Charlie Adelson, a 47-year-old periodontist from South Florida, was given life imprisonment without the chance of parole on December 12, 2023. This is due to his role in the murder case of Dan Markel that happened in 2014. It ended a complicated legal fight which started with Adelson getting convicted on November 6th and having an eight-day trial at Leon County Courthouse.
The killing of Dan Markel, a law professor in Florida State University, was a gruesome crime that shook the academic and legal groups. When he died at 41 years old, he got shot in his head inside his house located at Tallahassee city from Florida state while there’s custody argument happening between him and Adelson’s sister Wendi.
The case contained investigations by police in Tallahassee and FBI agents that lasted for years, hitmen, a gang leader who changed sides against his friends, wiretaps on phones of accused family members, conversations recorded in crowded restaurants, three trials held remotely due to COVID-19 pandemic situation – resulting into four convictions after one was overturned.
Charlie Adelson was found guilty of murder in the first degree, planning a murder, and asking to commit murder. The jury talked for less than four hours before they agreed with the guilty verdict. Adelson said that he did not commit the murder, he maintained that someone else did it to take away a lot of money from his family.
The lawyers made the case that Adelson created the plan to murder, which was carried out by his then-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua. She did this with help from Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia.
Magbanua is already in prison, along with Garcia and Rivera for the crime related to Markel’s murder. During the trial, both Magbanua and Rivera gave their testimonies against Adelson which proved to be very important in connecting him with this case. The family of Charlie Adelson, including his mother Donna were also involved in the murder.
Donna Adelson was taken by police from outside the county and said no to the accusation of planning with her son to harm Markel. The trial had many surprising events and changes, including when Rivera said that he and Garcia were paid by Magbanua for $100,000 to kill Markel. Rivera said that the funds came from Adelson, whom he called “The Dentist,” and divided three parts between himself, Garcia, and Magbanua.
Charlie Adelson’s legal group submitted an appeal of his condemnation in January 2024, claiming the requirement for a fresh trial because of supposed errors during the first trial. The appeal is under review, set for a motion hearing on February 2nd, 2024.
A life sentence given to Charlie Adelson represents an important point in this case that provides a conclusion to Markel’s family and community.
Talking about Markel’s children, Phil, who is his father, mentioned that they are worried whether the kids know and understand their dad’s death. The family constantly shares their wish for justice, and they have participated in legal processions. This case of murder involving Dan Markel has received much focus at a national level; it has been included on well-known true crime podcasts as well as television shows.
The case has shown us how complex family relationships can be, and it also underlines the terrible results of violent crimes. Now that Charlie Adelson is starting his life imprisonment, we all wish that this part of the case brings some peace to people who were impacted by this sad event.
