Florida Mom and Son Accused of Orchestrating In-Law’s Murder Derided Jurors as ‘Inbred’ in Jailhouse Calls

A Florida man and his mother named in a murder-for-hire plot were captured in jailhouse phone calls trashing the jurors who convicted him as being "inbred" and discussing what the future held for them. 

Charlie Adelson, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole for orchestrating the killing of his brother-in-law, talked with his mother, Donna Adelson, for a whopping 35 hours between his conviction on Nov. 6 and her arrest on Nov. 13, Court TV reported. 

The 73-year-old mom was arrested at Miami International Airport as she prepared to board a flight to Vietnam, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

In some of the calls obtained by Court TV, Charlie Adelson and his mother ridiculing the jury that convicted him, noting that their friends had assumed he would be found not guilty.

“This is from intelligent people, that’s my problem," Donna said.

“That’s the catch. That’s a jury of my peers. The jury of my peers was not there," he said.

Charlie described in harsh terms the members of the jury during his trial in Tallahassee for killing Florida State University law professor Dan Markel.

“There was five black women on the jury. One black guy that was a sergeant … one kind of redneck looking a little bit … then three guys that looked like they were inbred that were like out of shape, 30 years old, look like they’ve never had a girl in their life," he said, according to the report.

They also discussed how the mom was concerned about her grandson and the need to prepare for the future.

“I have to talk, when we have a moment, about things that we need to take care of, ok?” she said.

“Yeah – money and stuff like that, I got you," the son replied.

"Things I need to take care of for [grandchild] and, you know, ways that we can take care of him and help him, so there’s that. That’s the most important. And then, just figuring out about the dogs. (Sobbing) I’ve got to take care of things, Charlie," she said.

In some of the conversations with his mom, Charlie boasted about his testimony in his own defense. 

He crowed that his defense attorney told him: “If I were to give you a score, I think you’d get a 95.” 

Before the verdict, he predicted he would be walking away a free man.

“And I was literally – I was on cloud 9 over the weekend. I was like, I’m going to see my son, I’m going to get out. … I can’t wait to be on my boat, I can’t wait to see my son, I can’t decide what restaurant I wanted to go to," he said, Court TV reported. 

And, like his mother, he complained about the conditions under which he was being held. 

He said he was being housed i n a suicide cell “with blood on the walls and (expletive) on the ceiling. Literally — feces all over the place.”

Donna filed a lawsuit last month claiming she was being subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment" and was forced to eat with her hands while sitting naked by herself in a small cell. 

Charlie described being held in custody as "worse than getting cancer" and lamented his former life as a dentist in Fort Lauderdale.

"I made a ton of money. … I lived a very low-key lifestyle. I really did. … I didn’t really spend money on things. The one thing I treated myself with was when I bought that Ferrari. … Outside of that, I bought a boat for $8,000…I never treated myself," he said. 

Donna has pleaded not guilty.

Markel, who was married to Donna's daughter Wendi, was murdered in 2014 while sitting in his car outside his home in Tallahassee.