The murder trial of the suspected mastermind behind the death of Florida State University law professor, Dan Markel, has gained significant interest within the legal community and beyond. The once brother-in-law of the murdered professor, Charlie Adelson, is now facing the courtroom, as opening arguments begin.
Markel was fatally shot in his driveway by two hitmen, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, in July 2014. Upon their arrest, Rivera revealed that they had been hired due to a cryptic request: “the lady wants her two kids back.” This “lady”, it is presumed, was Wendi Adelson, Markel’s ex-wife, who was attempting to return her children to her family in South Florida. Following Markel’s death, Adelson legally changed her children’s names and cut their ties to Markel’s side of the family. Florida’s laws have been updated since then, in a move to prevent such severance of grandparent rights in the future.
The thread connecting this violent episode to an academic’s custody battle involves the mother of Garcia’s children, Katherine Magbanua, who not only worked for Adelson, but was dating him at the time of the murder. Rivera has testified that Magbanua coordinated the hit, and that the payment was split amongst them. However, despite strenuous efforts – including an FBI agent posing as an extortionist – no further evidence has been found, a fact which has kept Magbanua silent for years.
Though it took significant time to bring Magbanua to sentencing – for which she received a life sentence plus 60 years – whispers soon began circulating that she had started sharing her story with prosecutors. Combined with the emergence of clear surveillance recordings, this led to enough evidence to charge Charlie Adelson with the crime.
As proceedings continue, it is certain that legal professionals worldwide will be watching this complex criminal case unfold with keen interest.