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In 2014, Dan Markel was fatally shot in the head in the garage of his Tallahassee home. While Dan was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition, the authorities declared him dead the next morning. The Tallahassee Police Department took upon the investigation and narrowed it down to Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera who followed Dan around the city in a silver Toyota Prius.
A third suspect and the middle person was identified to be Katherine Magbanua, who was in a romantic relationship with Wendi Adelson's brother, Charles Adelson. Subsequently, Charles Adelson and his mother, Donna Adelson, were arrested for hiring the hitmen and arranging for Dan Markel's death in 2014.
The Dateline NBC episode titled Family Matters takes viewers on the brutal aftermath of Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel's marriage as the synopsis reads,
"Dennis Murphy reports on the latest twists in the murder-for-hire plot that left a Florida law professor dead, ripped apart two families, and ignited a decade-long search for justice."
Season 32 Episode 24 aired on January 20, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST and is available for streaming on Peacock.
What happened to Dan Markel? Details explored
Dan Markel, the highly regarded and esteemed lawyer turned professor at the Florida State University College of Law was shot in the head at his Tallahassee home on July 18, 2014, around 11 a.m. Per The New York Times, he was declared dead 14 hours later while the investigators announced that Dan was indeed the "intended victim" and took note of the death as a murder.
During his murder, Dan Markel was involved in a controversial custody battle with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson. Wendi had moved out with their two sons, Lincoln and Benjamin, with most of the couple's belongings when Dan was on a business trip in September 2012. She filed for full custody and relocation of her sons - a request that was denied in court.
The investigation into Dan Markel's murder yielded information about a rented 2006-2009 model of Silver Pine Mica Toyota Prius which was used to stalk him through the day of his murder. Alternatively, a reward of $25,000 was offered by Crime Stoppers in addition to an independently funded $100,000 award that was offered in July 2015.
Who killed Dan Markel in 2014?
The Tallahassee Police Department had no leads, to begin with, but the information of a Toyota Prius from one of Dan's neighbors, per ABC News. A break in the case came in when they made use of surveillance footage from Markel's gymnasium, the street cameras, and a city bus to locate the Prius following Dan's car around the city.
The authorities got hold of the toll records which led them to a rental agency in Miami wherein they found the name of Luis Rivera. Rivera, 33, was from the Miami area and was the leader of the North Miami group of the Latin Kings. The rental records stated the contact information of Sigfredo Garcia, 34, of Miami Beach.
Garcia and Rivera were indicted on charges of first-degree murder on June 17, 2016, per Tallahassee Democrat. A third arrest was made on October 1, 2016, wherein Katherine Magbanua, the intermediary, was charged with murder. The alleged mastermind behind the murder-for-hire plot, Charlie Adelson, was arrested on April 21, 2022, followed by the arrest of Donna Adelson on November 13, 2023.
