Dan Markel murder: Charlie Adelson files appeal of conviction, life sentence

Charlie Adelson, the Fort Lauderdale periodontist serving life behind bars for his role in the 2014 murder of Dan Markel, is appealing his conviction.

Adelson, Markel’s former brother-in-law and the fourth person convicted in the murder-for-hire plot, was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation Nov. 6 after an eight-day trial at the Leon County Courthouse.

Last month, Circuit Judge Stephen Everett sentenced him to life in prison. Adelson is being held at the Northwest Florida Reception Center Annex in Chipley while he awaits assignment to a state prison.

On Dec. 31, Adelson’s appellate lawyer, Michael Ufferman of Tallahassee, filed notice of appeal of the judgment and sentence. The 1st District Court of Appeal received notice of the appeal from the circuit court on Tuesday.

Ufferman has yet to file Adelson’s initial appellate brief, which would detail any alleged errors by the judge and recommend remedies that could include a new trial.

In an interview, Ufferman said that once the entire record from the Adelson proceedings is filed — from pretrial hearings and jury selection through the trial itself and sentencing — he has 90 days to review it and put forth his arguments.

“At this point, it’s just premature for me to discuss the substance of the issues we’ll be raising on appeal,” he said.

Ufferman added that he has been in touch with Adelson’s lawyers, Dan Rashbaum and Kathryn Myers of Miami.

“They’ve been wonderful to work with,” he said. “They told me that they will be available for me to pick their brain moving forward, and I’ll certainly take them up on that. My initial starting point is I want to get the record and the transcripts and review everything cover to cover.”

Jurors returned guilty verdicts against Adelson after only three hours of deliberations in a trial marked by damning wire taps in which he and others talked about the murder, the investigation and an undercover FBI agent posing as a blackmailer.

One week after the trial wrapped, his mother, Donna Adelson, was arrested on murder charges in the death of Markel, her former son-in-law. She was taken into custody at Miami International Airport after she and her husband tried to board a flight to Vietnam with one-way tickets.

Markel, a law professor at Florida State University, was fatally shot July 18, 2014, in the garage of his Trescott Drive home. The murder happened after a bitter court fight between Markel and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, over issues that included custody of their two sons.

Three others, Sigfredo Garcia, the shooter, Luis Rivera, a Latin Kings gang member who drove the getaway car, and Katie Magbanua, Charlie Adelson’s ex-girlfriend, were all previously convicted in Markel’s murder. Rivera, who flipped on his friends in a cooperation deal, got 19 years in prison. Garcia and Magbanua are serving life sentences.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Charlie Adelson files appeal of conviction for Dan Markel murder