The Latest Revelations In The Dan Markel Murder Case
With trial set for the fall, information about the state's case is starting to emerge.
Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera
More than two years have passed since the horrific murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. One of the two men charged in the murder, Sigfredo Garcia, represented by his new lawyer, Saam Zangeneh, recently requested a trial date — and got one. Garcia’s trial is currently scheduled for November 14.
The second defendant, Luis Rivera, is expected to appear in court in early August. Rivera’s counsel, Chuck Collins, told WCTV that he too will seek a trial date within the speedy trial window and expects that Garcia and Rivera will be tried together.
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What does the state’s case against the two men look like right now? Here’s a report from the Tallahassee Democrat:
Most of the 175 possible witnesses [on the current witness list of the State Attorney’s Office] are TPD officers and residents of the Betton Hills neighborhood, particularly people living on Randolph Circle and Trescott Drive. The list includes Markel’s ex-wife Wendi Adelson, her brother Charlie and parents Harvey and Donna. Others include a self-proclaimed anti-Semite and convicted killer, a woman Markel was romantically linked to and an FSU professor who was dating Wendi Adelson.
Inquiring minds want to know: who were the individuals dating Dan Markel and Wendi Adelson?
[D]ocuments revealed so far suggest investigators gathered evidence and conducted a series of interviews immediately after Markel was killed. Jeffrey Lacasse, Wendi Adelson’s boyfriend and an assistant professor in the FSU College of Social Work, was interviewed twice for a combined two hours the week after Markel’s death. About eight months later, he was interviewed for another two and a half hours. Amy Adler, a New York University law professor said to be romantically linked to Markel, is a possible witness but is not listed as having given a statement, court documents said.
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We had heard reports about the relationship between Dan Markel and Amy Adler (based in part on Dan’s Facebook page; Adler was one of the first to comment on Dan’s death, and other comments noted their relationship). As for Jeffrey Lacasse, one can’t help wondering if he might be the “beautiful man [who] teared up” in Wendi Adelson’s arms (although it’s not clear from the Democrat article how long Lacasse and Adelson’s relationship lasted and whether it continues to this day).
And what about members of the Adelson family, who investigators have alleged might have been involved in the murder?
Police point to the Adelson family’s eagerness to move the couple’s two young boys to South Florida as a possible motive for the murder. The discovery list, which was released last week, said undercover agents recorded two meetings with Donna Adelson in April, about a month before Garcia was arrested….
Apart from witnesses, authorities have culled dozens of pieces of physical evidence over the last two years. These include emails from Wendi Adelson, jail calls and email from Rivera, Markel’s life insurance policy, video surveillance and bank records of the Adelson family and Markel.
So the Adelsons remain in the picture — but note that, despite all the speculation about them, nobody from the family has been charged.
We’ll continue to cover this case closely, including any eventual trial (and might even go down to Florida for the proceedings). If you have any information or thoughts you might be willing and able to share, please email us or text us (646-820-8477). Please note that we might quote from what you share with us (anonymously, unless you specify otherwise). Thank you.
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Markel murder suspect set to go to trial in November [WCTV]
State outlines evidence, witnesses in Markel case [Tallahassee Democrat]
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.
