In this raw courtroom clip from the Donna Adelson Trial, Tallahassee realtor
Tim Kelly takes the stand and lays out a detail the defense wants front and center: back in
2011, he showed homes to
Donna and Harvey Adelson—appointments he says were set up at
Dan Markel’s request. Kelly methodically explains when the showings happened, the neighborhoods he toured with the Adelsons, and the ordinary, practical tone of those conversations. It’s not flashy testimony, but it’s the kind that makes jurors pause: if Donna and Harvey were considering a move
to Tallahassee years before Markel’s 2014 murder, how does that square with the state’s theory that the family was fixated on getting Wendi and the kids
out of Tallahassee?
Why it matters: motive. Prosecutors have framed this case around family conflict, relocation pressures, and control. Kelly’s testimony can’t rewrite the larger timeline—but it complicates it. The defense is using him to suggest the Adelsons’ priorities weren’t a one-way street. If jurors conclude the family at one time explored living near Markel instead of removing the children from him, that nuance could seed
reasonable doubt around the state’s overarching motive story.
Watch for the specifics: who contacted whom (Kelly says Markel), how the showings unfolded, and how the search ultimately fizzled. The defense is aiming for a simple takeaway—this was normal family logistics, not a breadcrumb trail toward violence. The prosecution, for its part, will argue the 2011 showings are a blip with little bearing on the decisions and communications that followed years later.
Bottom line: Kelly adds a quiet but strategic brick to the defense wall. It’s not the kind of testimony that makes headlines, but it’s exactly the kind that jurors revisit when they’re sorting motive from speculation.
#hashtags #DonnaAdelsonTrial #DanMarkel #TimKelly #TrueCrime #Tallahassee #MurderForHire #Courtroom #TrialUpdate #LegalAnalysis
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