Florida mother Donna Adelson engaged in several conversations with her son before her arrest, even continuing to talk for minutes after one of the calls disconnected.
According to jail calls obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, Donna can be heard talking to her son, Charles Adelson, during a 25-minute call from the Leon County Detention Facility, where he was jailed on murder charges.
It was one of numerous calls, but during this particular call, she appeared to be talking to her son despite the call being disconnected.
During the call, Donna Adelson made comments about possibly taking her own life and spoke about a text message from her daughter, Wendi Adelson. The call took place on November 7, shortly after Charles Adelson was convicted of murdering his brother-in-law, Dan Markel.
“Can you hear me Charlie?” she asked. “(Expletive). You can’t hear me again, right? Charlie? Charlie?”
He never responded but the jail call recording continued.
“Am I suicidal?” she added, presumably talking to her husband face-to-face. “No. Do I want to go to sleep and not see my son? I do. Perfectly honest, I do. We could do it together. Leave a note. They’ll know when to come get us. And we’ll do it together.”
In all, mother and son reportedly had over 35 hours of jail conversations.
“You’re going to be OK,” Donna Adelson told her son in a call before his conviction, following his complaints about being in jail. “You’re going to get out of that stupid room. Once you do, you’ll start to feel a little bit better. I know that.”
Donna Adelson is now facing murder charges herself, in connection with Markel’s death. As CrimeOnline previously reported, Markel, identified as a renowned law professor at Florida State University, was fatally shot while walking into the garage of his Tallahassee home on July 18, 2014.
Charles Adelson hired his former girlfriend, Katherine D. Magbanua, to kill Markel after his sister, Wendi Adelson, lost a bitter custody battle with the victim. Magbanua subsequently hired Sigfredo Garcia, her former lover who is the father of her children, and his friend Luis Rivera to carry out the hit.
Magbanua, Garcis, and Rivera were all subsequently convicted of murder.
Wendi Adelson, who denies any involvement and is not facing charges, shared custody of her children with Markel. She wanted to move from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to her family, but a judge ruled that she couldn’t move without Markel’s consent.
Before his murder, Markel reportedly refused, expressing concern about the children moving too far away.
Donna Adelson was arrested at Miami International Airport on November 13, as she and her husband, Harvey, were preparing to board a one-way flight to Vietnam. They attempted to flee a week after a jury found Charles Adelson guilty.
Donna Adelson is now charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation in the murder-for-hire killing.
She remains jailed at the Leon County Detention Facility.
In a motion filed earlier this month, Miami attorney Marissel Descalzo requested that Adelson be taken out of solitary confinement or, as an alternative, placed under house arrest. Descalzo outlined various concerns, including Adelson reportedly sitting “naked” on a mattress on the floor and being “forced to eat with her hands.”
The judge ultimately rejected Descalzo’s request and ordered her to undergo an independent psychological evaluation. The evaluation is designed to “move her off suicide watch.”
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[Feature Photo: Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel/Handout]
