The Dan Markel Case: Katherine Magbanua Indicted For First-Degree Murder
The possibility that we raised earlier this week has come to pass.
Katherine Magbanua (Broward County Sheriff’s Office)
The possibility that we raised earlier this week has come to pass. Katherine Magbanua, the woman accused of acting as a conduit between two alleged hitmen and whoever ordered Professor Dan Markel’s murder, has been indicted by a grand jury — on charges of first-degree murder.
The indictment came down yesterday afternoon, as reported by WCTV and the Tallahassee Democrat. According to the Democrat, the grand jury heard testimony from two investigators and from confessed hitman Luis Rivera, who previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is now cooperating with law enforcement. In a recorded interview with police, Rivera said of Magbanua, “Katie is the woman in the middle doing everything. It’s all because of Katie, man.”
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Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman expressed hope that Magbanua would start cooperating. But when we last checked in with her lawyers, they insisted on her innocence, suggesting she’s ready for a legal battle. And that battle is heating up, as reported by WTXL:
Katherine Magbanua’s Attorney filed a motion on Monday saying that her team was not given copies of recordings and documents they’ve requested.
In that motion they shared emails between themselves and the State Attorney’s Office, one email showing a member of prosecution calling Magbanua’s Attorney a “jerk.”
The defense is asking a judge to step in and order the state to turn over all items they have requested. A decision has not yet been made.
Flip to the next page to read the complete motion, filed by Magbanua’s lawyers, Christopher DeCoste and Tara Kawass. The email chains, attached as exhibits to the motion, appear on the last four pages of the PDF file. Here are the amusing parts:
DeCoste to Cappleman: I have not heard back concerning yesterday’s email and add the following items to the list [of possibly missing discovery]. Most of these items can be emailed and what cannot be emailed can be overnighted via our FedEx account. Whatever items are not immediately turned over will be the subject of a motion to compel with a request for a massively truncated turnout time pursuant to 3.220(k)….
Cappleman to DeCoste: Massively truncated? Oh no!!
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It’s not clear whether Cappleman meant to send that quip to DeCoste or to one of her colleagues, but if she meant it for DeCoste, it strikes me as inappropriately snarky. What’s okay or even welcome in a blog is not necessarily appropriate for communicating with opposing counsel.
In fairness to Cappleman, it’s quite possible that she replied to DeCoste when she meant to share her snark with a colleague. Her email contains the “Sent from my iPhone” signature block, and it’s easier to make such a mistake when emailing from a phone as opposed to a computer.
Here’s an email, sent by Amy Lee of the State Attorney’s Office to defense lawyer DeCoste, that was definitely misdirected:
Will you reply to this jerk? We have given him everything we had up until that date of discovery. Jason is looking at what we have given him to see what he is talking about.
Whoops. These types of email screw-ups can and do happen to anyone, but they’re still mortifying when they occur.
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Let’s hope, for the sake of everyone seeking justice in the Dan Markel case, that the staffers of the State Attorney’s Office are better at investigating and prosecuting than they are at emailing.
(Flip to the next page to read the complete motion to compel.)
Magbanua indicted for first degree murder in Markel case [WCTV]
Katherine Magbanua indicted on first-degree murder charges [Tallahassee Democrat]
Magbanua Indicted on First Degree Murder Charges [WTXL]
Earlier: The Dan Markel Case: Katherine Magbanua’s Date With Destiny
The Dan Markel Case: Is Katherine Magbanua Cutting A Deal?
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.
