Background

On Thursday, April 21st, 2022, Charlie Adelson was arrested for the slaying of his ex-brother-in-law, Daniel Markel.

The arrest came by through an enhancement of faint audio recording.

At the time of his passing Daniel Markel was a law professor at the Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

Daniel and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, were involved in a very acrimonious divorce and consequent custody battle over their two boys.

 

Participants

Name List

1. Daniel Markel
   • Friend
     • Greenberg
       • Maya Greenberg
     • Ethan j. Leib
       • A law professor at Fordham Law School
2. Wendi Adelson
   • Family
     • Charlie Adelson ( Brother )
     • Donna Adelson ( Mother )
     • Harvie Adelson ( Father )
   • Friend
     • Jeffrey Lacasse ( Wendi Adelson – Ex-Boyfriend )
3. Katie Magbanua
   • Baby Mama of Sigfredo Garcia
   • Dated Charlie Adelson ( Previously )
4. Sigfredo Garcia
5. Luis Rivera
   • Friend of Sigfredo Garcia

Portrait

 

Profile

Dan Markel

Wikipedia

Link

Daniel Eric Markel (October 9, 1972 – July 19, 2014) was an Canadian-born attorney and a law professor, who wrote important works on retribution in criminal law and sentencing, with a focus on the role of punishment in the criminal justice system. A native of Toronto, he earned a J.D. degree from Harvard in 2001 and after working briefly as a law clerk and junior associate at a law firm, joined the faculty of Florida State University in 2005.

Markel was murdered in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2014. Investigators believe that he was killed as part of a murder for hire motivated by Markel’s divorce from Wendi Adelson, a clinical law professor, and child advocate also employed at Florida State University.

Adelson was not charged, while her brother and mother were named as “unindicted conspirators“.

Three individuals have been prosecuted for the killing: Luis Rivera pled guilty to murder, Sigfredo Garcia was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, and Katherine Magbanua awaits retrial on murder charges following a mistrial in her original case.

 

Lineage

1. Daniel Markel:- Laying Down
   Date Published:- 2021-July-30th
   Link

 

Videos

2022 – April

News Media Reporting

CBS Miami

1. Florida Dentist Charles Adelson Charged For Murder Charges Connected To Dan Markel Murder
   • Profile
     • CBS4’s Eliott Rodriguez reports on the newest details of a Fort Lauderdale dentist Charles Adelson is now charged in connection with the 2014 murder of his brother-in-law, Dan Markel.
   • Videos
     • Video #1
       Channel:- CBS Miami
       Date Published:- 2022-April-22nd
       Date Added:- 2022-April-22nd
       Link

NBC News

1. Florida Dentist Charged In Murder Of FSU Law Professor, His Former Brother-In-Law
   • Profile
     • Investigators say dentist Charles Adelson paid a hit men to kill his former brother-in-law Daniel Markel. WTVJ’s Ari Odzer reports.
   • Videos
     • Video #1
       Channel:- NBC News
       Date Published:- 2022-April-22nd
       Date Added:- 2022-April-22nd
       Date Demoted:- 2022-July-26th
       Demotion Reason:- Video is marked Private
       Link
2. Florida Dentist Allegedly Hired Hitmen To Kill Ex-Brother-In-Law
   • Profile
     • Florida dentist Charles Adelson has been arrested in connection to a murder-for-hire plot that led to the shooting death of his brother-in-law.
     • The victim, Daniel Markel who was killed in 2014, was in a contentious divorce and custody battle with his ex-wife who is also the sister of Charles Adelson.
   • Videos
     • Video #1
       Channel:- NBC News
       Date Published:- 2022-April-23rd
       Date Added:- 2022-April-23rd
       Date Demoted:- 2022-July-26th
       Demotion Reason:- Video is marked Private
       Link
   • Participants
     • Zinhle Essamuah ( NBC News Reporter )

CBS News

1. Florida dentist charged in a murder-for-hire plot against sister’s ex-husband, officials say
   • Profile
     • A Florida dentist was arrested Thursday on charges that he hired hitmen eight years ago to kill his sister’s ex-husband.
     • Charles Adelson, 45, was being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder.
     • CBS Miami reports.
   • Videos
     • Video #1
       Channel:- NBC News
       Date Published:- 2022-April-22nd
       Date Added:- 2022-April-22nd
       Link

2016-April-20th

Investigation Video Recording

Tallahassee Democrat

1. TRANSCRIPT: Secret recording of Charlie Adelson released, led to arrest in Dan Markel murder case
   • Profile
     • Nearly eight years after FSU law professor Dan Markel was gunned down in his Tallahassee garage by hired hitmen, his former brother-in-law Charlie Adelson has been arrested in connection with his brazen, broad daylight murder.
     • Florida State Attorney Jack Campbell said newly enhanced audio from a secret recording done at a South Florida restaurant led to Adelson’s arrest.
     • The so-called Dulce Vida recording, taken in 2016 by FBI agents at the Miami restaurant of the same name, captures a conversation between Adelson and his former girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, in which they allegedly discuss undercover agents approaching his mom about Markel’s shooting.
     • Prosecutors say the conversations detail the chain of information flow about the murder conspiracy.
     • Up until recently, when the audio was enhanced by a specialist, much of the conversation was inaudible.
   • Videos
     • Video #1
       Channel:- Tallahassee Democrat
       Date Published:- 2022-April-21st
       Date Added:- 2022-April-21st
       Link

2016-September-16th

TV Crime Shows

ABC

ABC 20/20

1. 20/20 ABC 2017: In-Laws and Outlaws
   • Profile
     • FSU Law Professor Found Shot in the Head at His Home; Police Interview Murdered FSU Professor’s Ex-Wife; Prosecutor Says Not Enough Evidence to Charge Family in Murder
   • Videos
     • Video #1
       Channel:- Alexes Flores
       Date Published:- 2017-March-12th
       Date Added:- 2022-April-23rd
       Link

2018-April-11th

TV Crime Shows

NBC

Dateline NBC

1. Dateline Episode Trailer: Cold-Blooded
   • Profile
     • When a young, beloved Florida law professor is shot, his family, friends, and police are baffled.
     • A complicated investigation that draws national attention leads police to a surprising theory of the crime.
     • In an emotional interview, the victim’s family speaks out for the first time.
     • Dennis Murphy reports Friday, April 13 at 9/8c on NBC.
   • Listing
     • S2019 E31619 | 03/16/19
   • Videos
     • Video #1
       Channel:- Dateline NBC
       Date Published:- 2018-April-11th
       Date Added:- 2022-April-23rd
       Link
2. Dateline Weekly Mystery: Cold-Blooded
   • Profile
     • When a Florida law professor is shot, his family, friends and police are baffled.
     • A complicated investigation leads police to a surprising theory of the crime.
     • Dennis Murphy reports.
   • Listing
     • S2019 E31619 | 03/16/19
   • Videos
     • Video #1
       Channel:- Dateline NBC
       Date Published:- 2019-March-16th
       Date Added:- 2022-April-23rd
       Link

Charges

Charlie Adelson

Charlie Adelson faces the following charges:-

1. First-degree murder
2. Conspiracy to commit murder
3. Solicitation to commit murder

 

Bond

David Lat ( Original Jurisdiction )

The Dan Markel Case: Charlie Adelson, Arrested

Link

1. Under Florida law, murder is a “non-bondable” offense, so Charlie Adelson is being held automatically without bail
2. His lawyers will have to move for bail and ask for what’s called an Arthur hearing, which won’t be held until the judge has time and the matter is fully briefed
3. So Adelson will remain in jail for the foreseeable future—a remarkable change in circumstances for a wealthy dentist and real estate investor who used to tool around South Florida in a Ferrari

Investigation

Forensics

WireTap

David Lat ( Original Jurisdiction )

Link

Why the continuance? An audio-forensics expert hired by the government, a former CIA operative named James Keith McElveen, is still working on enhancing a key recording, an importance piece of evidence in the case. McElveen needs approximately a month to complete this work, then the lawyers will need another month to engage in discovery related to the recording, including deposing McElveen. That takes us to April—when Magbanua’s lawyers, Tara Kawass and Christopher DeCoste, have another trial—which is why May is now the earliest possible date for the Magbanua retrial.

The audio in question is the so-called “Dolce Vita recording.” As those of you who have followed the case might recall, in 2016 the FBI secretly recorded a conversation between Magbanua and Charlie Adelson, her ex-boyfriend and alleged co-conspirator, at the Dolce Vita restaurant in Miami. In the conversation, Magbanua and Adelson discuss an incident in which an undercover agent approached Adelson’s mother, Donna Adelson, with information about Markel’s shooting, to see how she might react. That interaction precipitated a series of telephone and in-person conversations between the alleged co-conspirators—Charlie Adelson, Donna Adelson, and Katherine Magbanua—including the Dolce Vita conversation.

Much of the original Dolce Vita recording was inaudible, and as a result, less than a minute of it was used at Magbanua’s original trial. But McElveen hopes to render more of the recording usable through enhancement, and both the government and the defense claim that if the audio can be salvaged, it will help their respective cases—which is why they both support a continuance.

Commentary

Written

David Lat ( Original Jurisdiction )

Dan Markel

1. The Dan Markel Case: Justice Delayed, Again
   Date Published:- 2022-February-3rd
   Link
2. The Dan Markel Case: Charlie Adelson, Arrested
   Date Published:- 2022-April-22nd
   Link

About

1. What is original jurisdiction
   Link

Oral

Dr. Todd Grande

Dan Markel

Videos

1. Dan Markel Case Analysis | The Illogical Nature of Murder for Hire
   • Profile
     • This video answers the question: Can I analyze the case of Dan Markel?
   • Videos
     • Dan Markel Case Analysis | The Illogical Nature of Murder for Hire
       Channel:- Dr. Todd Grande
       Date Published:- 2021-April-3rd
       Date Added:- 2022-April-24th
       Link

Transcript

1. Murder for Hire Types
   • Hire someone directly
   • Hire someone through an intermediary
2. Murder for Hire Risks
   • Direct Hire
     • Reduce risks
       • Gun powder residue
       • Being caught on surveillance video
       • Having trouble putting together an alibi
     • Increased Risk
       • Talking
         • Killer getting caught and talking
         • Intermediary Talking
       • Communication
       • Payment
       • Always something to hide
       • Risk Shifting
         • Shifting Risk somewhere else
         • It does not eliminate risks
       • Trust
         • The people here are trusting people who are willing to take money to commit a homicide
         • Not exactly the most trustworthy people
3. Harm Reduction
   • Criminals do not always consider harm reduction

Video Transcripts

1. Say Hello
   • I put on this video while I was cleaning up after dinner.
   • My 19-month-old son was playing with blocks.
   • When he heard your voice, he ran over, smiling and waving at my phone.
   • Pretty sure he thinks you’re an uncle on FaceTime at this point. 😂

 

Referenced Work

1. Wikipedia
   • Dan Markel
     Link