The Murder Of Dan Markel: In Defense Of Charlie Adelson
"[T]here's no way Charlie or anyone in the family is involved. They're all so nice."
Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera
On Friday, a grand jury in Leon County indicted Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera on first-degree murder charges. The two men stand accused of killing Florida State University law professor Dan Markel as part of an alleged murder-for-hire plot. Both men maintain their innocence (and Rivera initially claimed he had never been to northern Florida, although he reportedly changed his story after being shown photographic evidence to the contrary).
Law enforcement authorities allege that the plot to murder Markel arose out of the “desperate desire” of his ex-wife Wendi Adelson’s family to relocate her and her two children to South Florida. More specifically, the police assert a connection between Wendi’s brother, Charles Adelson, and a woman named Katherine Magbanua, the mother of two children with Sigfredo Garcia — one of the two alleged hit men.
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As a result of these allegations by law enforcement, Charlie Adelson has come under suspicion in some quarters. But he has his defenders, as reported by the Daily Mail late last week:
The wealthy Ft Lauderdale family police suspect of having a motive related to the execution-style killing of a highly respected Florida State University law professor had nothing to do with the murder, according to the live-in girlfriend of a family member….
[June] Umchinda, 27, a Thailand-born credit union worker who started dating playboy periodontist Charles Adelson eight months ago, tells Daily Mail Online in an exclusive interview she doesn’t believe the theory that Adelson or other family members paid the two to carry out the killing of Markel.
What’s the basis for June Umchinda’s defense of Charlie Adelson?
‘I can understand why the police would think this,’ Umchinda said after reading a narrative of the police investigation while standing outside Adelson’s canal house in Fort Lauderdale. ‘But there’s no way Charlie or anyone in the family is involved. They’re all so nice.
‘I mean, he hasn’t been saying anything about this. I haven’t asked about it. But I know he’s been under intense pressure over the last couple weeks and I assumed it was something having to do with work.
‘I’ve gone to family dinners and they never talk about what happened to Wendi’s ex-husband. I did ask once and Charlie said he was murdered. That was it.
‘But I’m practically living with Charlie and I’m not worried. He’s very nice and not violent at all.’
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According to the Daily Mail, the Adelsons are a “wealthy” family, thanks to the Adelson Institute for Aesthetics and Implant Dentistry — the successful father-son dental practice owned by Harvey and Charlie Adelson — and “extensive” real estate holdings. Fulfilling the south Florida stereotype, they’ve poured some of that wealth into cars:
Motor vehicle records show dad Harvey owns a half-dozen black luxury cars, including three Mercedes-Benzes, two Lexus and a Ferrari. They are driven by Wendi and Charles. His current girlfriend June Umchinda’s Range Rover is also registered to Harvey, according to records.
That’s a lot of luxury autos (and it seems the plural for “Lexus” should be “Lexuses”). But there could be some deaccessioning going on. One of our sources claims that the Adelsons either sold or are in the process of unloading the Ferrari.
‘It’s a very classy, well-educated family,’ Umchinda tells us. ‘Police must have it wrong.’
The police aren’t saying much about the Adelsons right now. When asked about the status of the Adelson family in the wake of Friday’s indictments, State Attorney Willie Meggs said, “They were not indicted. Today.”
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EXCLUSIVE: Girlfriend defends the ex-brother-in-law of Dan Markel [Daily Mail]
Two indicted in Markel slaying [Tallahassee Democrat]
Two men are indicted in law prof’s slaying [ABA Journal]
Court Documents: Dan Markel Murder Suspect Admits Traveling to Tallahassee [WTXL]
Grand Jury Indicts Two Men for Murder of FSU Professor Dan Markel [WTXL]
Earlier: The Murder Of Dan Markel: Wendi Adelson Speaks (Part 3)
The Murder Of Dan Markel: Wendi Adelson Speaks (Part 2)
The Murder Of Dan Markel: Wendi Adelson Speaks (Part 1)
More Details From The Dan Markel Murder Investigation, Plus A Closer Look At The Adelson Family
Investigators Allege Involvement Of His Ex-Wife’s Family In The Murder Of Dan Markel
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.
