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(Tallahassee, FL) - The murder-for-hire case of Miami grandmother Donna Adelson has begun in Tallahassee.
75-year-old Adelson is accused of conspiring to kill her daughter's ex-husband, Dan Markel, over the custody battle.
The state telling the jury that she helped plan a gangland-style hit on Markel while the defense says there's no evidence to prove it.
State Attorney Sarah Kathryn Dugan said during opening arguments Donna he hated the victim and all roads point to her as the Matriarch Mastermind of the murder.
She showed the jury video of Adelson taking a note from an undercover officer during a sting called "the bump."
Before the bump, the state did not have enough evidence to charge anyone in the crime. But, after the bump, Dugan says Donna connected the dots by reaching out to everyone involved.
The defense told the jury that the state provided no evidence, only motive and theory, that their client was involved in the planning of the murder, the hiring of the killers or the payment for service.
The defense attorney Jackie Fulford is predicting a long trial which is expected to last until September 8th.