Donna Adelson: The Deadly Mother In Law

Retired FBI agent and criminal profiler Candice DeLong examines the disturbing case of Donna Adelson, a domineering and deeply enmeshed mother whose obsessive need for control allegedly culminated in the murder-for-hire of her former son-in-law, Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. What began as a bitter custody dispute following Markel’s divorce from Adelson’s daughter, Wendi, escalated into a years-long campaign of manipulation, psychological warfare, and resentment fueled by Donna’s refusal to accept court-imposed boundaries. Candice explores how enmeshment, entitlement, and an intolerance for loss of control can distort family dynamics; and how a grandmother’s fixation on access and dominance ultimately led prosecutors to accuse her of orchestrating a deadly conspiracy that shattered an entire family.

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