With Magbanua conviction in Markel murder, prosecutors set their sights toward Charlie Adelson
Charlie Adelson joked that buying his sister a TV was cheaper than hiring a hitman to kill Florida State law professor Dan Markel as a way to solve the issues surrounding her divorce.
In April he was taken into custody on first-degree murder and related conspiracy and solicitation charges in connection with Markel's July 2014 shooting at his house in Betton Hills.
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Investigators: Cash payoffs part of Charlie Adelson's role in Markel killing
It's unclear what effect the conviction of Katherine Magbanua on May 27 could have on Adelson's case, but her two-week trial did lay out how investigators say the wealthy dentist sought out Markel's killers through her — and what role covert conversations between the two captured by undercover FBI agents could have in his prosecution.
Magbanua's longtime boyfriend Sigfredo Garcia was convicted of killing Markel and is serving a life sentence. He and his childhood friend Luis Rivera drove from Miami to Tallahassee in a rented Toyota Prius to kill Markel. Rivera pleaded guilty for his cooperation with investigators. They and Magbanua split $100,000 in cash the next day, which investigators say came from Charlie Adelson.
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Is this "bad" joke proof of Charlie Adelson's role in Markel murder?
Charlie Adelson's statements about hiring a hitman, detailed by Wendi Adelson as she was interviewed by Tallahassee Police detectives the day Markel was shot, immediately made him a prime suspect, despite her attempts to brush it away on the stand.
“He ... made a very bad joke ... that it was cheaper than hiring a hitman,” Adelson told jurors.
When detectives heard the same story from a boyfriend of Wendi Adelson, they zeroed in on the statement.
“This was chilling,” said Jeffrey Lacasse of comments made by Charlie Adelson. Prosecutors say there was an attempt to frame Lacasse for the murder. “This wasn’t funny. It made my stomach flip.”
What's said in the Dolce Vita recording of Charlie Adelson, Magbanua?
The covert recording which led to Charlie Adelson's indictment was of him and Magbanua at Dolce Vita, a Miami restaurant. In it, the two discussed how to deal with a person they believed was either a blackmailer or the police, who approached Charlie Adelson's mother, Donna Adelson.
It was actually an FBI agent who handed Donna Adelson her a news article about Markel's murder with $5,000 and a phone number written on it.
The operation was designed to get suspects in the conspiracy talking so investigators could determine the flow of information from the Adelsons to the killers through Magbanua.
Following the trails: Dan Markel murder: Cell phone, money trail in Magbanua retrial spotlight on Day 4
What's next in Charlie Adelson court proceedings?
No court dates have been set for Adelson. His court records since his arrest on April 21 have remained relatively stagnant, other than switching attorneys last month.
He is represented by Miami attorney Daniel Rashbaum.
State Attorney Jack Campbell declined to go into details about which testimony or evidence from Magbanua’s trial could be useful in prosecuting Charlie Adelson, mostly because the investigation is ongoing.
However, Campbell alluded to the continued work of investigators on the theory that the 41-year-old, along with potentially other unindicted co-conspirators in his family, were the ones behind Markel's murder.
“It certainly affects it; some good. Some bad,” Campbell said. “The investigation never stops. We’re following the trail we told everybody we would.”
Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Dan Markel murder: After Magbanua conviction, prosecutors target Adelson
