’s father, said his family had “suffered tremendously” and hadn’t seen the kids since his son died. He also lamented that the family has “no idea of what these two boys know or have been told about Danny’s death,” referring to his grandkids, who were 3 and 4 at the time.

Despite Adelson’s conviction and sentencing, the story is far from over. Last month, after a jury found him guilty, police arrested his mother, Donna Adelson, at the airport as she tried to flee to Vietnam. She faces the same charges that a jury convicted her son of committing. She remains behind bars. Then, there’s the matter of Wendy Adelson, Markel’s ex-wife. Authorities haven’t charged her with the crime, and she maintains she had no connection to his death.