Over the course of 12 days, thousands of people across the country tuned in to watch live footage of a murder trial that dates all the way back to 2014. The case surrounds the murder-for-hire killing of Florida State University professor Daniel Markel.
Four people had already been convicted and imprisoned for their roles in this case, and the most recent person to be found guilty was 75-year-old Donna Adelson. Adelson happens to be the former mother-in-law of Markel.
Adelson was convicted of orchestrating the murder of Markel, who at the time had been involved in a bitter custody dispute with Adelson’s daughter Wendi.
It was Thursday, September 4, when it was announced that the jury had reached its verdict in the case after deliberating for just three hours. A short time after, it was revealed that the jury had found Adelson guilty of first-degree murder. This announcement caused Adelson to break out in loud sobs and scream, “Oh my God!”
“Mrs. Adelson, control yourself,” the judge was forced to instruct over the commotion.
Now, a woman whose full name has not yet been revealed has come forward and identified herself as the jury foreperson in the case. In a TikTok video, she discussed why the jury chose to convict Adelson. The story was later shared by People.
“Within the first hour, hour and a half, everyone was agreeing that she was guilty,” the woman stated. “It was unanimous within the first hour, hour and a half."
“We went over everything several times because this is a big decision and this is serious, and we all took our duty very seriously, like this isn't just fun and games. Although it is a very cool experience to talk about now and it’s exciting, it is someone's life, and it is the law, and we all took it very serious,” she continued.
The foreperson revealed that each member of the jury wrote down on a small slip of paper if they believed Adelson was guilty or not guilty. When the slips were collected, each one read “guilty.”