Even after almost a decade, Dan Markel murder saga may not be over

Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat
Updated ·8 min read
Charlie Adelson licks his lips as his defense attorney Daniel Rashbaum whispers to him before the verdict is read Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.

The guilty verdicts in the Charlie Adelson murder trial closed one chapter — but not the book — on the investigation into the plot to kill Dan Markel and the prosecution of the people behind it.

Adelson, a Fort Lauderdale dentist and Markel’s former brother-in-law, was convicted Monday on all counts, first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation, in the law professor’s 2014 death.

Three people had already been convicted in the murder-for-hire: the two hit men, Luis Rivera, a Latin Kings gang leader, and Sigfredo Garcia, his close friend, along with Katie Magbanua, who had two kids with Garcia but was dating Adelson at the time of the killing.

Adelson, however, was the first architect of the conspiracy to go down. Legal experts say charges against others remain a distinct possibility.

Breaking: Judge in Charlie Adelson trial denies defense request to interview jurors

The defense and Adelson himself tried to convince the jury that the prosecution was wrong in its theory that his parents, Donna and Harvey Adelson, and his sister, Wendi Adelson, Markel’s ex-wife and the mother of his two sons, were in on the murder.

But the jury strongly rejected Charlie Adelson’s account, returning guilty verdicts in only three hours – swift for a trial with such voluminous evidence, including damning wiretaps with Adelson and his mom talking in code.

Tim Jansen, a prominent Tallahassee attorney and former prosecutor, said the state has “momentum” on its side following the courtroom win.

More: Why the jury convicted Charlie Adelson and what's next? Legal analysis by Tim Jansen

“The jury coming back within three hours — I think they were surprised, and I think they feel confident right now,” said Jansen, who wrote daily trial analysis for the Democrat.

Shortly after the guilty verdicts were read aloud in Courtroom 3G, Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman told reporters to “stay tuned” on whether more people will be charged. On Thursday, she said she couldn’t comment on “further investigation or arrests.”

Markel was killed at the same time he and Wendi Adelson were still battling in court over their sons and other matters. He was shot twice in the head the morning of July 18, 2014, after pulling his car into the garage of his Trescott Drive home. Markel, then 41, died the next day.

Donna Adelson in email to daughter: Markel 'hasn't beaten the Adelson family yet'

Prosecutors said the nasty post-divorce proceedings, including a request by Markel to bar Donna Adelson from unsupervised visits with her grandchildren, provided the motive for the murder. Countless communications between the Adelson family — which featured heavily in Charlie Adelson’s trial — would resurface in any future prosecution.

In one email from June 2013, Donna Adelson, who referred derisively to Markel as “Jibbers,” told her daughter that it was “time for action” after a judge denied her request to relocate with the kids to Miami. Cappleman read the email aloud during closing arguments.

“It’s time to take control of your life and not let Jibbers think he’s won anything by having you remain in Tallahassee, eight hours away from the only family you have. You can be a good actress when you want to. I’ve seen you in action. You need to put on the performance of your life. Jibbers hasn’t beaten the Adelson family yet.”

When the FBI turned up the heat on the family in 2016, it dispatched an undercover agent posing as a blackmailer to rattle Donna Adelson outside her Miami condo and get her and others talking on wires.

In a call soon after to her son, she avoided explicit talk about what had just happened — that the agent had given her a newspaper article about Markel and instructions to pay $5,000. She said it involved “probably the two of us. So you probably have a general idea what I’m talking about.”

Fred Conrad, a local criminal defense attorney who has followed all of the Markel-related trials, said there’s ample evidence to charge Donna Adelson. He said State Attorney Jack Campbell will likely defer to Cappleman, the long-time lead prosecutor in the Markel case, on whether and how to proceed.

“If Georgia thinks that she’s got a reasonable likelihood of conviction, I think she’ll go after her," Conrad said. "I think Donna is the big fish based on the evidence that I’ve seen presented in these trials.”

But Wendi Adelson, who testified in her brother’s trial under an immunity deal with the state, denied that her family had Markel killed to help her. “That’s completely untrue,” she said.

Donna and Harvey Adelson, who were dropped at the last minute as witnesses in the trial, also have long denied involvement. Their attorney did not respond to an email from the Democrat.

Will Adelson turn state's witness on his own family?

The case has already seen its share of backstabbing among conspirators, and with Charlie Adelson, 47, staring at a life sentence, experts say it’s possible he could decide to cooperate and flip on his own family.

Rivera ratted out Garcia in 2016, getting 19 years rather than life in a plea deal prosecutors called a “necessary evil.” Magbanua was offered a deal early on but rejected it only to get convicted on all counts last year in her second trial. Hoping for a reduction in her life sentence, she testified against Adelson on the second day of his trial.

“I think there’s going to be some discussion about using Charlie as a cooperating witness against his mother,” Conrad said.

James Waczewski, a Tallahassee attorney who posted trial analysis as Mentour Lawyer on his YouTube channel, Deep Dive True Crime, which has 100,000-plus subscribers, said he’s convinced by the evidence.

“To me, the whole theory of the defense in this case actually solidified my opinion that it was a family affair," said Waczewski, who attended the trial. “And I think there is enough evidence to at least bring it to a grand jury and let them decide.”

Carl Steinbeck, a Texas lawyer who also featured the trial on his YouTube Channel, Jury Trial Mentor, said the state could decide to go after Donna Adelson first before charging her daughter. He pointed to evidence against Wendi Adelson that she drove by the crime scene the day of the murder, which she denied on the stand, and had asked Markel where he would be the week of the crime.

“If they go after Donna at least first, that’s going to be motivation for Charlie to flip on Wendi to kind of deal and save his mom,” said Steinbeck, a retired Army judge advocate and former prosecutor.

But Jansen said some of the wire taps include exculpatory statements by the family about Wendi Adelson, including that she didn’t know “how lucky” she was after the murder.

“I think they’ve got a problem with Wendi,” he said. “She’s been given immunity to testify three times. That immunity is use — anything she says can’t be used against her. And they also have to prove that any evidence they get cannot be derivative use from that testimony. That’s very difficult to prove.”

Justice for Dan founder: More charges 'would be very appropriate'

Jason Solomon, a friend of Markel and a founder of the Justice for Dan group, said the “last straw” for the Adelson's was Markel’s motion to keep her from seeing her grandchildren unless supervised.

“That was a key to the motive,” said Solomon, who was working as a law professor at the University of Georgia when he met Markel. “And so I think it would be very appropriate and I hope that Donna’s indictment will be next.”

After the trial ended, Markel's parents, Ruth and Phil Markel, and his sister, Shelly Markel, declined to comment on whether they believed everyone who was responsible was behind bars.

“I think we’re going to leave that question for now,” Shelly Markel said outside the courtroom, “and enjoy this feeling of result and satisfaction of today’s results.”

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

Dan Markel murder, conspiracy takes center stage on "20/20" Friday, Nov. 10

With reporting from ABC News chief national correspondent, Matt Gutman, “20/20” documents how prosecutors used newly enhanced audio as the final link to charge Dan’s ex-wife’s brother, Charlie Adelson, with the crime.

The two-hour program features an exclusive interview with June Umchinda, Charlie Adelson’s ex-girlfriend, and additional interviews with Ruth and Phil Markel, Dan’s parents, and Michael Weinstein, a former family friend. “20/20” airs FRIDAY, NOV. 10 (9:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC, next day on Hulu.

Chronicling every day of the Charlie Adelson trial:

The Tallahassee Democrat, which has covered the case closely since Markel's murder, had three journalists in the courtroom. Here is a collection of their coverage.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Dan Markel murder case: Charlie Adelson conviction may not be the end