Judge in Donna Adelson case indicates he won’t block questions about Wendi Adelson book

The judge presiding over Donna Adelson’s murder case indicated he would not block prosecutors from questioning her daughter Wendi Adelson about a book she wrote before her ex-husband Dan Markel was murdered.

During a Thursday hearing in Tallahassee, Circuit Judge Stephen Everett said the book could be used for impeaching Wendi Adelson’s testimony as it has in previous trials.

But he also said he would give the defense request more consideration before ruling. He noted that impeachment is generally available to show when a witness is being untruthful or inconsistent with previous statements.

“This is largely going to depend on what Wendi Adelson actually testifies to,” Everett said. “If she testifies in a manner that is inconsistent with her trial testimony … she can be impeached on those topics, whether they be the book or any other matter.”

Prosecutors have long drawn parallels between Wendi Adelson, whom they consider an unindicted co-conspirator in the murder, and one of the characters in her novel, “This Is Our Story,” a lawyer named Lily stuck in a small town because of her husband’s job.

However, Wendi Adelson has downplayed any connections between herself and the character. In 2023, when she testified during her brother Charlie Adelson’s murder trial, she claimed the character was “based off of a friend of mine” rather than herself.

Markel, a noted law professor at Florida State University, was fatally shot in the garage of his Trescott Drive home on July 18, 2014, by one of two hired hit men. Prosecutors contend that Donna Adelson and her family wanted him out of the picture so that Wendi Adelson could relocate to South Florida with their two children, which a judge had denied.

Last year, Everett denied a similar request by Donna Adelson’s previous lawyers to prevent questions about the book. Earlier this month, her new attorneys, Jackie Fulford and Josh Zelman of Tallahassee, filed a motion renewing the request, saying additional facts were not previously known or addressed.

During Thursday’s hearing, Zelman argued that the book was not autobiographical and that the Lily character differed from Wendi Adelson in a number of ways. For one, he said, the fictional character had a miscarriage, leaving her unable to have children and prompting her to adopt.

He also said that at the end of the book, the Lily character thanked her husband for bringing her to the fictional North Florida town where the story was set. Reading from the book, Zelman said Lily was grateful to him “for bringing me to this place, for giving me wings to try something new and for all the unpredictable experiences that have followed.”

Zelman also noted that the book was published in 2011, before the Markels’ bitter divorce and two years before a judge ruled against Wendi Adelson’s request to relocate with their children.

Assistant State Attorney Eddie Evans argued that her motion for relocation indicated she was “stuck in Tallahassee” and that she had emailed friends about how important it was for her to move south, where her family resided.

“I think it is relevant,” Evans said. “I think it is not an isolated statement and we take everything in context. I think it is admissible.”

Donna Adelson is the fifth person to be charged in the murder-for-hire of Markel. Charlie Adelson was convicted in the murder in 2023, following earlier convictions of the two hit men and an accomplice.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Judge in Donna Adelson case hears arguments about Wendi Adelson book