Broward County periodontist Charlie Adelson, who prosecutors claim paid two hit men $100,000 to kill his former brother-in-law, is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder. He has remained in a Leon County jail without bond since his arrest in April 2022 after prosecutors argued he might tamper with witnesses and flee the country ahead of trial.
Monday, October 23, was the first day of jury selection.
In the aftermath of Markel's killing in July 2014, the story gripped the nation. It became the subject of countless true-crime shows and podcasts including Wondery's Over My Dead Body as spectators tried to solve the mystery of who murdered the esteemed law professor and father.
After nearly two years of little-to-no movement in the case, police made a huge break in their investigation. Police charged North Miami gang leader Luis Rivera (who was locked up in an Orlando federal prison at the time for an unrelated case) and his friend Sigfredo Garcia for Markel's murder. Tollbooth footage caught the pair driving from South Florida to Tallahassee in a Toyota Prius that was seen leaving Markel's driveway the morning of the killing.
Their arrests led police to uncover an alleged murder-for-hire plot that prosecutors say centered around Markel's former brother-in-law, Charlie Adelson. At the time of the execution-style killing, Markel was fighting a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife Wendi, Adelson's sister.
Prosecutors claim Adelson came up with the murder-for-hire plot after Markel did not allow his two sons to move to South Florida with their mother. They say Adelson's girlfriend at the time, Katherine Magbanua, had connected him with Garcia, her ex-boyfriend.
Dan Markel was a prominent law professor at Florida State University.
Florida State University College of Law
While the hit men and go-between went down for the murder, Adelson remained free despite being on police and prosecutors' radar for years.
Following her ex-husband's murder, Wendi told investigators her brother had made jokes about hiring a hit man to kill Markel. Jeffrey Lacasse, an ex-boyfriend of Wendi, said during a police interview in 2015 that she talked about her brother hiring a hit man to kill her ex-husband.
The police investigated Adelson's family, including his mother Donna Adelson, by conducting sting operations and using wiretap recordings. Wendi and Donna have not been charged in the scheme and deny any involvement.
Wendi, who now lives in South Florida with her two sons, testified in Magbanua's trial and retrial, reportedly under a deal that precluded her testimony from being used against her by prosecutors.
Evidence in Charlie Adelson's case includes an enhanced FBI audio recording of a conversation between Magbanua and Adelson from 2016. During the conversation at a Miami restaurant, Adelson allegedly told Magbanua about a blackmailer approaching his mother about the murder and how to potentially deal with him. The would-be blackmailer was actually an undercover FBI agent who approached Adelson as part of a "bump" operation to get them to talk about the murder plot.
Earlier this month, Adelson's attorney Daniel Rashbaum argued in court that the recording should not be permitted as evidence in the trial because Magbanua's part of the conversation was still inaudible, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. Prosecutors disagreed and said the jury in Magbanua's trial found the recording to be audible and compelling. Leon County Circuit Judge Stephen Everett ruled in favor of the state and allowed for the recording to be presented at Adelson's trial, though he agreed to hold off on permitting the jury to see a transcript of the 2016 recording.
Adelson's parents will not be appearing as witnesses in their son's trial despite recent indications they would be called to the stand.
Prosecutors had issued subpoenas for them to appear for questioning ahead of the trial. It would have been their first time sitting down with prosecutors, as reported by the Tallahassee Democrat. The judge threatened to hold the pair in contempt of court if they failed to comply after a prosecutors' motion indicated they "will not honor the state's investigative subpoenas" and planned to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights.
However, last week, Adelson agreed to remove his parents from the witness list, and the state withdrew its subpoenas for questioning, the Democrat reported.
