Opening arguments have begun in the trial of Charlie Adelson, the former brother-in-law of murdered FSU Law professor Dan Markel. The Tallahassee Democrat is streaming the events:
In July 2014, two hitmen fatally shot Markel in his driveway. Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera had driven to Tallahassee from South Florida to execute Markel. When captured, Rivera told authorities the pair had been hired to do the job because “the lady wants her two kids back.” The presumed “lady” was Wendi Adelson, Markel’s ex-wife who was trying to relocate her children back to South Florida where her family lived. After the murder, Adelson took the children, legally changed their names to “Adelson,” and cut off their contact with Markel’s parents. Florida law has since changed to prevent foreclosing grandparent rights in this manner.
How did Rivera, a leader of the Latin Kings, and his childhood friend Garcia get mixed up in a law professor custody dispute? Law enforcement didn’t have to work all that hard to find a connection, as Garcia’s ex and the mother of his children, Katherine Magbanua, worked for and, at the time, dated Wendi’s brother, Charlie Adelson. Rivera would later state that Magbanua had set up the hit and that the gunmen split the payout with her. But with Magbanua remaining tight-lipped and surveillance efforts — including an undercover FBI agent posing as an extortionist — turning up nothing, the hard evidence ended with her.
It took years to bring Magbanua to the point of sentencing — where she received a life sentence plus 60 years — but then some hints dropped that she had begun to tell prosecutors about her side of the deal. Coupled with the revelation that advancing technology had made previously garbled surveillance recordings usable, authorities determined that they had enough to charge Charlie Adelson.
Bringing us to this morning’s opening statements.
Earlier: Law Professor’s Murder Case Takes Turn As Convicted Intermediary May Be Ready To Talk
Life Sentence In Law Professor Murder Case
Long-Awaited Arrest Made In Law Professor’s Murder
