Donna Adelson appeared in Leon County court Wednesday, where she disclosed that she and her husband intended to escape to Vietnam for “peace” before deciding to turn themselves in.
The admission came as she sought release from jail in connection with allegations of a for-hire plot against her former son-in-law.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Adelson is charged with the murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel, who was fatally shot in his garage on July 18, 2014. Her son, Charlie Adelson, along with his ex-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, and hitmen Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, was convicted in connection with the case.
Police arrested Adelson right before her reported attempt to escape the US.
“I wasn’t afraid of being arrested,” she told the court,CourtTV reports.
“My husband and I – literally shocked and traumatized at what had happened to Charlie – and he said ‘we need to just get some peace, we need to catch our breath, we’re gonna go away somewhere.”
Miami International Airport police arrested Adelson in November 2023 as she and her husband, Harvey, prepared to board one-way tickets to Vietnam via Dubai—two countries without extradition treaties with the U.S. The couple recognized how their plan to flee would appear to law enforcement officials.
Adelson and her husband chose Vietnam as their destination due to previous vacations there and the option to buy return tickets, and turn themselves in voluntarily.
She said she believed U.S. authorities would coordinate with their counterparts in countries with extradition treaties, which could result in them being held in jail “for God knows how long,” while referring to Vietnam as “a place of peace,” New York Post reports.
“He said ‘if we go to a non-extradition country, then if the law enforcement decided that they wanted to arrest you or me, we won’t be sitting in a foreign prison waiting months to go back,’” Adelson said.
“My understanding was we could go home and I could turn myself in if that’s what they wanted.”
Jury selection is scheduled to begin June 3. Check back for updates.
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Feature Photo: Dan Markel/FSU College of Law faculty biographies; Donna Adelson/AP]