Ex-brother-in-law arrested years after renowned professor is killed in driveway

In this episode of Crime Watch Daily Updates: True crime is no stranger to murder-for-hire plots, and the shooting of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel is a prime example of the complex web that these plots often weave.

Dan Markel and his wife, Wendi Adelson, finalized their extremely contentious divorce in 2013. A key point in their split was that Wendi wanted to move their kids from Tallahassee to South Florida, but a judge denied the request.

On July 18, 2014, Dan was pulling into his driveway as he came home from a workout when a man approached him and shot him twice in the head. He was taken to the hospital and died the next day.

The investigation took a turn in 2016 when evidence traced a gang leader named Luis Rivera and his friend Sigfredo Garcia to Tallahassee that July day. The two were arrested, and Rivera eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Garcia and Rivera were connected to Markel through a woman named Katherine Magbanua. Katherine and Sigfredo Garcia had children together, but she also dated Markel’s ex-wife’s brother, Charlie Adelson. They were apparently in a relationship the same time Markel was shot.

Rivera testified against Garcia and said Garcia asked him to come with him to kill Markel, who lived 500 miles away in northern Florida, and Katherine apparently gave them the orders. Rivera said Garcia fired the fatal shots, then immediately called Katherine.

Katherine was also arrested and charged. She and Garcia stood trial together, and Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The jury could not come back on a decision for Katherine, so the judge declared a mistrial for her.

She was tried again and convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation to commit murder. She and Garcia were both sentenced to life in prison without parole. In exchange for testifying against Garcia and Katherine, Rivera was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Another twist in the case happened in April 2022 when FBI agents arrested Charlie Adelson on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder thanks to allegedly incriminating evidence caught on tape. He’s being held without bond and his trial is scheduled to begin in 2023.

Now, let’s look back at the complicated case involving the murder of a renowned law professor.