Prosecutors have long circled the wealthy Adelson family after the 2014 murder of Harvard-trained law professor Dan Markel. But matriarch Donna Adelson, 74, will have to wait even longer to learn her fate after her murder trial went off the rails on day one of jury selection. The trial may now be delayed until 2025..

Markel was shot in the head  in his garage at Tallahassee, Florida in July 2014. At the time of his murder, the observant Jewish professor was embroiled in a drawn-out custody battle with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, Donna’s daughter. Prosecutors have long painted the narrative that Donna, whose family made a fortune from her husband Harvey’s lucrative dental practice, was the controlling mastermind behind the tragedy, and she’s since been charged with first-degree murder, solicitation and conspiracy.

On Tuesday, Donna’s trial was set to begin with jury selection. But the sudden departure of her lead attorney due to an ethics conflict has caused a major disruption that could delay the trial until 2025, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

So far, four people have been convicted in Markel’s murder. The most recent verdict arrived in November 2023 and saw Markel’s former brother-in-law (a.k.a. Wendi’s brother and Donna’s son), Charlie Adelson, 47, convicted of the same charges his mother now faces. The Ferrari-driving former periodontist is currently serving a life sentence after prosecutors convinced a jury he hired two Latin Kings hitmen to carry out the murder with the help of his then-girlfriend, Katie Magbanua. The hitmen, Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia, along with Magbanua, who also happened to be Garcia’s common-law wife and mother of his children, represent the other three convictions in Mr. Markel’s murder.

Prosecutors have long contended that Donna and Charlie – who lived in Miami – orchestrated the murder so that Wendi could leave Tallahassee and move to South Florida with her two young children. Markel, who was a law professor at Florida State University, had been blocking her from leaving if she wanted to stay with her children.

Donna was arrested shortly after Charlie’s conviction while trying to board, alongside Harvey, a Miami flight to Vietnam via the United Arab Emirates – destinations without extradition treaties with America.  

Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman, who has been behind all four convictions in the case, is set to be joined by Assistant State Attorney Sarah Kathryn, who partnered with her for Charlie’s trial, at the prosecution table. Prior to this week’s shocking turn of events, it was supposed to be Miami attorney Dan Rashbaum, who represented Charlie and tried to convince the jury his client was a victim of extortion, alongside local attorney, Robert “Alex” Morris defending Donna.

“This is a really well-matched set of very, very talented prosecutors against talented defense attorneys,” Tallahassee criminal defense lawyer Ethan Way told the Tallahassee Democrat prior to this week’s change-up. “This is going to be a good one to watch because I don’t see anyone having kind of an overwhelming tactical advantage.”

But things were turned upside down on Tuesday afternoon when Mr. Rashbaum withdrew from the case over conflict of interest concerns. The departure came after an appellate lawyer for Charlie, Michael Ufferman, announced he would not waive any conflict of interest involving  Mr. Rashbaum. This is important because Charlie was listed as a state witness for his mother’s trial, which meant he could potentially be cross-examined by Rashbaum.

(Charlie had already been returned to Leon County Jail from a prison in South Dakota where he, along with Magbanua and Garcia, were on standby to be called as witnesses.)

“The conflict has been there,” Circuit Judge Stephen Everett said before questioning Laurel Niles, a lawyer in Mr. Ufferman’s firm. “The conflict is clear on its face. It’s as clear as my nose. Is there a reason your client did not assert this until yesterday?”

Interestingly, however, Mr. Morris acknowledged that the conflict has “always been there” and told the judge the defense had plans to address it.

“As it relates to that, I have been walled off from everything as it relates to any discovery from that prior case, any notes,” Mr. Morris said, adding that he hadn’t met Charlie until Saturday. “I’ve not had any conversations with Mr. Rashbaum about Mr. Adelson’s evidence or property.

“But we planned for this exact circumstance… And the idea was that I was going to conduct any cross-examination if Mr. Adelson were to testify.”

After a recession in Tuesday’s proceedings, Donna shared she was willing to make any waiver necessary to continue with Rashbaum on her defense team. But her efforts were null and void since the same could not be said of her son. Mr. Rashbaum decided to withdraw because he failed to secure a new waiver from Charlie’s appellate counsel.

We don’t know how long this departure will delay the pursuit of justice, but a case management session has been scheduled for Oct. 15.