'My life depends on it': Charlie Adelson testifies prosecutors 'wrong' about Markel murder

Charlie Adelson spent all day Thursday on the witness stand — denying he had anything to do with the murder of Dan Markel and insisting he had been extorted — as his lawyer methodically walked him through the state’s mountain of evidence against him.

Late in the day, Daniel Rashbaum, the Miami lawyer representing Adelson, asked him about the state’s theory: that he and his family, including his sister, Wendi Adelson, who divorced Markel before his murder in 2014, and their parents arranged for two hitmen to kill him.

“The state’s wrong,” Adelson said. “They’re wrong about a lot of things.”

Adelson, 47, a well-to-do periodontist from Fort Lauderdale, remained calm and composed throughout the testimony — though he will be tested more harshly during cross-examination on Friday.

He choked up as he mentioned a man Wendi was dating who seemed to “really love” his nephews, Markel’s sons, now in their early teens. Rashbaum didn’t miss the opportunity to ask him about it.

“I saw you get a little emotional there,” Rashbaum said. “Do you love your nephews?”

“Of course,” said Adelson, who was called “Uncle Charlie” on one of the wiretaps played in court that day.

“Would you ever take their father away from them?” his lawyer asked.

“No, never,” Adelson said. “Never in a million years.”

His comments marked the sixth day of testimony inside Courtroom 3G at the Leon County Courthouse, where Adelson is on trial on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Markel, a law professor at Florida State University, was shot twice in the head July 18, 2014, after parking his car in the garage of his house on Trescott Drive. Three people have already been convicted in the killing: Luis Rivera, a Latin Kings gang leader, his friend, Sigfredo Garcia, and Garcia’s common law wife, Katie Magbanua, who was dating Adelson at the time.

The murder happened amid ongoing custody battles over Markel and Wendi Adelson’s kids and a ruling by a judge that she couldn’t relocate to Miami — something prosecutors allege the Adelsons wanted at all costs, including blood.

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

Adelson denies asking broaching hit with Magbanua on Halloween 2013

Charlie Adelson, however, downplayed the relocation ruling and said his sister, a lawyer, understood that winning on that issue had been “a long shot.” He testified neither of them were angry about it and that his sister was forging ahead in Tallahassee.

“It didn’t change anything in my life,” he testified.

Adelson told jurors that before the murder, his parents, Donna and Harvey Adelson, came up with an idea to offer Markel $1 million so that he could move to Miami to reside in the same city as Wendi Adelson and the kids and fly back and forth to Tallahassee for work. He said it had been vetted by a lawyer and that he agreed to pay a third.

At some point, he shared the story about the million dollar offer with Magbanua, whom he met in the summer of 2013 at a South Beach dental office where she worked the front desk and he visited for surgeries. They’d both graduated from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, though at different times.

“She was really cute,” he said. “She was friendly. She was extremely smart and witty, and that’s why I pursued her.”

He said that after he started going out with her, he learned she had two kids and an ex, but he didn’t know it was Garcia or anything more about him. He said that over time, she wanted to get more serious, but he wanted things to “stay the way they were.”

Adelson testified that they went on their first date around Oct. 10, 2013. The date was significant because Magbanua, who’s serving a life sentence in the murder, testified earlier that Adelson first asked if she knew anyone “anyone that can harm someone” after a Halloween party in 2013.

“Did you ask her just two weeks later if she could find someone to kill Professor Markel?” Rashbaum asked.

“No,” Adelson said with a faint laugh. “Not at all.”

Charlie Adelson testifies about learning of Markel's shooting: 'I was shocked'

On the day of the murder, he said he was working in two different dental offices in Jupiter and could see he had missed some texts during surgery. One from his mom said to call her back ASAP, which he did.

“She told me that Wendi had just called her and that Dan had been shot,” Adelson said. "And that it was serious. And that her and my dad were going to be going up to Tallahassee to be with her.”

“How did you react?” Rashbaum asked.

“I was shocked,” he said. “I said 'Is he OK, is he going to be OK, are the boys OK, is Wendi OK?' What happened?”

He said he went back to work after hearing the news, though he said he was “pretty upset about what I just heard.” He said he went home that night, took a shower and changed clothes and texted with Katie, who arrived around 11 p.m. The two of them had earlier planned to have dinner that night.

“She just looked panicked and upset,” Adelson said. “She walked straight in and gives me this big tight hug and asked me like are you OK? And I said yeah, just a horrible day. But she looked more upset that I ... I mean, I had never seen her that upset.”

They sat down on the couch, he said, and she started telling him what happened with Markel.

“She said listen, this is all my fault — I had no idea that anything was going to happen,” Adelson testified. Quoting Magbanua, he continued: “This is totally my fault. I spoke in too much details about your family’s personal problems, about your sister, Dan Markel and the million dollar offer.”

Adelson said she told him that her friend — whom she didn’t name at the time but later revealed to be Sigfredo — killed Markel and wanted to be paid a third of a million dollars. He said he told her that he wasn’t going “to be part of paying for murder” and that it was “insane.” But he said she delivered an ultimatum from the murderers.

“She’s like, ‘Look, if you don’t pay in 48 hours, they will kill you,’ ” Adelson testified.

Charlie Adelson on his secretly recorded Dolce Vita comments: 'I was freaking out'

He told jurors he gave her everything in his safe — $138,000, his entire life savings and that she put the money in a big purse. He said he was shaking and took a bar of Xanax before falling asleep with Magbanua, who didn’t leave until the next morning.

Rashbaum asked whether he thought about going to the police.

“I thought about it, but I thought I would get killed. It’s not going to bring Dan back,” he said.

Later, Rashbaum asked about the FBI’s undercover operation on April 19, 2016, called the “Bump” in which an agent posing as a Latin King hit up Donna Adelson for $5,000 in blackmail money outside her condo. He gave her an article about Markel with the money amount written on it and a phone number, the undercover agent’s to call.

Adelson testified that he initially suspected the blackmailer was Garcia, but through further communications from the FBI — including a threatening, follow-up “bump” letter and late-night text — he became convinced it was a cop.

The next day, he and Magbanua met at the Dolce Vita restaurant, though he had no idea that FBI agents were secretly recording them. Before they went in the restaurant, he said, she told him for the first time about Rivera and said he was “a bad dude and head of the Latin Kings.”

And while Rivera testified earlier in the trial that he drove the get-away car while Garcia shot Markel, Adelson said Magbanua gave him another account.

“She said that Sigfredo was high on drugs at the hotel and that Luis Rivera was the one who shot Dan,” he said.

He downplayed comments he made on the recording, including that if police had any evidence, they’d already be at the airport, and that he would go “Nazi” on anyone who crossed him.

“I was freaking out,” Adelson said. “And I was trying to figure things out ... talking different scenarios out loud.”

Charlie Adelson on taking the stand: 'My whole life depends on it'

Earlier in the trial, Rashbaum began by telling Adelson he was going to start with “the most important question.”

“Did you cause the death of Professor Dan Markel?”

“Absolutely no,” he said.

“Did you hire anyone to kill him?”

“No,” Adelson replied calmly.

Asked how he was feeling, Adelson admitted he was “really nervous.” Rashbaum asked why.

“My whole life depends it,” he said.

Adelson went on to testify about his childhood in Coral Springs, his successful career as a periodontist, and his feelings about Markel.

He described the legal scholar, who was 41 at the time of his death, as a “nice guy.” But he said he thought Markel was being a “jerk” with his sister in the divorce and custody battle.

Adelson acknowledged making the joke about buying his sister a TV because it was cheaper than hiring a hit man.

“It was the stupidest thing I ever said in my life,” he told the jury. “I said it as a complete joke, and it was stupid. But I do that a lot.”

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

Tim Jansen's take: The metamorphosis of Charlie Adelson, but will it last?

Tim Jansen, partner in Jansen & Davis, P.A., is a prominent criminal defense attorney in Tallahassee and former assistant U.S. attorney who worked major white collar crime cases as senior fraud prosecutor. He has represented numerous high-profile clients for years and is offering daily analysis on the Charlie Adelson trial to readers of the Tallahassee Democrat.

Metamorphosis is the change in the form or nature of a person into a completely different one by a natural or supernatural means. Such a change took place when the defense called Charlie Adelson to the stand.

Throughout the prosecution case, the state has presented a picture of Charlie Adelson as a conniving, self-centered, egotistical, want to be gangster, controlling and co-conspirator in a murder for hire plot against Professor Markel. The defense has begun their direct examination of Mr. Adelson by attacking the state's perception of him before this jury.

Rashbaum approached the podium with a twelve-inch binder to begin his examination of Charlie Adelson. Initially, he directly asked him he had anything to do with the murder of Professor Markel. Adelson adamantly denied any involvement in the murder of Professor Markel.

For the next eight hours the defense portrayed the defendant as a victim of a “double extortion" plot by Katherine Magbanua and others unknown to the defendant. In essence, he is claiming that Sigfredo Garcia and Magbanua committed the murder of Professor Markel on their own and that they subsequently extorted 1/3 of a million dollars from him, for which he paid $130,000 in stapled cash on the night of the murder.

Charlie Adelson conveyed a confident, relaxed and well-rehearsed witness before the jury. His demeanor was relaxed and low key in responding to his lawyer's questions. His answers flowed smoothly and appeared to be rehearsed and followed with pre-planned responses.

Throughout his testimony, Adelson calmly gave excuses and alternative explanations that differed from his conversations on the recordings. At no time did he answer he could not recall or didn't remember. Each time he gave a full response to questions posed on events which occurred many years ago. Rashbaum was reading his questions directly from his large binder on podium.

There is nothing wrong with a lawyer preparing a witness for their testimony. However, a witness who appears to be reciting exact answers to pre-cued questions leads the jury to believe that this is nothing more than rehearsed testimony and is not credible.

Juries will judge the credibility of all witnesses by the witnesses' responses and demeanor in responding to the questions. A defendant's testimony will be more critically viewed than other witnesses because of their interest in the case. Besides the nature of his responses and the highly suspect responses, the jury will need to carefully weigh his testimony to the other evidence in the case, and his previous statements on the recordings which were opposite his testimony on the stand.

Will the jury accept this creative metamorphosis of the defendant regarding his complicity to the murder of Professor Markel? Remember, Magbanua has already testified that Charlie Adelson was the person that orchestrated the murder and paid the hit men upon completion of the job.

The defense spent all day attacking the testimony of Magbanua, offering alternative explanations to recordings with Donna and Magbanua. Understandably, there could be slight misinterpretations to certain recordings and conversations. However, it's not conceivable to argue that every incriminating statement, recording, and text are misinterpretations. At times Adelson offered creative and highly unimaginable excuses for his actions/statements.

For this “double extortion" defense to work it has overcome four high hurdles that defy common sense and logic. First, he must convince the jury that it's plausible he would speak in coded language with Magbanua after the FBI “Bump,” which took place two years after the murder. Coincidentally, Magbanua had extorted him two years earlier of   $130,000 for which he didn't go to the police.

Second, he must convince the jury that his secret and coded conversations with his mother Donna were not because they were complicit in the murder, especially when Donna says the FBI “Bump” involved the two of them. Third, the defense must sell that Garcia and Rivera organized, planned and executed the murder on their own.

Remember, Garcia and Rivera didn't know Markel, where he lived, and or what he looked like to effectuate the murder.

Finally, the defense must counter the testimony of Wendi Adeslon. She testified she just heard of the extortion plot prior to testifying in the case. Why is this important?

It's hard to believe this close family would not tell Wendi who killed her ex-husband for nine years. More problematic, why would they allow Wendi, and her kids move closer the murderers/blackmailers in Miami?

Besides having to overcome these four major obstacles, the defendant and this highly suspect "double extortion" defense will have to survive a blistering cross-examination from the lead Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman. Even the most well-orchestrated defense will often wilt and crumble when tested by a seasoned and well-prepared prosecutor.

In essence, a silk purse today can turn into a sow's ears tomorrow. The defense may have carried the day, but the cross examination will determine if it wins the trial!

Chronicling the Charlie Adelson trial:

• 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: Charlie Adelson announces he will take the stand amid 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: Charlie Adelson testifies prosecutors 'wrong' about Markel murder