Matriarch Convicted: The Bitter Custody Battle Turned Deadly

The affluent South Florida family matriarch, Donna Adelson, was found guilty on Thursday of orchestrating the death of her former son-in-law, Daniel Markel, a prominent Florida State University law professor embroiled in a contentious custody battle when he was murdered in 2014. The verdict came after a weekslong trial that captivated audiences with its grim details of family strife and violence.

Prosecutors in the trial argued that Adelson orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot to eliminate Markel, who had refused to allow Donna Adelson's daughter, Wendi, to move their two children closer to her family in South Florida. This legal battle over the relocation of the children led to the tragic events of Markel's killing, they claimed.

Donna Adelson is the fifth person to face trial in this decade-long case, with her son, Charles, already serving a life sentence. Others involved include Katherine Magbanua, who acted as an intermediary, and the hitmen Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera. Despite defense claims of insufficient evidence against her, the prosecution painted Adelson as the mastermind behind the plot.

(With inputs from agencies.)