About this episode

The episode reviews recent developments in the Adelson case, including Charlie's appeal and Donna's prison transfer.

Everything we covered this week on the Adelson case — Charlie's appeal heading to oral arguments, Donna's transfer to South Florida, and the question that won't go away. On February 3rd, 2026, Florida's First District Court of Appeal will hear oral arguments in Charlie Adelson's bid to overturn his life sentence. His 91-page brief makes four main arguments, but the numbers tell the story: of 130 potential jurors interviewed, 96 had heard of the case. Of the 54 who formed an opinion, 53 believed Charlie was guilty before the trial started. His attorneys argue pretrial publicity made a fair trial impossible. They also claim defense attorney Dan Rashbaum was compromised by a conflict of interest — the same conflict that blew up Donna's trial when Charlie revoked his waiver the morning jury selection was set to begin. Donna Adelson has been transferred from the Ocala reception center to Homestead Correctional Institution in Miami-Dade County — exactly where her defense requested at sentencing, close to her husband Harvey. She's filed her own notice of appeal. Mother and son, both serving life, fighting through the same appellate court, neither willing to testify for the other. This…

Topics covered

• legal proceedings
• appeals
• prison transfer
• family dynamics
• murder case
• pretrial publicity

Keywords

• Charlie Adelson
• Donna Adelson
• Dan Markel
• appeal
• prison transfer
• Florida court
• pretrial publicity
• Katherine Magbanua
• Wendi Adelson

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Florida's First District Court of Appeal

Places: South Florida, Miami-Dade County, Ocala, South Dakota, Lowell Annex

More episodes of The Trial Of Donna Adelson | The Murder Of Dan Markel

• Charlie Adelson Appeal Hearing Recap: What the Judges Said and What Happens Next | Full Breakdown · February 5, 2026 · 15 min
• Charlie Adelson Appeal: February 2026 Oral Arguments — Everything You Need to Know · January 6, 2026 · 17 min
• Donna Adelson: Cracks, Clues, and the Moment She Slipped | 2025 True Crime · January 3, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Wendi Freezes, Robert Speaks: The Adelson Kids Break Silence | 2025 True Crime · January 2, 2026 · 35 min
• Inside the 9 Moments That Destroyed Donna’s Defense | 2025 True Crime · January 1, 2026 · 1h 24m
• Jeffrey LaCasse Testifies: Wendi Adelson’s Secrets Hit the Courtroom | 2025 True Crime · December 31, 2025 · 26 min

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