Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel

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.