Defense Takes Over in Law Professor Murder Trial
State prosecutors rested their case against Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua after eight days of testimony, in which they relied heavily on cell phone records and wiretaps to tie the defendants to the 2014 killing.
October 08, 2019 at 04:10 PM
3 minute read
A Tallahassee, Florida, jury may soon decide the fates of two people accused of murdering Florida State University law professor Dan Markel in 2014.
Prosecutors on Tuesday wrapped up their case against Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua after eight days of testimony from a wide array of witnesses. For a week and a half, deputy assistant state attorney Georgia Cappleman laid out the prosecution's case against the defendants before a Tallahassee jury, alleging that Garcia shot Markel in the driveway of his home and that Magbanua helped set up the murder-for-hire.
The jury heard testimony from the Tallahassee police and Federal Bureau of Investigations agents who investigated the murder; Markel's ex-wife, Wendi Adelson; and Luis Rivera, a leader of the Latin Kings in Miami who in 2016 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with Markel's death and who implicated Garcia and Magbanua in the plot. They also saw evidence of extensive phone calls between the Magbanua, Garcia and Wendi's brother Charlie Adelson—who prosecutors believe conspired in the murder—right around the time of Markel's death, as well as excerpts of phone calls that investigators obtained through wiretaps. Cell phone records placed Garcia and Rivera in Tallahassee near the time of the murder.
Rivera's testimony that he and Garcia traveled from Miami to Tallahassee to kill Markel so that Wendi Adelson could relocate to South Florida with the couple's two children is central to the state's case, and he spent more than a day on the stand. In a cross-examination, defense attorneys for Magbanua and Garcia focused on Rivera's longtime gang ties, apparent inconsistencies in her statements to investigators; and the fact that he received a relatively short seven-year sentence in exchange for cooperating with the prosecution. (Rivera was already serving a 12-year federal prison sentence for racketing when he was charged in Markel's murder.)
Garcia's defense attorney Saam Zangeneh cited Rivera's lack of credibility in asking Judge James Hankinson to acquit his client after the state rested its case. Tara Kawass, who is representing Magbanua, also asked Hankinson to acquit on the grounds that the evidence against her client was entirely circumstantial. Hankinson denied both requests.
The jury did not hear testimony from either Charlie Adelson or Donna Adelson, the mother of Wendi Adelson, who was divorced from Markel in 2013. Prosecutors believe that Charlie and Donna hired Garcia and Rivera to kill Markel in order to enable Wendi Adelson to leave Tallahassee and move to South Florida, where her family runs a dental clinic. No members of the Adelson family have been charged in Markel's death, and Charlie and Donna Adelson have repeatedly denied any involvement. (Prosecutors do not believe Wendi Adelson was involved.) Wendi Adelson testified Sept. 27 that Charlie Adelson told her he had looked into hiring a hitman to kill Markel, but that the comment was a joke. Magbanua is a former girlfriend of Charlie Adelson and the mother of Garcia's children. Prosecutors say she served as the go-between for the Adelsons and the accused hitmen.
Garcia's defense team Tuesday afternoon called a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol and a computer forensics expert, but Garcia declined to take the stand before the defense rested its case.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFrom 'Confusing Labyrinth' to Speeding 'Roller Coaster': Uncertainty Reigns in Title IX as Litigators Await Second Trump Admin
6 minute readFederal Judge Weighs In on School's Discipline for 'Explicitly Copying AI-Generated Text' on Project
Trump’s DOE Pick Could Spell Trouble for Title IX Enforcement, Higher Ed Funding
4 minute read'What Is Certain Is Uncertainty': Patchwork Title IX Rules Face Expected Changes in Second Trump Administration
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Friday Newspaper
- 2Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 3Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 4NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 5A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250