5 years after Florida law professor Dan Markel was gunned down, journey to justice continues

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The last conversation Dan Markel had was about his two boys.

Five years ago today, the Florida State law professor — at 41, already a renowned legal scholar — was on his cellphone with a friend and teacher at the School of Arts and Science talking about where the preschoolers should start kindergarten.

Where the boys would go to school was yet another point of contention between Markel and his ex-wife Wendi Adelson, also a lawyer and FSU professor. Even after they were divorced, their acrimony continued to play out in vicious legal battles over the boys' parenting.

That Friday morning, at about 11 a.m., Markel was returning to his single-story brick home on in Betton Hills. He'd started the day a little before 9 a.m., dropping Ben and Lincoln off at Creative Preschool . He then hit Premier Fitness in Market Square, where he worked out for about 90 minutes.

He drove home south, and was still talking on the phone when he pulled his black Honda Accord into the garage. He remained behind the wheel for a few minutes continuing the conversation about Wendi trying to enroll the boys at the school without his knowledge.

“Hold on a second," Markel told his friend. "There is someone in my driveway that is unfamiliar to me."

Those were his last words.

On the other end of the phone, the next thing the friend heard was a loud grunt and muffled voices, followed by labored breathing. He asked if Markel was OK, but got no reply.

When emergency responders arrived at Markel's home — 19 minutes after the initial 911 call — Markel was slumped over the steering wheel struggling for breath. He’d been shot twice in the face at point blank range.

He was rushed to the hospital, but there was little to be done. He died at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare early the next day.

Meanwhile, the Tallahassee Police Department began what would be a years-long effort to find out who killed Markel and why.

At the outset, the horrid crime scene was clean and offered few clues.

Shards of shattered glass from the driver’s side window littered the concrete floor. There were no shell casings or signs of a struggle. The door leading from the garage into the house remained locked. Nothing was missing.

Two child seats remained buckled into the back seat. Kids toys filled the floorboards and trunk. Blood pooled crimson in the black leather driver’s seat. The car keys remained in the ignition.

Investigators spread yellow crime scene tape down the quiet, tree-lined street and fanned out into the neighborhood. The sun beamed through towering oak trees onto green, manicured lawns, disrupting the start of a quiet summer weekend.

A man across the street told police he heard a loud bang and saw a light-colored Prius backing out of the driveway. His front windows had a clear view of Markel’s garage.

Tracking that Prius, with the "silver pine mica" paint, aftermarket side mirror, missing front tow hook and windshield toll reader common in South Florida, would lead investigators to shocking revelations of alleged Miami hit men and a wicked murder-for-hire plot that stunned Tallahassee, a tight-knit law scholar community and the world beyond.

"Dan Markel was a light in the world," his parents Ruth and Phil Markel said, in a statement from their attorney Orin Snyder.

"Five years ago, Dan was murdered in cold blood outside his home — only hours after saying goodbye to his two young boys for what would be the last time. Five years later, his friends and family are still waiting for all of his killers to be brought to justice."

The Markels remarked how they used to visit Tallahassee regularly to see their grandsons.

Luis Rivera: Suspect pleads guilty in FSU law professor’s slaying

Now, as they prepare to return to Tallahassee for the trial of some of Dan’s alleged killers, they will be forced to relive the nightmare of Dan’s murder all over again, they said.

"“The Markels used to travel to Tallahassee to visit Dan and the boys at home—to visit their preschool, to attend music programs, and to play in the park together. Now, as they prepare to return to Tallahassee for the trial of some of Dan’s alleged killers, they will be forced to re-live the nightmare of Dan’s murder all over again. The Markels continue to be grateful for the support of the Tallahassee community and the efforts of law enforcement," said Snyder. "They are counting down the days until justice is done. More than anything, the Markels want to reunite with their beloved grandsons — Dan’s young boys — whom they have not been allowed to see in more than three years."

A tangled web

In September, after years of delays, Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua will go on trial for Markel’s murder. Both were arrested in 2016, after a nearly two-year investigation, during which police dogged dozens of leads and pleaded with the public for help.

Much of the case against the couple, who have children together, will come from Luis Rivera, a co-conspirator, who made a deal with prosecutors to testify against the others in exchange for a lighter sentence.

Prosecutors and police contend the trio did not act alone. They say his ex-wife’s family ordered his killing so their daughter would be free to move to South Florida with the boys – something she greatly desired and Markel forbade.

It was Rivera, a Miami gang leader already serving a federal prison sentence for other crimes, who fingered Magbanua, saying she was the go-between, recruiting him and Garcia as hitmen to kill Markel at the behest of Wendi Adelson’s brother, Charlie, who paid them $100,000.

Cellphone records show on many occasions during the weeks leading up to Markel's slaying, Magbanua had phone contact with Charlie Adelson, one of her top contacts. The wealthy periodontist often was the instigator of the calls, which were followed by calls between him and his mother, Donna Adelson. Those calls coincided with Magbanua contacting Garcia, who Rivera said fired the .38-caliber bullets that killed Markel.

Katherine Magbanua: Police say she is the link in Florida St. professor's killing

TPD long ago drafted arresting documents for Markel’s former brother-in-law, but prosecutors have maintained they lack direct evidence to charge anyone in the Adelson family.

Charlie Adelson’s attorney David Oscar Markus says they won’t find any.

“For five years, the state has picked through every piece of Charlie’s life — every phone call, every email message, every text, every relationship, every possible witness — looking for any excuse to charge him. But there is nothing there,” he said. “It has been reported that Katie was even offered full immunity — full immunity — to testify against Charlie. But she won’t lie, even to save herself. There’s no case against Charlie.”

Garcia’s attorney Saam Zangeneh has always questioned the reliability of Rivera’s testimony. He says his client is innocent.

“The State Attorney’s Office has been married to a theory from the inception,” he said. “They gave away the farm to Luis Rivera, who is the actual shooter in the case and probably one of the more culpable people in the conspiracy … We look forward to opening everyone’s eyes as to how he helped us.”

State Attorney Jack Campbell is hesitant to talk in depth about the case with Garcia and Magbanua’s trials set to begin Sept. 23. Publicity has surrounded the case from the start. National television crime shows followed local news coverage. Earlier this year, the case was the focus of a top national podcast.

Campbell noted the extensive investigation and said delving into details could jeopardize seating an impartial jury.

“We’re on the eve of trial which has been a long wait," he said. “There's been a tremendous amount of work on this case, and I’m very proud of the hard work of TPD, the FBI and our office. I can’t do anything that would compromise it.”

Magbanua’s attorneys Chris DeCoste and Tara Kawass, who have been in the midst of dozens of witness depositions in preparation for trial, took a moment to mark the 5-year milestone Wednesday.

“On this anniversary instead of again stressing Katie’s innocence, we'd rather address the community that lost a son," they said in a statement. "Through our extensive investigation we’ve learned many things including something many of you already know. Dan Markel was a great man, a brilliant scholar and a devoted father. Current legal battles aside his murder is beyond tragic.”

Mourning Danny

After five years, Markel's death is still raw for friends like Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg.

“No one deserves this kind of fate, but it hit a lot of us hard to know that Dan was stalked and murdered in cold blood in his own driveway,” said Aronberg, who knew Markel through Tallahassee's Harvard Alumni club when he served as a state senator.

“It’s such a waste and such a loss for our community and our state. Dan was contributing so much and still had so much to offer.”

Aronberg has a photo of Markel with his two boys. He’s smiling. It makes Aronberg think of his friend often.

“Dan was always a delight to be around. He was always optimistic and insightful. He was always a bright engaging and likable guy. I’m hoping that his family and all of his friends will achieve a measure of justice at the end of these trials.”

Wendi Adelson hasn’t spoken with investigators since the day her ex-husband was shot, when she broke down in tears upon hearing the news and sat for a five-hour interview with TPD investigators.

Dan Markel murder: Before Florida man died, ex-brother-in-law joked about hiring hitman

During the interview, she was frank about the bitter conflicts she had with the Harvard and Cambridge educated man she married in 2006 at a lavish ceremony in Boca Raton. Their marriage unraveled and by 2012, he returned from a business trip to find her, the boys and most of their possessions gone from the home where he would later be killed.

After the divorce, they fought over furniture, financial disclosures and family heirlooms in court. He sought to limit the children's unsupervised time with Adelson's mother who he said was pitting the boys against him.

She revealed that hours before Markel was shot, her brother darkly joked that as a gift he would hire her a hit man to kill her ex-husband.

“I’m just trying to think who would be angry enough to do something to him,” Adelson said that day.

She is scheduled to testify at trial, and her attorney, John Lauro said she would not be commenting about either pending criminal case.

But she shared that she and her two sons, now 10 and 8, continue to grieve.

In a statement through her lawyer, she said: “Our boys and I continue to mourn Danny’s loss for each day of the five long years since he was taken from us.”

Contact Karl Etters on Twitter @KarlEtters.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 5 years after Dan Markel was gunned down, journey to justice continues