Dan Markel.
The long-running investigation into the 2014 hitman killing of Florida State University law professorDan Markeltook a turn toward his ex-wife’s family with the arrest Thursday of the victim’s former brother-in-law on murder and conspiracy charges.
Charlie Adelson, whose sister Wendi was engaged in a contentious divorce and custody dispute with Markel when he was shot execution-style in his Tallahassee garage, was indicted Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder, the Leon County State Attorney’s office confirms to PEOPLE.
Adelson’s arrest at his Broward County home comes as his former girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, is due to go on trial next month on related murder charges after a prior mistrial when jurors were deadlocked. Two others, Sigfredo Garcia andLuis Rivera, previously were convicted of murder in Markel’s death.
State Attorney Jack Campbell did not elaborate on Adelson’s alleged role in a statement, but referenced a “new audio” of a 2016 recording of a conversation between Adelson and Magbanua in which the two allegedly discuss undercover agents approaching Adelson’s mom about Markel’s shooting.
Garcia, the suspected triggerman who drove to Tallahassee with Rivera from Miami in a rented vehicle, wasconvictedin 2019 and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years for conspiracy. Riverapleaded guiltyin 2016 to second-degree murder in a plea deal, and was sentenced to serve seven years in prison.
Magbanua has pleaded not guilty.
Luis Rivera, Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia.
Ugly Aftermath of Divorce
The initial arrests of Garcia, Rivera and Magbanua spoke to dark fears among Markel’s closest friends and colleagues that the couple’s acrimonious split might be a factor in the killing.
Markel, 41, was shot point-blank in the head on July 18, 2014, in the garage of his suburban home after dropping his two young sons off at daycare. He died the next day.
After the couple’s breakup two years earlier, Wendi Adelson had relocated herself and the couple’s two boys to South Florida, and Markel hadgone to court to force them to move backagainst the wishes of Wendi Adelson’s family, according to court documents. A criminal affidavit portrayed the ongoing conflict between Markel and the Adelson family as a possible “motive for this murder.”
It had been Wendi Adelson’s choice to end her six-year marriage to Markel. In September 2012, “Markel reportedly returned home from a business trip to find his family gone, a majority of the contents of the house missing and the paperwork for dissolution of marriage displayed on his bed,” according to a criminal affidavit in the case.
The divorce was granted without a trial in July 2013, a year before Markel’s killing. But lingering tension between the two led Wendi Adelson to suggest a theory to police to explain the killing.
“She made the statement that her brother had joked the previous summer about hiring a hit man but instead decided to buy her a television,” Tallahassee Police Det. Crag Isom testified during a December 2016 hearing.
Police followed that path into Wendi Adelson’s background, and more than two years after the killing, they made their initial arrests in what they portrayed as a murder-for-hire. At that time, police first alleged the link to Charlie Adelson.
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“Investigators believe motive for this murder stemmed from the desperate desire of the Adelson family to relocate Wendi and the children to South Florida, along with the pending court hearing that might have impacted their access to the grandchildren,” the affidavit stated.
It adds: “Email evidence indicates Wendi’s parents, especially her mother, wanted Wendi to coerce Markel into allowing the relocation to South Florida. Additionally, Wendi’s brother Charles reportedly did not like Markel and did not get along with him.”
The alleged link tying the Adelsons to the accused killers was first revealed in that same affidavit, in which investigators said Charlie Adelson “was involved in a personal relationship” with Magbanua, who is the mother of Garcia’s children and was described as a business associate of Garcia’s.
Attorneys Say Focus on Adelson Family Is ‘Unsupported Speculation’
The arrests in 2016 led attorneys for Charlie Adelson and Wendi’s parents, Donna and Harvey Adelson, toassert the family’s innocence.
“There has been a lot of unsupported speculation that the Adelsons had something to do with the murder. That speculation is categorically false,” the attorneys said in a joint statement at the time. “To be clear, none of the Adelsons — Wendi, her brother Charlie, or their parents Donna and Harvey — had anything to do with Dan’s murder.”
Markel’s family issued their own statement after Charlie’s arrest.
“The Markel family is deeply grateful to the State Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and all members of law enforcement for their tireless pursuit of justice,” said the statement shared with PEOPLE. “Nearly eight years after Danny’s tragic murder, these dedicated public servants continue to fight to honor Danny’s memory and to hold accountable all those responsible for his horrific death. On behalf of Danny’s family and friends in the Tallahassee community and all over the world, thank you.”
State Attorney Campbell’s statement said: “Dr. Markel’s family, the Office of the State Attorney, and the law-enforcement team behind this continuing investigation will not rest until justice is delivered to every person involved in this terrible crime.”
source: people.com
