Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder

The Dan Markel Case: Luis Rivera Pleads Guilty

Luis Rivera accepts a plea deal; what will his co-defendants do?

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Luis Rivera (via WCTV)

Luis Rivera (via WCTV)

Last month, 20/20 aired its eagerly awaited episode about the murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. At the end of the segment, ABC News reported that Luis Rivera, one of the two alleged hitmen, was cooperating with the police as part of a plea deal. But after the episode aired, Rivera’s lawyer, Chuck Collins, denied that report: “While plea negotiations are always discussed, my client has never spoken to law enforcement or the State Attorney. We are preparing for our October 24th trial.”

Not anymore. It seems that the looming trial date managed to clarify Rivera’s thinking. This afternoon, he pleaded guilty, as reported by WCTV:

Luis Rivera just entered a plea deal in the murder of FSU law professor Dan Markel. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison, which will run concurrently with another sentence he is already serving in federal prison.

The deal will spare Rivera the possibility of a life sentence, but requires Rivera to testify against co-defendants Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua.

Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman says Rivera already gave a statement to investigators that implicated Katherine Magbanua in the murder plot. Cappleman says her arrest would not have happened without it.

When Magbanua was arrested over the weekend, it came as something of a surprise to close observers of the case. What had changed since State Attorney Willie Meggs declined to approve an arrest warrant for Magbanua? Now we know the answer: Rivera’s cooperation.

Rivera pleaded to second-degree murder, as reported by the Tallahassee Democrat. He’s currently serving a 12-year federal sentence for an unrelated crime, so this guilty plea gives him an additional seven years (because the sentences run concurrently). This takes first-degree murder and the death penalty off the table for him.

This raises some obvious follow-up questions. First, what will co-defendants Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua do? Might they also enter into plea agreements? Together they are the parents of two children; perhaps one will take a harsher sentence in exchange for the other receiving more lenient treatment.

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Second, who else might be charged in connection with Dan Markel’s murder? As we have discussed before, the police suspect the involvement of relatives of Wendi Adelson, Dan Markel’s ex-wife, with whom he was engaged in acrimonious, divorce-related litigation at the time of his death. Through their lawyers, the Adelsons have denied involvement in Markel’s murder.

It seems that the Adelsons are getting ready, though, for possible charges. One of their lawyers — David Oscar Markus, counsel to Charlie Adelson, Wendi’s brother — issued the following statement to us:

Seven years is just offensive. The prosecution admittedly didn’t have enough evidence so it went out and bought some by giving away the farm to a murderer. This convicted gangster knows the game and would have said anything not to come out of prison in a box. The prosecution literally threatened him with the needle to get this testimony. That’s not a search for the truth. That’s a deal with the devil.

Fair enough. Markus is entitled to call into question the credibility of a career criminal.

But failing to find and prosecute Dan Markel’s murderers, whoever they might be, would be offensive as well.

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Markel suspect Rivera avoids trial, agrees to plea deal [Tallahassee Democrat]
Suspect pleads guilty in Dan Markel murder case [WCTV]

Earlier: The Dan Markel Case: Katherine Magbanua Arrested And Charged With Murder

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.

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