UPDATE: NOVEMBER 14, 2023: “Mother of Florida dentist arrested days after son convicted in murder-for-hire of FSU professor” This is one VILE, DISGUSTING family, and I believe Wendy Adelson is as guilty as the rest of her family.
JULY 2023: “Loved ones remember former FSU professor Dan Markel nine years after his murder“
DECEMBER 10, 2016: Three people were arrested in connection with the murder of Dan Markel – Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera in May 2016, two South Florida men with criminal histories, and Katie Magbanua, a former girlfriend of Wendi Adelson’s brother, Charles, in June. Police consider Magbanua to be the link between the hitmen and the Adelson family. The Adelson family paid Magbanua large sums of money through their dental practice before Dan Markel’s murder. Bond was recently denied for Magbanua. The prosecution believes she arranged the hit on Dan by order of the Adelson family.
On the morning of July 18, 2014, 42-year-old Florida State University law professor Dan Markel pulled into his driveway in Tallahassee, Florida, while talking on his cell phone. He told the person he was talking to that someone was in his driveway.
A few seconds later, a lone gunman followed Dan into his garage and shot him in the head through the driver’s side window. A witness saw a Toyota Prius leaving the area shortly after.
A neighbor rushed to the scene and called 911.
“He’s still alive, he’s still moving,” the anonymous caller cried out, according to the 911 call transcript. Help, however, was late to come.
The 911 dispatcher on duty erroneously categorized the case as a low-priority incident, resulting in the emergency crews’ late arrival. Nineteen minutes passed before an ambulance reached Markel, who later died at the hospital. Florida police authorities acknowledged the dispatcher’s mistake, and local newspapers have reported that the belated response could have meant the difference between life and death for Markel (The Forward).
At first, police thought this was a burglary gone wrong, but nothing was taken from Dan’s home. Police believed Dan was the intended victim of a homicide.
Before his murder, Dan had been in a contentious divorce with his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, also an FSU law professor. The couple married in 2006 and had two children together. Their divorce was finalized in 2013. Part of the bitter battle involved Adelson wanting to take the kids to Miami, but Dan was against the move and obtained a court order forbidding Adelson from leaving Tallahassee with the kids.
After Dan’s murder, Adelson’s lawyer spoke on her behalf.
‘Ms. Adelson requests that the media respect her privacy as she helps her children overcome the unexpected loss of their father. She remains deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of her children.
‘During the ongoing investigation of this tragedy, Ms. Adelson will not be making any further public comments.
‘She, and every person acting for her, will decline any further requests for information, interviews, or appearances. She encourages anyone who may have information that could help identify the person or persons responsible to please contact the Tallahassee Police Department.”
Police interviewed Adelson, who fully cooperated, according to her lawyers. In January 2014, she quit her job at FSU and took the kids to Miami.
Dan and his ex-wife were battling in court over the terms of a child custody arrangement. It is unclear why they were having problems agreeing.
Dan was brilliant, having studied at both Harvard and Cambridge Universities. In addition to being a law professor, he was also the owner of a blog called Prawfs Law, a site with various topics on law and life. Before that, there was the blog insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com. Through both, Dan became the victim of social media attacks for his writings on the sites.
Several months before his death, he also received unsolicited Facebook friend requests. Dan wrote: ‘Is anyone else getting pestered just in the last week or so by obviously ridiculous or malevolent friend requests on FB from people with sham profiles worldwide with no possible connection to you? It feels like an onslaught of the Facebook equivalent of Cialis and Nigerian prince scams.
One friend replied, ‘It might just be all your friends creating alter egos on Ambien?’
Other friends said they had also received the requests. One female friend wrote that she had received four friend requests from unknown people.
It is unknown if the police could trace any of these threatening messages or uncover the identities of the persons attempting to add Dan and his friends to their Facebook friend list.
Those who knew Dan were puzzled about who would want to harm him. He was well-liked and loved by those he came in contact with. As all unsolved murder cases go, theories abound.
Some believe Adelson hired someone to kill him. Others think it was because of his blog. The rumor mill says Dan was having an affair, so this could be a love triangle ordeal where the mistress might have taken out the wife. Then there’s this: just days before his murder, Dan was hired as a legal consultant in an explosive New Jersey divorce extortion case involving several Orthodox rabbis.
Dan’s contact was Rabbi Martin Wolmark, one of ten men arrested in October 2013 for conspiring to kidnap and torture Orthodox Jewish husbands who refused to grant their wives “gets” – religious divorces. Those husbands’ targeted cases were believed to have held a grudge against Dan. However, after police interviewed them, it was determined that they had no idea Dan had been hired as the consultant.
So far, there has been no verifiable link between that case and Dan’s murder.
Sources
Newsweek.com. 2015. Accessed November 21, 2015. http://www.newsweek.com/2015/04/17/fighting-be-free-lengths-orthodox-jewish-women-will-go-get-320536.html.
The Forward. ‘Dan Markel Killing Leaves Behind Puzzling Questions — And Wrenching Grief – News’. N.p., 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
The Forward. 2014. ‘Police Probe Dan Markel Link To ‘Get’ Extortion Rabbis – News.’ Accessed November 21, 2015. http://forward.com/news/203807/police-probe-dan-markel-link-to-get-extortion-rabb/.
26 comments
TCD – GIIIRRRLL! Have you kept up with this case since you wrote this? It’s cracking wide open!
Not really. OMG, I’ll go check it out! Thanks!
I’m praying that Magbanua rolls over on the Adelsons – I think the evidence has stacked pretty high against Wendi’s mom and brother and their arrests are imminent but I’m dying to see Wendi go down for this too. I read last year that she changed her boys last name from Markel to Adelson and had her oldest’s middle name removed – it was a name that had been passed down through Dan’s family.
That’s awful! I hope she goes down too!!
Also, important to note is the film of the cars (and other cars) at Premier Fitness Center on the morning of the homicide. At one point the metallic green Toyota Prius appears to slow down while passing a white (possibly BMW) SUV like vehicle. Possibly slow enough to see inside the Prius as it drove by. Could that driver be a witness to the suspects? Did he or she or they see any person or persons in the green Prius as they passed each other? Did they see the driver? Did they happen to notice if there were one or two individuals in the green Prius at that time?
Remember the green Prius kept moving around. Even off camera at times. (Were they both in the car at ALL times?) It is possible they did. It is also possible only one person was in the vehicle and the second person joined him later. Likewise, it is also possible one or the other got picked up and left the vehicle …went some where …and got picked up later (near the homicide of course).
Which may or may not explain the interest the suspect(s) had with the BACK of Danny’s house …the day before the homicide.
Even possible ….one suspect was (already) standing in Danny’s garage when the garage door opened by Danny for him to park inside. Or, to just appear if hiding/standing close by (the suspect). And, note how neighbors may or may not have ever noticed ANYONE getting into or out of the green metallic Prius. Could leave and exit through the back door …coming and going. *If that had been their plan. Or, the shooter could have gotten into the car ….just after the shooting …before the neighbor could stand up and get to the window …and they (both) drove off in the green Prius.
Note: One cell phone was TURNED OFF at 9:58am …..but, not BOTH …from what police have released.
Now, BEFORE everyone jumps on the wife was the ONLY one w/ a KEY to the home ….that may or may not be true.
Wendi should certainly be the first person of interest I’ll admit. (She may or may not have a key.) But, there could be others. Others that may not even be on anyone’s radar. And, not just including an alleged girlfriend of Dan’s.
Remember the neighborhood had allegedly been involved in home burglaries. Many people have spare keys to their home. Why would burglars take the spare key? To rob the home again….of course. (Not to hire hit men from outside of the city.) Thus, ONLY if the home burglars/invaders were connected to Garcia and Rivera would that make any rational since. And, or perhaps if Dan was a witness or victim who had information shared with the police ABOUT the neighborhood or his recent burglaries. (If someone perhaps PERCEIVED Dan’s knowledge of the recent break ins was a threat. Whether the home owner/resident was or wasn’t – an actual threat.)
Remember Danny accused Wendi of “stealing” a family heirloom …a diamond 2 carrot ring …that belonged to his deceased grandmother. Danny and Wendi admit their home had been involved in the string of robberies.
Wasn’t it possible that Wendi …NEVER …stole this family heirloom of Dan’s? And, if she did …what happened to it?
Why was Dan so quick to accuse Wendi ….???? (Possible he had seen the ring …AFTER the burglary …or at least the burglary FIRST reported.)
Stranger things can happen. And, stranger things WERE happening. And, they were happening in Tallahassee.
Things that make you go …hmmmm.
Does anyone else from the Tallahassee area reading that comment …(ever) think about Jameis Winston??!! Maybe it’s just me. But, gosh ….the timing, the wording, what his wife’s job description was, what Dan’s job description was, the timing of the case and what was about to happen, the ATL lawyer involved and what he said in reports …the NFL lawyer involved at that time, and David Cornwell. What was Dan’s opinion if he (dared to) share? What was Wendi’s opinion if she (dared) to share? *Honestly, they might not have been “allowed” to share …or may have feared retaliation. For or against. Especially, in a class or campus of FSU students, law students, faculty, etc etc etc. Again, for or against. Hell, the way the town was grossly blinded and misbehaving …depending on his “opinion” …maybe it was an FSU student, faculty, city official, or any other lawyer who disagreed with him. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Meaning anyone in the school …or town ….or any other town with a college football team with student victims/survivors may or may not have had a “reason” to enlist a hit man.
Still 2 years later …the words are haunting …and timing suspicious. [It’s even the timing that Wendi stated their marriage began to crumble; following the birth of their children. Normally, a very exciting time in married couple’s life. Not theirs.] Hopefully, we all know how Wendi felt about this case; or SHOULD have. Did Danny feel the same? Did Wendi try to explain …open his eyes …enlighten him …remind him about the book she wrote …the book he REFUSED to read? (He allegedly called or insinuated that the the book …fiction. Maybe he wasn’t as “smart” as everyone thought after all.) Is this what divided them? Made her feel less than an equal? Hell ….perhaps even less than human. It would be a slap in the face for sure ….depending on how he felt. Which we do not know….how he felt.
Now, everyone knows …there is a whole different theory …with its own suspects??
Good …we can lay to rest the weirdness of that blogger or poster’s comments. What ever he or she was referring to.
And, we’ve been told totally unrelated. They allegedly found the poster …and it has nothing to do with Dan’s homicide what so ever. A mere coincidence some how.
But, still wouldn’t it have been nice to find out … wth ….was that all about then? Odd, it was suddenly just a non issue.
Common courtesy would have been to at least explain the blog. Hopefully, they at least informed the victim’s parents.
Good or bad they should be allowed to know ANYTHING and everything that lead to the death of their son. Not kept in the dark. What if either parent had grown old or ill and suddenly past away without ever knowing what the police have known for almost 2 years about the mysterious death of their loved one. Unfair to them. Even if understandable.
Not to mention coincidental (or not) other people in the community were getting same and similar responses on Facebook posts …AND …some FB friend requests from unknown users. Those type threats were also seen during the Trayvon Martin and or Michael Brown events.
Appeared to be nothing more than Black Supremacy activists under the guise of civil rights. Older gentlemen from Atlanta. Freemasons perhaps. Or, retired gangsters all grown up with better lives. BLM soon followed.
Extremely difficult to tell when only seen out of context and not knowing what was said before or after by Dan.
This has ex wife hit man written all over it. I hate it when parents try to move out of state with the kids. The poor kids they are now without their Dad and of course I am sure Mom moved them to FL just like she wanted.
“Moved them to FL just like she wanted”???? Both the mother and father were ALREADY living in Florida; in a city neither had any ties to before, during or after the marriage. BOTH the mother and father had ties to CENTRAL Florida. Dan had in laws and Wendi had parents and siblings. Dan had promised (agree) to live in a different city; other than Tallahassee, where a larger Jewish population resided ….as in central Florida. Wendi’s parents and siblings had ALWAYS expected Wendi and Dan (and kids if there ever were any) to live in or around central Florida. The move was NOT unexpected. Just came quicker than expected …and under much different circumstances than anyone could have ever imagined.
You “hate it when parents try to move out of state with the kids”? Why? You shouldn’t. It happens ALL THE TIME. (And, or the male parental figure moves out of state and leaves the female parental figure and children behind …close to other family members.) Jobs take people across state lines at times. As do divorces.
Besides …no one was leaving or moving out of state with the kids.
I mean we could speculate that DAN was maybe planning on doing that some day in the future. But, it would only be speculation at this point. Dan’s girlfriend lived in New York. Dan lived in Florida. Wendi lived in Florida. Wendi’s parents and sibling lived in Florida. Dan’s parents lived in Canada. Dan would have been the only parent wanting to move the kids out of state. (Perhaps) *BUT, to do so ….he would first need to push Wendi out …maybe force her to give up the kids completely. Like create a HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT for Wendi (which he did/attempted). If she doesn’t have employment how can she SUPPORT the kids. (She chose a job in central Florida for more than one reason!!) The divorce judge basically ….told Wendi she had to stay in Tallahassee ….in a hostile work environment …to be near her children. Wendi chose her children’s safety and well being over her own happiness. She stayed in Tallahassee. A YEAR LATER when Dan was murdered she still lived in Tallahassee. She even remained in Tallahassee …for 6-7 more months AFTER his death to finish out the school year. Taught two more semesters at the University. Now remember at this point she has no ties to Tallahassee. Not Dan’s parents. Not her parents. No siblings. She’s in a strange city that she moved to temporarily for her and her husband’s beginning careers. Dan’s parents live out of the country. Her parents live in central Florida. Thus, you seem to believe it odd that she left Tallahassee and moved to central Florida?? No, it would have been odd …for her to remain in Tallahassee. The support she and the kids needed were with her PARENTS and their GRANDPARENTS. Her husband (ex husband) had been murdered for God’s sakes. She doesn’t know why? And, you think she should stay? Why?
The mother did not “move the kids to Florida just like she wanted”. She and the kids ALREADY lived in Florida. The only ties the mother and father and children had to Florida were in Central Florida ….parents, grandparents, siblings etc. (Tallahassee, Florida was a temporary location ….due to their jobs.)
The ONLY parent who may have been “trying to move out of state with the kids” may have been Dan. But, that is only speculation at this time. Dan’s girlfriend at the time lived in New York. But, he would have to have “full” custody.
Dan was creating a HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT for Wendi. (*Possible this could have been CALCULATING on his behalf as evidenced by the vulgarity of the false and untrue rumors he was/had attempted to spread about his ex wife at her job site. Also, based on how cold and calculating he was in the divorce …lying and twisting the facts around to hide his wrong doings ….just to WIN. He knew just how to project …the attention off of his bad behavior …and make up false statements to shift the attention onto Wendi’s alleged behavior. )
Wendi would NEED a job. She has to show to the courts that she can PROVIDE for her children. Dan had already fought tooth and nail NOT to have to pay descent child support for their children…BY DEMANDING and RECEIVING 50/50 custody. He skirted of out child support – to a degree. Sure he was ordered to pay roughly $800/month. But, without 50/50 custody …he could have VERY EASILY been made to pay $38,000 – $52,000 per year and up in child support payments. (Technically, the courts could have and should have awarded this amount to Wendi not matter what the child custody agreements were. But, neither she nor the courts were probably aware of Dan’s possible motives to move at the time ….and or Wendi had no idea the courts would REFUSE to allow her to move.)
Wendi attempted to seek and found a new job …away from Dan …one which he could not create a hostile work environment for her. The Courts DENIED Wendi’s request to accept her new job.
She was FORCED to stay in a strange town that neither she nor her husband had ties to…to work in the same location as her ex ….who acted irrationally and immaturely towards her because of his own sadness/humiliation/anger. Well….FORCED …if she wanted to have contact with her children.
She like any mother …made the decision and chose to stay with her children ….and ignore her own unhappiness.
Now, did that drive her family to do the unthinkable? I don’t know.
The courts FAILED this family and these children if that’s the case. Now, they have no father.
No matter how irrational Dan’s demands were in the divorce …it was the attorneys and courts duty to step in.
If I were investigating this case, my instinct is to continue to pursue the ex wife (and her family). Sounds as though she was having trouble relocating to miami where her family lives, all thanks to Dan.
Has there been any investigation of her parents? Parents will do everything in their power for a daughter in “distress”. I can’t see his affiliation with the rabbis case as a possible motive.
All I can say is, Adelson (or her loved ones) would have to be extremely short-sighted or cold-blooded (or both) to put the children through such a horrifying ordeal.
Me either. He wasn’t kidnapped or tortured for not allowing a religious divorce. He only made it tough as nails for her to continue with such a decision. The irony though.
There is another aspect to consider in regards to an affair. If he was having one, it may have been his mistress who did it. As affairs are kept secret, it may be that only she and Dan knew about it. Or perhaps her husband found out and killed him. When he says “Someone” is in the driveway, it may only be that he said it before he recognized who it was and got closer. The only thing wrong with the affair theory is that generally, there would be call logs, credit card records, emails or something the police could go on. Then again, it is the Tallahassee police we are dealing with here. Not the brightest bunch apparently.
To follow up on my earlier post, if I were investigating the crime, there would be a couple of things I’d particularly like to pursue: One is, interviews with any of Markel’s associates who attended conferences with him, particularly associates who weren’t close to him and didn’t seem likely to cover for him — I would want to know all about any situations in which Markel picked up or met or hung around with women other than his wife, any weird arguments or phone calls or public scenes involving Markel, and any rumors about Markel fooling around on his wife. The other thing I’d check, if it were possible, is that I would run a nationwide check on rentals of a silver Prius cars between about July 16 and July 20, 2014 (ie. two days before and after the shooting), focusing on rentals that involved enough mileage to get from the agency to Tallahassee and back.
I don’t believe it was the wife.
I believe it was probably the boyfriend, spouse, brother or father of a young woman Markel had jilted, or was fooling around with.
Consider some facts — Markel met Adelson when she was one of his students, and they married when she was a third-year law student; Adelson supposedly pulled a “Pearl Harbor” move and filed for divorce/cleaned out the house while Markel was on a business trip; Markel seemed to be a very popular guy, not to mention young, handsome and probably wealthy; the shooting occurred in broad daylight, which suggests to me that the shooter was acting on timetable dictated by his own needs, not Markel’s habits; Markel was supposedly shot in the head once and was still alive when the shooter fled, which sounds like a total amateur move to me.
My take, honestly, is that Markel was a serial skirt-chaser who kept up a good front for appearances’ sake. He had probably been fooling around with students long before he met Wendi Adelson, and perhaps had to limit himself to fooling around on business trips after he got married. Adelson caught him cheating and bailed on the situation, and wanted nothing to do with him. Strictly due to coincidental timing, a presently unknown man who was close to one of Markel’s recent conquests grew outraged about some aspect of the situation (Markel broke her heart, Markel seduced her, Markel cuckolded me, etc.) and decided, “that’s it, this guy’s gonna pay.” The shooter was not acquainted with Markel, and may reside in another state. He borrowed or rented a car, expecting that no one would get the tag number. He gambled that even eyewitness descriptions would be of limited help because he had no connection to Markel, and he figured that if he never spoke about the crime or set foot in Tallahassee again there would be minimal chance he’d even be connected to the incident.
I like this except …one it’s old and now we know differently (perhaps).
But, more importantly …jilted wives USUALLY bring this behavior up to THEIR divorce attorney and the JUDGE presiding over the divorce. And, that DIDN’T happen!!
Not even when/after the courts grossly handled the decisions made in this divorce. (Unreal!!)
She must have felt utterly RAPED by their actions; or lack there of. But, never let it show. She wanted O.U.T. out!!
Yes, does make one raise an eye brow for sure. Maybe Danny wasn’t paying off some judge. But, perhaps was involved with some judge? (But, I do believe the judge was male …so no not that either. Unless there is another type of secret we don’t know about.)
Hey tcd. Are you affiliated with CreepyNews channel on you tube. Their video on YouTube for Rachael runyan is word for word your post.also, A grand jury has declined to file charges in Sandra blands death. Tdc’s thoughts…….?
No I am not on YouTube or affiliated with Creepy News whatsoever. I’ll look into it. Thanks for letting me know.
As for Sandra Bland, I am not surprised by this at all. Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about it. Does it angry me? Yes. But the Grand Jury couldn’t find evidence of murder, so what more could they do? I’m sure if there was evidence, it was probably destroyed that day anyway.
It is very obvious that the wife had something to do with it. This is not the first case that involves murdering somebody for the “children’s sake”
She obviously has money and connections and knows the law very well.
No one is going to kill him for no reason like that and not benefit from it in some way… it was set up.
Professional hit men don’t stand around in the driveway increasing their risk of an Id. They hide in the bushes or the house and the victim never sees it coming. It takes a lot to kill the father of your children. Maybe I could see she confronts him and impulsively grabs a knife, like a crime of passion so I don’t like the wife for this. Rabbis… No. What about Dan’s lovers boyfriend or husband? I like the new look to your site.
Yeah, I thought about a lover or her husband, too. I believe I read that he did have a girlfriend, but no info on her that I could find.
Glad you like the new layout! 🙂
Further, Ms Adelson is the person that best responds to the first question in this type of crime: “chi bono?” – Definitely he does!
My humble opinion as a profiler:
Definitely not worth wasting even a minute of anyone’s time on the Rabbi’s “Get” theory. That s a dead end.
Orthodox Jews do not kill people!!! If they did not like some lawyer’s opinion, they would hire another lawyer with a different opinion. As they probably did.
Wendi Adelson, on the other hand, seems to have the right profile to have contracted the killing of her husband.
From the very little information provided, she seems to have a narcisistic personality, coupled with high intelligence, and good knowledge of the law.
Motive: she was not getting her way, and confronted with an equal adversary (Mr Adelson was also a successful lawyer), she just “got rid” of the adversary.
Excellent! Thank you for your input! The ex-wife makes the most sense.
It sounds good, but for one thing. Professional killers are not about to stand around in the driveway for everyone to see, in broad daylight.
However, it depends on how “professional” they were. It could be a bargain bin killer, like a first timer or rookie gang member. Maybe someone couldn’t afford a professional killer and went with some dumbass who said he would do it for next to nothing. As such, it may be worth considering people who had motive but not alot of money to spend for a good hitman. I would lean towards grad students…