Mother-in-law charged in murder-for-hire plot to kill her daughter’s husband claims she is being forced to sit naked, go days without showers and eat with her hands in ‘cruel and unusual punishment’

A Florida woman charged with plotting to kill her ex-brother-in-law claims she is being subjected to “cruel and unusual punishment” in prison.

Donna Adelson was arrested last month at Miami-Dade Airport, a week after her son Charles was found guilty of hiring hitmen to kill her son-in-law Dan Markel.

Investigators said Adelson, 73, was trying to fly to Vietnam on a one-way ticket that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

After being taken into custody, her lawyer, Maricel Descalzo, filed a motion alleging that prison officials forced her to eat with her hands and sit naked.

Movement seen CNNclaims that the alleged treatment is a violation of her Sixth Amendment rights.

Donna Adelson was captured at Miami-Dade International Airport and booked into the county Correctional and Rehabilitation Center last month.

Charles Adelson (pictured) paid for the murder of law professor Dan Markel, who was married to his sister Wendy Adelson. Adelson licked his lips as his lawyer, Daniel Rashbaum, whispered to him before his sentencing last week.

The publication reported that Descalzo is seeking to have the court release Adelson to house arrest or force the prison to improve her conditions.

Descalzo is also asking the court to conduct a “psychological evaluation” of Adelson, which would result in her being placed in a different department. A hearing on the charges is scheduled to take place on Monday.

Adelson was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy and incitement in what prosecutors said was the contract killing of Dan Markel, her former son-in-law.

Dan Markel, a father of two, was shot and killed while sitting in his car outside his home.

Her son Charles, a dentist, was found guilty of Markel’s murder a week before her arrest.

Charles orchestrated the murder through his girlfriend, Kathy Magbanua, who then hired her ex-boyfriend Sigfredo Garcia and his friend Luis Rivera to carry out the murder.

Markel’s death was related to a legal battle he won to prevent Adelson’s daughter Wendy from moving from Tallahassee to South Florida with her two sons.

Markel was shot in the head as he sat in his car outside his Tallahassee home after dropping off his children at daycare and going to the gym.

The Adelsons immediately became suspects after Wendy Adelson told detectives that her ex-husband’s murder may have been orchestrated on her behalf, saying her parents were “very angry at Markel.”

The court heard Donna Adelson “hated” Markel and was “desperate to find a way” to overcome his determination to stop his two sons moving to South Florida.

Markel asked the judge to ban her from unsupervised contact with her grandchildren, and prosecutors discovered an email from July 2013 in which she responded to the court’s decision.

Sigfredo Garcia (left) and his friend Luis Rivera (right) were hired to carry out the murder.

Dan Markel (right) was shot and killed outside his home in 2014. He was married to Wendy Adelson (left), but during their bitter divorce, the couple argued over where their children would live. It was during this time that Markle was shot and killed.

“It’s time to take control of your life and not let Gibbers think he just ‘won’ something by making you stay in Tallahassee, eight hours away from the only family you have, and lose a job you can afford.” and your children will receive benefits that they would never otherwise enjoy,” she told her daughter.

“Let’s show this bastard what will make him absolutely miserable. You know his weak points; money, religion, control.”

Authorities say the Adelsons considered offering Markel $1 million to allow his ex-wife and sons to move out, but then Charlie Adelson and other family members began plotting his death.

During the trial, it was revealed that Charles paid Magbanua $138,000, which she split with the killers.

The family then granted her a no-show at their dental practice and paid other settlements totaling more than $56,000. Charlie Adelson also gave her a used Lexus.

Magbanua and Garcia were convicted of first-degree murder, and Rivera is serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against them.

Catherine Magbanua pictured in court in 2019

Wendy wanted to move from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to her family. However, the judge at the time ruled that Wendy Adelson could not move without Markel’s consent, and he refused, saying she could not move the children to Miami.

Investigators were able to trace phone records showing numerous conversations between Charlie Adelson and Magbanua, her and the killers, Charlie Adelson and his mother and sister in the hours before and shortly after the murder, as well as large monetary transactions between the family and Magbanua.

Charlie Adelson was arrested last year after technicians enhanced a recording he and Magbanua made at a Mexican restaurant in 2016 while they were under surveillance and discussing an extortion attempt.

In the conversation, Adelson told Magbanua that she would need to meet with the extortionist and agree to a lump sum payment.

During the trial, Wendy testified that her family had nothing to do with the murder of her ex-husband in 2014. She denied knowledge of the murder-for-hire plot or any involvement in it.

Wendy, who works as an attorney, moved to Miami days after her husband was shot and killed. She was granted limited immunity for her testimony.

Wendy Adelson and her father, dentist Harvey Adelson, have not been charged, but Campbell said the investigation remains open. They deny any involvement.