Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder

The Dan Markel Case: Justice Delayed?

Defendant Katherine Magbanua's trial has been pushed back -- amid claims of new evidence....

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Katherine Magbanua (Broward County Sheriff's Office)

Katherine Magbanua’s date with destiny has been postponed (photo by Broward County Sheriff’s Office).

Katherine Magbanua, accused of acting as a conduit between two alleged hitmen and whoever ordered the murder of Professor Dan Markel, was supposed to go to trial for murder later this month, on February 27. But her trial just got postponed. Justice delayed, justice denied?

Regardless of where you come out on Magbanua’s guilt or innocence, the postponement makes sense. It will give both sides more time to prepare their cases and deal with new evidence, as explained by the Tallahassee Democrat:

Interviews with inmates who spent time with Sigfredo Garcia in the Leon County Jail may corroborate what one of his co-defendants and investigators have said all along about the death of Dan Markel — that Garcia was allegedly recruited by the law professor’s in-laws in a murder for hire plot.

The interviews, with two inmates at the Leon County Jail, reveal that while housed in L Pod, 34-year-old Garcia opened up about the Markel investigation and how he ended up driving to Tallahassee from Miami to allegedly shoot the Florida State legal scholar.

This constitutes a significant break in the case, given how Sigfredo Garcia, one of the two alleged hitmen, hasn’t said anything to police so far. Here’s a taste of what the government claims:

One inmate, in a recorded interview with Tallahassee Police investigators, said Garcia started to tell his fellow inmates about his involvement in the crime around the time of Magbanua’s Oct. 1 arrest.

Garcia said he was propositioned by his girlfriend and mother of his two children, who had been asked by a woman named “Don Adelson” to kill someone for money, the inmate told investigators.

It seems that Garcia’s candor might have been induced by consumption of “toilet wine” brewed in the prison. One could easily imagine an inebriated man either slurring his words or mishearing his fellow prisoner’s words, such that “Don Adelson” might sound like… Donna Adelson, the former mother-in-law of victim Dan Markel, who some in law enforcement suspect of involvement in the murder plot. (Donna Adelson and the other members of the Adelson family, through their lawyers, have denied any involvement in the Markel murder.)

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And wait, there’s more:

Garcia referred to the woman as “a mother-in-law or grandmother that wanted the man killed to get custody of two children,” records obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat say.

That inmate provided other details known to investigators. He told them Rivera was enlisted to drive but did not know he was involved in a murder, initially; Rivera and Garcia made two trips from Miami to Tallahassee and that the shooting happened in a garage; Rivera, Garcia and Magbanua split $100,000 and that Garcia was the shooter.

Interesting. Some observers of the case have suggested that Luis Rivera — a former leader of the Latin Kings, with a much longer criminal record than Sigfredo Garcia — might have pulled the trigger, then told law enforcement that Garcia did. But if this inmate is correct, Garcia wielded the gun.

Katherine Magbanua’s defense lawyers, Christopher DeCoste and Tara Kawass, understandably want more time to investigate this and other evidence:

Since they had not yet questioned the inmates who gave the interviews, Tara Kawass and Christopher DeCoste, attorneys for Magbanua, successfully lobbied Circuit Judge James Hankinson on Monday to have her trial date postponed. They said they had not yet reviewed the statements and could not go forward with the Feb. 27 trial date set for their client.

Magbanua will return to court May 1 for a status hearing.

The attorneys must also wade through 8 terabytes of FBI surveillance on Magbanua they were handed by the State Attorney’s Office on Monday.

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Some followers of the Markel case have wondered whether the recent radio silence might be due to plea negotiations between Katie Magbanua and the government. But Magbanua has pleaded not guilty, and her lawyers insist that she’s going to trial. As Christopher DeCoste said to me earlier this year, when I raised the possibility of a plea agreement or a non-jury (bench) trial, the defense is going for “100 percent trial by jury, unless the government finally looks at this case objectively, sees the evidence for what it is, and ends this nonsense before a jury does.”

Unfortunately for DeCoste’s client, I wouldn’t count on that happening anytime soon. Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman seems eager to move forward, saying that she wants to get this trial done so she can pursue “other suspects that are unindicted.”

Consider yourself warned, “Don Adelson.”

UPDATE (5:22 p.m.): We might be entering another period of radio silence in this case (like the one we just experienced). Nothing major is happening in Sigfredo Garcia’s case either. His next court appearance isn’t until April 3, as noted by WCTV’s Julie Montanaro (who covered his very brief appearance this morning).

Informants’ interviews force Markel trial delay [Tallahassee Democrat]
Magbanua’s trial in Markel murder delayed [WCTV]
Trial Date Pushed Back for Woman Charged in Markel Murder [WTXL]

Earlier: The Murder Of Dan Markel: The Case Against Donna Adelson
The Dan Markel Case: A Not-So-Merry Christmas For Katherine Magbanua
The Dan Markel Case: Why Isn’t Katherine Magbanua Cooperating?

DBL square headshotDavid 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 [email protected].

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