RECAP | Charlie Adelson testifies about Dan Markel murder, will continue in the morning

Charlie Adelson, the Fort Lauderdale periodontist accused of arranging the 2014 hit on Tallahassee law professor Dan Markel, is taking the witness stand this morning, testifying in his own defense that he was being extorted by the killers and was not involved with the murder.

After a bruising day Wednesday, in which the state played wire taps of Adelson, his family and other conspirators talking about an FBI agent who posed as a blackmailer and tried to shake the Adelson family down for $5,000, he announced he would in fact testify.

His decision to take the stand — a potentially perilous move for any defendant — means he will tell his story publicly for the first time since Markel was shot on July 18, 2014, in the garage of his Trescott Drive home. He will no doubt face a scorching cross-examination by prosecutors who have long pursued him.

Adelson is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in the killing of Markel, then a 41-year-old attorney and legal scholar at Florida State University. Prosecutors contend that Markel, who was married to Adelson's sister, Wendi Adelson, before she divorce him in 2012, was murdered because the Adelson family wanted her to return to Miami with the two kids she shared with him.

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Dan Markel murder-for-hire conspiracy: Everything you need to know about the case and what happened

Charlie Adelson takes the stand to testify

The defense called their final witness on the morning of the sixth day of trial — Charlie Adelson.

This is the first time since Dan Markel's murder that he's had the chance to publicly share his side of the story.

"Charlie, let's start with the most important question: Did you cause the death of Dan Markel?" Danial Rashbaum, his attorney, asked.

"Absolutely no," Charlie Adelson said.

Rashbaum then asked him how he was feeling.

"Really nervous . . . my whole life depends on this," Adelson answered.

The questioning started from the beginning. Adelson told the jury about his hometown, where he went to college, what his profession was and what it entailed.

He started moonlighting in dental school and worked at various dental offices where he went in to do surgeries. He eventually traveled around to 30-35 different dental offices, then moved into his Fort Lauderdale home in 2006.

"I never turned any work down," Adelson said.

Adelson said the offices where he worked would usually write him a check to pay him. But he would occasionally get paid for cash in materials, which he said were expensive and could cost hundreds or thousands. "It was really just when I was doing favors" for dentist friends.

He testified that he liked to collect cash, a practice he started as he a kid when he'd receive a $1 allowance each week.

"I worked my whole life to get where I was," he said.

He said 2013, 2014 and 2015 where his best financial years.

Rashbaum then switched to talk about Adelson's family. It wasn't unusual for Adelson to call his mother at least once a day, sometimes multiple times a day, he said.

He said he didn't feel like his mother was as involved in his life as she was in his sister's, Wendi Adelson.

"I did what I wanted," he said.

Markel and Adelson first met when Markel was in town and they all had lunch in a deli.

"I thought he was a nice guy," he said. "He seemed like Wendi's other boyfriends; I didn't have much in common with him."

He said he never hung out with Markel much and only visited Tallahassee when Markel married Wendi and for the birth of their sons.

Wendi never complained about violence or that she felt like she was in danger or that Markel was a bad father.

During the divorce, Adelson said his mom was upset because Wendi was upset.

“It was almost like a telephone game," he said. "She would vent to my mom and my mom would vent to me.”

Wendi mostly wanted to relocate following the divorce because she didn't have family in Tallahassee. When the judge denied her request to move, Wendi wasn't that upset and neither was he, but their parents were.

Adelson gave Wendi a TV as a divorce present, which became the brunt of a "bad joke" that has come to haunt Adelson throughout the duration of his trial.

When he gave her the new TV he said it was cheaper than hiring a hitman.

"Stupidest thing I've ever said in my life," he said.

"Did you ever look into hiring a hitman?" Rashbaum asked.

"No never," Adelson answered.

Rashbaum shifts focus of questioning to Katherine Magbanua

Charlie Adelson met Katherine Magbanua in the summer of 2013 at a dental office where he worked throughout the week. They first went out later that fall.

Adelson denied that he ever asked Magbanua if she could find somebody to kill Markel.

"I pursued her," he said. "Katie was really cute. She was friendly. She actually graduated from UCF also."

He said that he liked how she had a very busy life like him, and she was fine seeing him sparingly throughout the week. He said he didn't know anything about her common law husband, Sigfredo Garcia, one of the two killers convicted in Markel's murder. He just knew she'd been with somebody for 10 years.

The defense showed text messages between Adelson and Magbanua where she told him that her ex knew him, and Adelson asked how he knew him if he was somebody from his past.

In the text messages, Magbanua expressed how her ex was being "nasty" after finding out she was dating Adelson. Adelson testified that he just took as "she has a crazy ex-boyfriend."

"I didn’t feel he was threatening me," he said. "It was a part of her life that I wouldn’t hold against her."

Magbanua wanted "more" from her relationship with Adelson but he said he "didn't want to rush things." Their relationship was coming to an end in the summer of 2014 because he didn't want more.

Leading up to that, the couple went to a dinner in March 2014 with Wendi and her boyfriend Jeffrey Lacasse at Yardbird in Miami. He said he didn't know he was being watched.

He made the same "bad joke" about the hitman and TV at this dinner.

"Did you know anything about the first attempted murder of Professor Markel in early June?" Rashbaum asked.

"No," Adelson said.

Adelson said he never met Garcia until July 1, 2014. He had taken Magbanua to go jet-skiing and almost rear ended Garcia after he cut on front of them and slammed on his brakes. Garcia then got out of his car and approached Adelson's car screaming at him.

"His face was red," Adelson said. "The guy was going crazy."

Adelson said he told Magbanua that Garcia was crazy and that Magbanua said the old "Tuto" would've done much worse. Later that day, Adelson said Garcia called his dad and threatened him.

Extortion theory explained

Adelson said he talked with Katie early in the morning on July 17, 2014. He had been working late and had dinner with an office worker. “Katie was questioning where I was and who I was with and that it was suspicious,” Adelson said. “She thought I was cheating on her.”

She insisted he have dinner with her in Miami on July 18, the day Dan Markel was shot.

"What was odd was she was so adamant," he said.

Adelson said he spoke to his sister that morning as he drove to Jupiter for work that day. Later while he was in surgery, his phone began to blow up with missed calls and text messages telling him to call back immediately.

He said he stopped what he was doing because he could tell it was important. His mother told him "Dan had been shot and that it was serious."

"I was shocked," he said.

He originally planned to have dinner with Magbanua that evening, but in light of the news he told her he wasn't feeling up to going out, so she came over instead.

When she arrived, he said he'd never seen her so distraught. She sat with him in the living room and said, "Listen this is all my fault, I had know idea anything was going to happen."

Confused, Adelson asked what she was talking about.

"My friend killed Dan," she said.

"Katie I'm not going to be apart of this," he said.

"If you don't pay in 48 hours they're going to kill you," she said.

He told her that he felt like he was being extorted, but she insisted she wasn't extorting him that she also got dragged into this. She told him that shouldn't couldn't say who did it, but they threatened to kill him if he went to the police.

The hitmen were asking for a third of a million dollars, he told her he didn't have that kind of money. In his safe he had $138,000, which Magbanua took, and was left to figure out how to get the rest of the money.

She asked if he could go to his parents, but he said his dad would call the cops. Magbanua said he could pay $3,000 a month to the killers.

After the alleged extortion, Adelson said he kept a gun on him at all times. He also had 23 cameras installed in his home.

"I was worried about my safety," he said. "I fully expected these people to come back and possibly kill me."

"After you were extorted did you tell anybody what happened to you?” Rashbaum asked.

“No,” he said adding that Magbanua had told him to keep quiet.

The couple broke up July 2014, and at the time, he said he didn't think Katie was part of the extortion. "I was a little suspicious," he said. But he said she kept saying how sorry she was.

Magbanua later asked for money and to go on the Adelson Institute's payroll for $1,000 a month. Adelson called his mother asking her to pay out four or five checks at a time.

The amount raised some red flags for Donna Adelson, and she pried information out of her son as to why Magbanua needed all this money.

"I told her the night of the 18th I got extorted for a third of a million dollars," Adelson said

"She wanted to go to the police," Adelson said. "I said 'Absolutely not, it's not going to bring Dan back and it could get me killed.'"

As more time went on, Adelson said he became more sure that Magbanua wasn't involved in the extortion because she kept asking for money and he said he thought there was no way that she could be extorting him if she was this "broke."

Because of this he said they became friends and formed a relationship.

"It was different but stronger because I needed her for my safety," he said.

Rashbaum transitioned his questioning to some of the wires where Adelson and his mother were discussing his sister's latest boyfriend Dave.

He mentioned how her boyfriend wasn't invited Wendi's son's birthday.

“By the way I saw you get a little emotional there. Do you love your nephews?” Rashbaum asked.

“Of course," Adelson answered

“Would you ever take their father from them?” Rashbaum asked

“No," Adelson answered.

Examination continues following lunch break

The defense resumed its examination by playing back the recording of the very first phone call Charlie and Donna Adelson shared after "the bump."

She told her son she got "paperwork" hand-delivered to her and asked for meeting with him.

"Do you think it has anything to do with either your extortion or professor Markel's murder in that moment?" Daniel Rashbaum said.

"No," Adelson answered. "I could tell something was bothering her and she was beating around the bush."

This call was on April 19, 2016, one day before Adelson and Magbanua met at Dolce Vita, where the FBI secretly recorded their conversation.

Adelson said that by his third phone call with his mom, he understood that she was being extorted, just as he was.

A second call was played back where Donna is asking Charlie to bring cash to pay for their dinner.

At this request, Adelson said he grew more concerned. His mind immediately went to whether this was related to what happened to him 21 months ago.

He began asking her questions about the race of the person and if there was a time frame for the payment to see if it matched his situation.

"I always thought it was Sigfredo who did it," Adelson said.

Adelson called Katherine Magbanua after calling his mom to see if her friend was also extorting his mom. Magbanua was just as confused.

The next morning, he met Donna to talk to his mom outside of a Miami restaurant. He told her this situation seems very different from what happened to him.

After he drove to see Magbanua, who was 15 minutes away from his parents' place. This was the Dolce Vita meeting. Adelson said he had no idea he was being followed at that point.

"I had more questions that answers after I got done talking to her," Adelson said.

She explained to Adelson some of the involved parties.

"I thought it was a joke that there was a Tuto and a Tato," Adelson added.

She said Tato was "a bad dude" & head of the Latin Kings. He said Magbanua told him, "He's the one who rented the car . . . He's the one who did this to Dan." Luis Rivera was known as Tato and Sigfredo Garcia was known as Tuto.

Magbanua told him that she took the money from him and gave it to Rivera and "didn't take a dime."

Adelson acknowledged he was "talking tough" at Dolce Vita.

"If somebody comes up to me, they better be ready to shoot because I’m going to shoot them," Adelson said at the restaurant. He wanted Katie to know that he'd "had enough." He wanted her to tell them to stop.

He was trying to figure out if it was real extortion or the police. Magbanua said it had to be the police because the people she knows wouldn't do it like that.

“Why did you wish it was a cop playing games?” Rashbaum asked.

“It meant my mom wasn’t being extorted by Latin King gang members,” Adelson said.

Even though he "came around" to her line of thinking that it was the police, he still asked Magnabua to call the number on the off chance it wasn't law enforcement.

Rashbaum says examination will take the remainder of the day

"Mr. Rashbaum, time check," Judge Stephen Everett said.

"I'm not sure you want to know," Daniel Rashbaum answered. "I don't anticipate this will end today. It may."

Rashbaum continues with his all-day defense case by replaying recorded calls between Charlie and Donna Adelson and Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia that followed the Dolce Vita meeting.

“I believed there was no danger to my family at this time,” Adelson said. “Well, very minimal.”

Rashbaum asked Adelson if he and Magbanua ever discussed a code. Adelson said no but he talked "extremely carefully" with her.

“I didn’t want Katie to think I was setting her up," he said.

The state previously called witnesses to testify about the code words, and real estate was one of them.

"There was some real talk about real estate because she worked at a real estate company," Adelson testified.

Adelson later met with his father Harvey Adelson a Matsuri. He told his father what had happened to him and explained why he didn't tell him earlier. He also noted that he thought this case was the police and not the same as his situation.

By the time they had left, Harvey agreed to not go to the police.

On an April 21, 2016, phone call, Adelson told his mother he was 99% sure it was the police.

"I wanted to calm her down," he said.

"It was all lining up to make me question why," Adelson said.

On April 23, 2016, he found out that Katie and Sigfredo got in a big fight and she left him.

“When I called her on the phone, she said she took her (stuff) and left," he said.

He said he was upset because her relationship with Garcia was “the best way” for him to stop anyone extorting his mom.

His parents got a "bump" letter April 25, 2016, and Adelson said this was way more threatening than the first street encounter. He immediately called Magbanua, but he said she avoided him.

He finally got a chance to confront her about whether it was Sigfredo Garcia extorting his mom, and she told him no. She was adamant it wasn't them and said this wouldn't be the way Garcia and Luis Rivera would go about it.

They later had a heated phone call with Adelson asking her to help him by calling the undercover agent's number. Magbanua said she already tried calling and it was a non-working number and that Adelson should try himself.

He said he didn't care what phone she used to make the call because she was a victim like him.

"Cause I don't think she's involved in the extortion of me or the murder of Dan Markel," Adelson said.

Adelson himself later called the undercover number hoping to get information out of him. He said the man he spoke to sounded educated and not like a Latin King gang member.

"You understand the state's theory is that you conspired with Garcia, Rivera, Magbanua and the rest of his family," Rashbaum asked.

"That's their theory," Adelson said.

"Does it make any sense?" Rashbaum asked.

"No, not at all," he replied.

Adelson said Magbanua told him she called the undercover number 100 times. It wasn't until "many years later" he found out she never called the number. There was no message left either.

"The state's wrong," Adelson said. "They're wrong about a lot of things."

Chronicling the case:

• Pre-trial: What we learned from jury selection

• Walkthrough of witnesses: Those making the case for, against Charlie Adelson

• Case primer: Everything to know about the murder-for-hire case

• Day 1 opening statements: Defense says ex-girlfriend was murder 'mastermind'

• Day 1 testimony: Wendi Adelson says she was surprised to learn Charlie knew Dan Markel's murderer all along

• Day 2: Charlie Adelson murder trial sees twists, turns as his sister and a hit man testify

• Day 3: Magbanua flips: Web of lies and phone records dominate Day 3 of Charlie Adelson trial

• Day 4: Enter the FBI: Surveillance, wiretaps and phone records dominate Day 4 of Adelson trial

• Day 5: 'I will testify': Charlie Adelson to take the stand; state rests with bombshell wire taps

GAVEL-TO-GAVEL COVERAGE: 

The Tallahassee Democrat will livestream each day of the trial of Charlie Adelson from the courthouse in Tallahassee. Watch on Tallahassee.com and the Tallahassee Democrat's Facebook and YouTube pages. For best viewing experience: Download the Tallahassee Democrat app to watch and receive text alerts on when to watch – from opening arguments to the verdict.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: RECAP | Charlie Adelson testifies about Dan Markel murder