Donna Adelson sentenced to life without parole in Markel murder case

Donna Adelson, the 75-year-old matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family, was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the 2014 murder-for-hire slaying of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel. A Leon County judge also imposed an additional 30 years to be served consecutively for convictions on conspiracy and solicitation charges arising from the same plot.

Adelson was found guilty last month after a weeklong trial of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation. Prosecutors have said the killing stemmed from a bitter custody dispute between Markel and his ex-wife, Adelson’s daughter, and that members of the family sought to move the children to South Florida against Markel’s wishes. Markel was shot as he sat in his car after dropping his children at preschool in Tallahassee in July 2014.

In a statement to the court before sentencing, Adelson denied involvement and said she had been convicted without evidence. “What happened to Danny is unforgivable. But I am an innocent woman convicted of this terrible crime without evidence,” she said, adding that she would appeal the verdict. Judge Stephen Everett interrupted...