Patrick Sanford — Direct/Cross/Redirect
677 linesJUDGE EVERETT: You may call your next witness.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, I do you have a stipulation at this time.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I would ask Your Honor to read the stipulation in reference to the firearms.
JUDGE EVERETT: Members of the jury, when the parties agree that certain facts are true, that is called a stipulation of fact. You must accept stipulated facts as having been proven.
JUDGE EVERETT: However, the significance of these facts, as with all facts, is for you to decide. In this case, the stipulated fact that you must accept as true is: the projectiles contained in State's Exhibits 122 and 123 were examined microscopically by a firearms expert from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and are determined to have been fired from the same revolver.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please raise your right hand.
JUDGE EVERETT: Do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give will be the truth?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I do.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may take your seat.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Please say your name and spell your name.
PATRICK SANFORD: Patrick Sanford. S-A-N-F-O-R-D.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How are you employed?
PATRICK SANFORD: I'm a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How long have you been with the FBI?
PATRICK SANFORD: Um, approximately a little over 24 years, 22 of which I was here in Tallahassee.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What are your duties there?
PATRICK SANFORD: I'm a special agent. I investigate cases and, um, protect national security.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And were you assigned to investigate a murder case involving the murder of Dan Markel?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Were you the lead investigator on that case?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you assist the Tallahassee Police Department in that case?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Why was the FBI included in that particular investigation?
PATRICK SANFORD: At the beginning, they had several leads — like interviews, things that they needed to track down that were outside of the city of Tallahassee. We have agents all over the country, so we're able to facilitate some of those leads and track down certain aspects of the case.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And were some of those leads in the Miami area?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, they were.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And were you assisted by Miami authorities as well in the investigation?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: As part of the investigation, were the people that were considered to be closest to the victim interviewed?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, they were.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And would that include the ex-wife, Wendi Adelson?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What did you learn in the investigation about the relationship between the victim and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson?
PATRICK SANFORD: They had gone through a very contentious divorce, which — even after the divorce was finalized — they still had several issues that they dealt with through the court system.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to approach with what I've marked as State's Exhibit 56.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do — you recognize this exhibit?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I do.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Have you had an opportunity to look at that exhibit before?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I have.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Is that a fair and accurate copy of Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel's divorce file?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct. Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you review this divorce file as part of your investigation in this case?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How many pages are in that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Around 576, I believe.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And I want to draw your attention to a couple things specifically. Um, like on page 82, paragraph 13 — they were arguing over everything, right? All the belongings?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Down to a tennis racket?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: As part of these proceedings, did Wendi Adelson seek to relocate with her children from Tallahassee to Miami, Florida?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, she did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And why did she want to relocate to South Florida?
PATRICK SANFORD: According to the filings, the filing stated that she had a job offer in South Florida that was more lucrative than her current job.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And did Mr. Markel object to her petition to relocate with the children?
PATRICK SANFORD: He did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Did he file quite a lengthy and emphatic objection to that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, he did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And in his motion — and that's going to be on page 82 — why did he indicate he believed was the sole reason that Ms. Adelson wanted to move to South Florida?
PATRICK SANFORD: He stated that the sole reason was because she could relocate with the parties' minor children to be near her parents.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And was the relocation petition that Wendi filed — was that ruled on?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, it was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So what did the court say about that?
PATRICK SANFORD: The court ruled against that and ruled against her, saying she had to stay in Tallahassee with the children.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: If I said that was June 20th of 2013, does that sound right?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. When was the divorce made final? And for that, I'll direct you to page 457 and 458.
PATRICK SANFORD: I believe it was made final in July 31st of 2013, I believe.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And did that conclude the legal issues between Ms. Adelson and Professor Markel?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, it did not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So they continued to file quite a lot of filings after that. Is that right?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Okay.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: In fact, there's over 250 more pages of stuff after the divorce was final.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct. Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. I want to direct your attention to March 26th of 2014.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did Mr. Markel file a motion seeking some relief related to the grandmother, Donna Adelson?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, he did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what specifically was he seeking in reference to Donna Adelson?
PATRICK SANFORD: He was seeking to limit her visitation rights to where they had to be monitored.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Supervised.
PATRICK SANFORD: Supervised.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: By another adult.
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And why in the pleading did Mr. Markel indicate that this supervision was needed?
PATRICK SANFORD: I'm sorry, could you refresh the page number?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: The page — look at 450.
PATRICK SANFORD: 450.
PATRICK SANFORD: 50.
PATRICK SANFORD: Mr. Markel stated that the children informed him that Grandma says you're stupid, and that she says you're trying to take your sunshines away.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: That grandma, meaning Donna Adelson?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Was saying that — Dan Markel, telling the kids that Dan Markel was stupid?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you also come into possession of some emails that were exchanged between Wendi Adelson and Donna Adelson?
PATRICK SANFORD: We did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to show you what I've marked as State's Exhibit 57.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Have you had an opportunity to review those emails?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I have.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Have you had a chance to review those before today?
PATRICK SANFORD: I have.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Anything in those emails that goes to motive in your investigation?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, there is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What is that?
PATRICK SANFORD: She was being very assertive. Mrs. — Adelson, Mrs. Donna Adelson, was being very assertive with Wendi Adelson, trying to influence her to do different things to Mr. Markel to get him to agree to let her and the children move to South Florida.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what was the thing that was expressly stated in these emails as the most important part of Wendi's whole divorce and litigation?
PATRICK SANFORD: It was relocation to South Florida, to be close to the family.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, and was there a mention in those emails of a bribe that was to be offered to Dan Markel to potentially facilitate this relocation?
PATRICK SANFORD: It was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And who was going to pay for the bribe?
PATRICK SANFORD: There was going to be a three-way payment between Donna and Harvey Adelson. They were going to pay 33 percent of it.
PATRICK SANFORD: Charlie Adelson would pay 33 percent, and then Wendi would pay the other 33 percent.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, and what was the total amount of this potential bribe?
PATRICK SANFORD: One million dollars.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Was there any financial benefit to Wendi Adelson that occurred as a result of Dan Markel's death?
PATRICK SANFORD: There was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What were those? Find that benefit or benefits.
PATRICK SANFORD: There was — at least, I believe, a couple of life insurance policies, one of which was around two million dollars. There was Social Security benefits to the kids that were provided, I believe like $4,800 a month.
PATRICK SANFORD: There was a 401(k) that he left behind and some other accounts.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Pension as well?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, there was a pension.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, and some deferred comp — $217,000 there?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And you mentioned the 401(k). Do you recall how much money was in that?
PATRICK SANFORD: I don't, off the top of my head.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, is there something that could refresh your memory on that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Possibly.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Does $100,000 sound right?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, it does.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. As — part of the investigation in this case, you looked at sort of the people closest to Dan. Did you also investigate the day of the homicide and his routine or activities that day?
PATRICK SANFORD: We did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what did you learn about his schedule that day?
PATRICK SANFORD: That morning, he had custody of the kids that day — his two children, his two boys. He took them to daycare over off of West Tharp Street, dropped them off around 8:50 a.m., and then drove back across town and went to Premier Gym right off of McLea Boulevard, Thomasville Road, Capital Circle area.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Was there any surveillance images captured outside the gym that showed the vehicles coming and going from there?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes. There was some exterior cameras on the gym itself, on the roof of the gym.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And did that surveillance — were you able to identify from that surveillance which video, I mean which vehicle, was Dan Markel's vehicle arriving at the gym?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, we were.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, and was there another vehicle that appeared to be a suspect vehicle captured in this video?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And why did you describe — or why am I describing this other vehicle as a suspect vehicle?
PATRICK SANFORD: We did obtain multiple pieces of footage, video footage around town, also showing that it appeared a light green Prius was following Mr. Markel wherever he went that morning.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And was that description of a vehicle consistent with the description that Mr. Geiger gave us of the vehicle that he saw leaving the crime scene?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Was there a compilation of relevant clips or parts of this video surveillance collected from Premier Gym to show the jury just sort of the relevant portions?
PATRICK SANFORD: There was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And you've had an opportunity to review that?
PATRICK SANFORD: I have.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And those images are fair and accurate clips or portions of the Premier Gym surveillance video?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, I'd ask to introduce into evidence that Premier video surveillance footage at this time, which I believe is 80— State's 83, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: And that's going in the form of—
MS. CAPPLEMAN: A disc, Your Honor, but I'd ask for permission to publish by way of the laptop.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: If you'll kind of walk us through what we're looking at here, and we may need to pause when he starts talking.
PATRICK SANFORD: This is from the roof of the Premier Gym. This is off of the north side facing toward the Fresh Market, that area. If you're familiar with that area, Fresh Market's off to the right. There's an entrance to the right of the screen, and there's also the main entrance, which is way further left of the screen, that you can't see here.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, but this is a portion of the parking lot — that's where the cars are lined up there.
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct. Those are vehicles parked in the parking lot of the gym.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, we're seeing a blue circle around a dark vehicle. Could you tell us what that indicates?
PATRICK SANFORD: That is Mr. Markel's vehicle.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And this is him entering the gym at 9:11 a.m.?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct. He just came into the parking lot and is going around to the front side of the gym.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, now what are we looking at?
PATRICK SANFORD: This is just a different angle, a little bit further back, and this is Mr. Markel immediately preceding the video we just saw, where he's coming into the front of the gym.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Is he going to park somewhere?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, he parks right behind that American flag.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: That was 9:12. What is this camera angle?
PATRICK SANFORD: This is the same angle, it's just a little bit further to the left, and that is the front of the gym right there where the green Prius just drove right in front of the front door at the gym.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So they entered through different — entered the parking lot through different entrances?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct. They entered over off of the west side of the parking lot.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, so we see the Prius here, and we know where Mr. Markel's parked there behind the flagpole.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What is that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct. He's still in the vehicle. Just exited the vehicle there, I believe.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So the blue circle indicates that's him getting out of his vehicle.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And where's the Prius at this time?
PATRICK SANFORD: The Prius continued on through the parking lot on the north side.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And is that Mr. Markel in the red?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, it is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do we have any reason to believe that any suspects entered the gym?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, we do not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How long was Professor Markel inside the gym?
PATRICK SANFORD: I believe about an hour and a half. I believe it was about 10:38 when he leaves, somewhere around there.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, and what are we looking at here outside at 9:16 a.m.?
PATRICK SANFORD: 9:16, the green Prius is still driving through the parking lot, but it's coming back from where it had passed through, coming back toward the gym.
PATRICK SANFORD: This is on the south side of the parking lot of the gym, and the green Prius just drove through there and is driving around the parking lot still.
PATRICK SANFORD: Again, the vehicle is turned around and is coming back toward the gym in the same parking lot.
PATRICK SANFORD: Almost managed to get in a wreck there.
PATRICK SANFORD: Just missed.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What's happening here?
PATRICK SANFORD: This is Mr. Markel exiting the lobby of the gym, coming through the lobby.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Now at 10:34, what do we see?
PATRICK SANFORD: We see Mr. Markel walking away from the front doors into the parking lot toward his vehicle.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So we saw Mr. Markel's vehicle leaving. Is that the Prius that was back there in that orange circle?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct. They were in the far northwest part of the parking lot parked, and when he exited, they started to exit.
PATRICK SANFORD: And he exited on the Village Square Boulevard exit.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So we never saw anybody exit the Prius during the surveillance video?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, we did not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: They stayed in the car the whole time?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Were you able to learn anything about the suspect vehicle from the surveillance images as far as the color?
PATRICK SANFORD: We were. We were able to determine the approximate year range of that type of vehicle based on the body style going through the Toyota dealership and other experts. We were able to determine that it was a 2006-2009 Toyota Prius with Silver Pine Mica being the name of the paint, which is kind of a light green.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Were you able to learn anything or find any other surveillances to establish anything about the route the victim took to and from the gym?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, we were.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What evidence was that?
PATRICK SANFORD: We were able to obtain city bus video. All the city buses had video on the exterior and the interior of them. We went back along the route that he took, and we believe he took, and reviewed bus footage video of that and found footage of both vehicles.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And just to try to get our timeline as narrow as we can, this gym video ends at 10:38 a.m. What time did the 911 call come in?
PATRICK SANFORD: Came in, I believe, 11:02.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Have you had an opportunity to review the exhibit, State's Exhibit 84, with the video from the buses, that's been put together similarly to how we did this with the gym surveillance?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I have.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And is it fair and accurate?
PATRICK SANFORD: It is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, at this time, I'd ask to introduce State's...
JUDGE EVERETT: Let me check on the exhibit — 84, which is the bus video clips. Any objection?
MR. RASHBAUM: No objection.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 84 is admitted.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What are bus videos? Where are cameras mounted on city buses?
PATRICK SANFORD: On the exterior and the interior of the buses, and it's for safety purposes and for review purposes for the city.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How were you able to know how to find this stuff?
PATRICK SANFORD: We were able to find out which routes the bus took, which buses took which route at which times. So we looked for that exact bus route along Thomasville Road during that time period.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. So did you have to look through quite a bit of footage to get the little bits we're going to look at?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, the team did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Permission to publish State's 84, Your Honor? Your Honor.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: The actual exhibit is in the form of a disc, Your Honor.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So where are we right here on the video?
PATRICK SANFORD: This is right in front of the Circle K gas station, which is right on Thomasville Road at the Capital Circle flyover. I believe it's McClay Commerce Boulevard, that's the actual road that they're on.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, so we're the bus, we're on McClay Commerce?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct, and the Circle K is to the right, and right in front of us is Thomasville Road with the divider where Capital Circle flyover starts.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What does the blue circle indicate?
PATRICK SANFORD: That is the vehicle of Mr. Markel.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What time are we seeing him pass that area?
PATRICK SANFORD: That is at 10:44.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: :44.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, so is that consistent with going back home from the gym?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, and this is bus — we've got a couple different buses in play here, right? This one's 505?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct, 505.
JUDGE EVERETT: Okay, proceed, please.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Orange circle indicate?
PATRICK SANFORD: That is the green Prius that was in the parking lot of Premier Gym.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, we're still on bus 505. What does this show?
PATRICK SANFORD: So this is on Thomasville Road heading south, just south of the I-10. Um, this is the entrance where, uh, the hospital is to the right. It's a red light.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: By hospital, you're talking about the... the new ER? The new ER?
PATRICK SANFORD: Exactly. Right by I-10 and Thomasville Road.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Were you able to get the tag number from this image from the bus?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, unfortunately we weren't. The resolution on these cameras is set really low because they're saved on DVRs, and they didn't want them to roll over too fast, so they set the resolution extremely low, and we were not able to pull anything out of that.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Where is Professor Markel's vehicle at this point?
PATRICK SANFORD: It is past the red light. It's already made it through the red light.
PATRICK SANFORD: It's still heading south on Thomasville Road.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Almost 10:48 a.m. Is that time correct at the bottom there?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct. Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And now we're at 10:51 p.m. — I'm sorry, a.m. Still bus 505.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Will you pause it, please? What does the orange circle indicate here? Where are we, and what does the circle indicate?
PATRICK SANFORD: We're still southbound on Thomasville Road. This intersection is Benton Road, which is where Winthrop Park is. Benton Road is where the cars are stopped, and the left-hand turn lane on the far left side of the screen is the green Prius waiting to turn left onto Benton Road.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And is— is that a route to get to Professor Markel's residence on Trescott?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And that's 10:51 a.m.?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. We've gone to a different bus.
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, this is bus 707.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what are we looking at on bus 707?
PATRICK SANFORD: So this is northbound on Thomasville Road at Hermitage.
PATRICK SANFORD: This is at 10:55 a.m.
PATRICK SANFORD: And there's two lanes there. They're in the right-hand lane. The bus is in the right-hand lane, but the camera's on the outside of the bus looking backwards, so you'll see oncoming traffic coming behind the bus.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What do we see here?
PATRICK SANFORD: We see the green Prius pulling up next to the bus.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So this is 10:55. We last saw him at 10:51.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Does that narrow your murder window down to that four minutes?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct. This is north of where the victim was, and this is coming from the victim's house.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I think we've prepared a second clip if you'll just let it play through, of that in slow motion.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Tell us what we're supposed to be looking for in this clip.
PATRICK SANFORD: So you can see inside the vehicle. Even though it has tinted windows, you can see the driver's wearing dark clothes, but the passenger appears to have a long-sleeved white shirt on, and he's very animated in the passenger seat.
PATRICK SANFORD: You can also see some distinctive features of the car.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What are these distinctive features?
PATRICK SANFORD: So the first one, on the lower right-hand corner, is what's called a tow hook cover.
PATRICK SANFORD: Some vehicles have a little plate in the bumper that you can remove, and it has a metal hook inside of it, so a tow truck can hook to that metal hook and pull the car if it needs to.
PATRICK SANFORD: This particular vehicle is missing its tow hook cover. You can see there's a hole in the front bumper, so it's been removed and not been replaced.
PATRICK SANFORD: Also, on the front windshield is a SunPass.
PATRICK SANFORD: It was affixed to the windshield, and then on the far left side of the screen is the black rear-view mirror of the vehicle.
PATRICK SANFORD: Toyota Priuses made in those years had matching mirrors. The mirrors were painted with the car — same color of the car — and you can see in the video that the driver's-side mirror was still painted, but the passenger-side mirror was black, indicating it had been damaged and been replaced by an aftermarket mirror.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And what is a SunPass transponder?
PATRICK SANFORD: SunPass transponders are used primarily in South Florida, especially back then. We didn't really have any SunPass toll booths up here, but they're used to pay for tolls going on toll roads where you don't have to stop and pay cash at the toll booths. You can pay for it in advance, assign it to your car, create an account, and affix it to your vehicle so you don't have to stop going through toll booths.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: When you observed that it appeared there was a SunPass transponder on this vehicle, back at this time — when did you obtain this video, do you know?
PATRICK SANFORD: This was back in 2014.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Did that signify to you this vehicle may have come from South Florida?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What efforts were made to follow up on the SunPass?
PATRICK SANFORD: So we ended up working with an investigator with Florida Department of Transportation, who maintains Florida SunPass, and gave them subpoenas. And we ended up thinking the best route for somebody to go through South Florida, the SunPass, would be through Orlando. We obtained video in Orlando trying to see if that green Prius passed through any of the toll booths there.
PATRICK SANFORD: We also obtained a list of all green Priuses in that year range that had a registered SunPass to it.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How many of those were there?
PATRICK SANFORD: Thousands.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, let's let this exhibit finish.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Here, can you explain what this is?
PATRICK SANFORD: This is the same bus as the light-turned-green at Hermitage going north on Thomasville, and this is the green Prius passing the bus.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So as far as pulling the needle out of the haystack, finding this one Prius — it didn't work from the SunPass alone?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, not from the SunPass alone.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Was any work done to try to zero in on some cell phone analysis around the locations where we know the suspect Prius was that day?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, there was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, and was Sergeant Corbitt the person responsible for working on the cell phone analysis?
PATRICK SANFORD: He was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Including looking for any phones of interest traveling in those areas that might have been following Dan Markel?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, and based on the analysis that we're going to hear from Sergeant Corbitt, did you develop an idea of the route that the suspects may have taken?
PATRICK SANFORD: We did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I know you said you had already tried the SunPass booths in Orlando, which is one potential route to South Florida.
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. What did the phone evidence lead you to look at instead of that route?
PATRICK SANFORD: We were able to obtain those phone records that showed the vehicle traveled down 75 and did not go through Orlando. It took I-10 to 75 all the way down — actually, on the way up also. But on the way down, down 75 through Tampa, through Naples, then across Alligator Alley on 75 to Miami.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All... right, so sort of not the expected route.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct. It's a longer route than going through the turnpike down through Orlando.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, and you already suspected the vehicle was headed south, I guess, based on just existence of the SunPass transponder.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, and that's sort of corroborated by these phone records.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: ...did... you find any place where the SunPass transponder went through? I guess there are some toll booths that you have to go through if you go that route as well, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Where are those located?
PATRICK SANFORD: They're basically on Alligator Alley. There's one going eastbound on the — I'm sorry, going westbound on the east side in Broward County when you leave Miami going across Alligator Alley. There's one there going, if you're traveling westbound. And then on the way back there was one going eastbound just outside of Naples.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And were you able to find a Prius going through those SunPasses that might have been our Prius?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, we were.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How were you able to do that? What did you ask for?
PATRICK SANFORD: We asked for particular times. We knew what times — about what times they went through the toll booths. We asked for any green Priuses around those times that had activated the SunPass.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And how many green Priuses traveled through the SunPass booths both going and coming at the — in the same time windows you were looking for?
PATRICK SANFORD: Just one.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, and from that were you able to identify the particular SunPass transponder that we were looking for that was affixed to the suspect vehicle?
PATRICK SANFORD: We were.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How'd you do that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Um, we went back to — went to Florida Department of Transportation and asked for that particular — details of that transponder. They gave us a subscriber for that particular one.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And who was the subscriber?
PATRICK SANFORD: Um, it was a company called The Hybrid Auto Rental, also called Save Gas, and it's out of — down on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, did you go there?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, what did you learn about the suspect vehicle from Save Gas?
PATRICK SANFORD: By the time we got there, he'd already sold the vehicle. It was over a year later. But it was — it was rented by Louis Rivera. He provided us with, basically... receipt — the contract where it was rented during that time period.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So from the paperwork that you got from Save Gas, you learned — you got a rental contract that showed who rented the vehicle?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, and also any information about the vehicle itself, like a VIN or a tag number?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, correct. It gave all the information on the vehicle too.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What is this place Save Gas like? Is that like an Enterprise or something else?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, it's a small, locally owned, individually owned car rental place that kind of repairs his own vehicles, buys and sells vehicles and rents them out.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, at this time I'd ask to introduce the rental agreement, State's 58.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 58 is admitted.
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, at the top left it's renter information — is Louis Rivera, has his address that matches his driver's license address, and it has a telephone number down below that.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: It... was that number that — that has "brother" next to it. That wasn't one of the numbers that — numbers of interest that gave us the pattern going down to South Florida.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Was this number associated with a person?
PATRICK SANFORD: Eventually, it was Sigfredo Garcia.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Other information on here about when the vehicle was rented — were you able to deduce from this when the vehicle was back?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, it was supposed to be back — I believe that's toward the bottom, if I'm not mistaken. I'm...
PATRICK SANFORD: Sorry. Yeah, so the date it was rented was 7-15 at 6:15 p.m., and it was due back on 7-17.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So July 15th of 2014?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: 2014, that's when it was rented?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: It was supposed to be back July 17th?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And did it get returned on time?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, it did not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Is there anything on that document in reference to the extension of time?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes. Down at the bottom, it also shows that from 7-18 through 7-20, it says I believe $9.65 paid cash, and then 7-20 to 7-21 it shows a $55 balance and some other numbers where they ended up having to pay it, and some other notes about paying cash out of the deposit.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So it looks like they didn't return it until July 21st?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And you said that the phone number listed on top there with the word "brother" turned out to be Sigfredo Garcia's phone number. How do we know that's his phone number?
PATRICK SANFORD: It was listed one time on a Facebook page that was associated with him, and also listed on a pawn receipt where he had pawned some — I believe it was some jewelry — and used his fingerprint on that, had to place his fingerprint on the pawn receipt when he did it, and listed that phone number as his.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What's been introduced as State's, how many of these things?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to show you State's 59 first, and ask you if you recognize State's 59.
PATRICK SANFORD: I do.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How do you recognize it?
PATRICK SANFORD: I recognize it as an exhibit that lists the subjects in this investigation.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And is the information contained on the exhibit fair and accurate?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, I'd ask to introduce State's 59.
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection?
MR. RASHBAUM: No objection.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 59 is admitted.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So you were saying there was a Facebook post or a Facebook account linked to this phone number with a photograph of Sigfredo Garcia as the owner of the account?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct. It was labeled "Tudor Dade," but it was a picture of Sigfredo Garcia.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And throughout the course of your investigation, have you come to know "Tudor Dade" or "Tudor" as a nickname for Sigfredo Garcia?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And does anybody else on this State's Exhibit 59 have a nickname?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Who is that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Luis Rivera is also known as "Tato."
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And were you able to subpoena phone records for all the people shown on this State's Exhibit 59?
PATRICK SANFORD: We were.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And established — so obviously established phone numbers for the phone numbers they were all using at the time of the homicide?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you conduct any investigation into Katherine Magbanua and her employment status around the time of this homicide?
PATRICK SANFORD: We did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What did you learn about her employment status?
PATRICK SANFORD: At the time of the homicide, she was — shortly after the homicide, I believe it was about two months after the homicide, she became employed with the Adelson Institute.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, but at the actual time of the homicide, anything other than maybe odd jobs?
PATRICK SANFORD: Right, just odd jobs, maybe some bartending work.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, what is the Adelson Institute?
PATRICK SANFORD: It's a family-owned dentist practice in South Florida.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, and did you go to the Adelson Institute?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you attempt to subpoena employment records for Katherine Magbanua at that business?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, tell us about that.
PATRICK SANFORD: Myself and Investigator Isom approached the business with a subpoena, went in, spoke with the lady at the front desk, told her we had a subpoena for records for Katherine — Made some inquiries about her employment there, and they continued to bring somebody else up and talk to us about it, and then went back in the back and made a phone call.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So when you went in there, Katherine Magbanua was not physically present there?
PATRICK SANFORD: She was not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Was she still receiving checks at the time that you went in there?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I believe she was.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And did the employees in there seem to know what she did there?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, not at all.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Were you eventually provided with some documentation from that business?
PATRICK SANFORD: Later on, yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to show you what I've marked as State 60.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do you recognize it?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, I do.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. What is State 60?
PATRICK SANFORD: It's a list of checks that were issued to Katherine Magbanua.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And is this exhibit the complete information that you were provided by the Adelson Institute in response to your subpoena for the entire employee file of Katherine Magbanua?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, this is it. This is all they provided.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And you mentioned a list of checks. Was there anything in here that —
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I don't know why we're getting that feedback.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: IT, if you're listening, we need feedback support.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Any indication of what her job was there?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Any indication of, like, her schedule?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Time sheets?
PATRICK SANFORD: Nothing.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: An employment application?
PATRICK SANFORD: Nope.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: W-2?
PATRICK SANFORD: Nope.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Any tax forms?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Performance evaluations or anything like that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Nothing.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And over what period was she being paid according to the records that were provided to you?
PATRICK SANFORD: I believe it started in September of 2014 and went through early 2016, maybe March 31st of 2016.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And so those payments began about two months after the homicide?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And did you notice in the records that were provided that some of the check numbers were consecutive, meaning consecutive numbers?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, we did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you ever get any evidence that Ms. Magbanua was physically going to the Adelson Institute to perform any kind of duties there?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, we never obtained any evidence to show that at all.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And there was some surveillance at some time being performed of her person, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Can you tell us about that? What time frame was she being monitored?
PATRICK SANFORD: We started monitoring her in late 2015, probably November.
PATRICK SANFORD: Basically electronic surveillance on her residence. Plus we also — we were monitoring her phone, location services on her phone, historically and prospective.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And how long was that the case? How long was she being monitored? What period of time?
PATRICK SANFORD: On electronic video surveillance, was from November of '15 until — until she no longer lived at that apartment.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Any of those means that you described, were you able to deduce what it was she was doing for the Adelson Institute in person or remotely?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, not at all.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: We're gonna hear — we heard in opening that there was a wiretap in this case. Anything on the wiretap that indicated what she was doing for that business?
PATRICK SANFORD: There's a couple of references about cleaning up on the weekends.
PATRICK SANFORD: That was about it, though.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And again, we would have known if she'd gone there to clean up on the weekends, right? At least during the time frame she described?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And that didn't happen?
PATRICK SANFORD: It did not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. One — moment, please, Your Honor.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Thank you, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Ms. Cappleman, if you can move the lectern slightly over to the left. And it's not any wires, is it?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I don't think so.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'm going to move it anyway, don't worry. Okay, I'm going to move it.
JUDGE EVERETT: Trying not to jostle you with the microphones because that might be causing some of the feedback.
MR. RASHBAUM: Good afternoon.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's actually start where we left off — the checks.
PATRICK SANFORD: Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: The checks began two months after the date that Professor Markel was murdered, give or take. That's what the date on the checks were for that employment, correct?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And the checks were in batches, right? Often they seemed to be — the sequence of the check numbers were in batches, correct?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: So just so everyone understands what that means, you would see a check for check number one, two, three, and four, for instance, and you would see, uh, those checks, even though they were the next checks in the book, they'd be for payments every two weeks, essentially.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
PATRICK SANFORD: What I observed was a few checks in sequence, and at the bottom it would give date ranges of when they were for, and they would be for two-week segments, and then the very next check was for another two-week segment later on, and then there was other checks in the system that were dated out of range of those. So it looked like Ms. Magbanua was given a stack of checks at a time, for instance.
MR. RASHBAUM: Fair assumption?
PATRICK SANFORD: Sometimes, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Those checks, when you added them up, they were about $1,000 a month, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: I believe so. Yeah, it was like $460 a month or something like that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Every two weeks, I mean.
PATRICK SANFORD: $460 every two weeks. Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Which is not great at Mac.
MR. RASHBAUM: $920. And there's taxes — a little bit of taxes taken out, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: Sure, correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: About a thousand dollars a month.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, I think you testified that the State's theory of why this murder occurred was partially a murder because of the desire of Ms. Adelson to relocate.
MR. RASHBAUM: I think that's what you testified on direct. Is that fair to say?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's fair.
MR. RASHBAUM: You're aware that the relocation motion was denied in June of 2013, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that's more than a full year before the murder, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: The relocation was in June of '13?
MR. RASHBAUM: Yes. The murder was in middle of July of 2014?
PATRICK SANFORD: Right, right. Correct.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: As part of your investigation, did you learn that no one really thought the relocation motion was going to be successful?
PATRICK SANFORD: I don't know about no one, but there was some indication they thought it might not be successful.
MR. RASHBAUM: Correct? Did you try to speak to Ms. Adelson's lawyer?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did not, no.
PATRICK SANFORD: Tallahassee Police Department did at one point.
MR. RASHBAUM: And did they learn that the motion was, as she says in an email, a moonshot?
PATRICK SANFORD: I don't know that now.
MR. RASHBAUM: You discussed in your direct examination — you talked about some of these emails. Do you recall that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Actually— Before we get there... no.
MR. RASHBAUM: Actually, stay there. Those emails — you've reviewed them?
PATRICK SANFORD: I've reviewed some of them, not all of them. Team did.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Okay, out of the ones that you reviewed, anything in those emails about murder?
PATRICK SANFORD: About murder?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: Anything in those emails about violence?
PATRICK SANFORD: Not that I saw, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: Anything in those emails about any type of illegal activity at all?
PATRICK SANFORD: Not that I recall.
MR. RASHBAUM: The bribe itself wouldn't be illegal, I don't think. In fact, with regard to the $1 million email — I think is the one that you're referring to — did you see emails where they were consulting lawyers about whether that million dollar offer was legal?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did.
MR. RASHBAUM: So fair to say, as crazy as the emails were — we agree they're crazy, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: There was at least some sanity to make sure what they were doing was legal, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: One portion of it, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, those emails — do you see any emails where any of these ideas were coming from Charlie Adelson?
PATRICK SANFORD: I saw some emails where they were discussed with him, apparently. But any time when he was actually coming up with the ideas, as opposed to being copied on the email where he says, "Okay, sounds good"? I think there was some reference of her saying she discussed it with him, but I did not see emails from him.
MR. RASHBAUM: Meaning Donna discussing with —
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct. His mother.
MR. RASHBAUM: Correct. The one million dollar email — I think we'll talk about this later in more detail when you're back, but let's just tie it up here a little bit. You've — listened to Mr. Adelson on the phone a lot, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did.
MR. RASHBAUM: Is it fair to say he's a big talker?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's fair.
MR. RASHBAUM: Is it fair to say he repeats himself a lot?
PATRICK SANFORD: That is very fair.
MR. RASHBAUM: Through your investigation, are you aware that this one million dollar idea — where Mr. Adelson was going to lend a third of a million dollars — that he talked to a lot of people about that idea? Are you aware of that through your investigation?
PATRICK SANFORD: I am not aware of that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, back to the divorce.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that the divorce between Professor Markel and Ms. Adelson was finalized in July of 2013?
PATRICK SANFORD: That's my understanding, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Correct. Again, that's about a year before the murder, correct?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Correct. And after Ms. — Adelson's relocation motion was denied, are you aware that she was determined to make a life for herself in Tallahassee?
PATRICK SANFORD: I don't know if I can speak to that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, let me see if I can help you.
MR. RASHBAUM: You went through Ms. — Adelson's emails as well in your investigation?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did not. The team did.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did anyone from the team talk to you about those emails?
PATRICK SANFORD: Some of them.
MR. RASHBAUM: All right. Well, let's see if you're aware of some of these.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that she was looking to buy property in Tallahassee?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, I was not.
MR. RASHBAUM: You didn't see any emails to that effect?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did not personally, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that she was looking to enroll her kids in schools — a new school in Tallahassee — for the fall of 2014?
MR. RASHBAUM: In other words, after the time when Mr. Markel was murdered.
PATRICK SANFORD: I know there were discussions about that with Mr. Markel. I am aware of that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that she was scheduling plans with friends in Tallahassee for August of 2014, and for the fall of '13 — all of which would have occurred after the murder? Are you aware of that?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: You didn't see those in any emails that you reviewed?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did not see those, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that she was scheduling business meetings — for late July 2014?
MR. RASHBAUM: See emails on them?
PATRICK SANFORD: I did not see that, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that she purchased plane tickets leaving for Tallahassee to go to a wedding out of state?
MR. RASHBAUM: Those plane tickets were purchased in June, but they were purchased for an October wedding. She bought plane tickets to leave from Tallahassee. Are you aware of that?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that her family — including Mr. Adelson — was planning to come up to Tallahassee in August 2014 when Ms. Adelson was going to be honored at FSU?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: You didn't see any emails on that either, did you?
PATRICK SANFORD: I didn't.
MR. RASHBAUM: But you're aware that the state subpoenaed Ms. Adelson's emails, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: I am.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you also mentioned this — I like to call it the grandmother motion. Can we call it that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Sure.
MR. RASHBAUM: In March of 2014, there's these — it actually starts earlier, it starts in February — somewhere in that big binder there's a bunch of litigants back and forth with Ms. Adelson and Professor Markel regarding money.
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And at some point in the course of a motion that Wendi Adelson filed, Professor Markel files a motion back, and that's when he seeks to have only supervised visits of the kids with Donna Adelson. That's the motion you were talking about with Ms. Cappleman, correct?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that occurs in early 2014, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: It does.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, the motion doesn't get heard because Ms. Adelson's lawyer has to recuse herself, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: I believe so.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she has to recuse herself because Professor Markel makes allegations against that lawyer as well.
PATRICK SANFORD: I'm not aware of that.
MR. RASHBAUM: But okay. And so that's part of the reason of the delay, of why the motion's not heard. Are you aware of that?
PATRICK SANFORD: I am.
MR. RASHBAUM: Correct. Are you aware that in the course of this litigation — in that binder, I don't want to find the page, I won't be able to — that the court chastised, was critical of Professor Markel on this motion?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, I'm not aware of that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that the court highlighted that the motion probably wouldn't be granted?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, I did not see that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that on July 11th, 2014, this is months after that motion. Let me back up.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you studied this case, is it fair to say that with all the litigation — there were good times, good periods of times, after the divorce between Professor Markel and Ms. Adelson as well, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: I can't speak to that. My partner did most of that research, so I was not very familiar with it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Fair enough. Well, are you aware that on July 11th, 2014 — so this is several months after the grandmother motion — that Professor Markel asked Donna and Harvey Adelson to watch the kids for him?
PATRICK SANFORD: I am not aware of that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that he had a function to go to, and Ms. Adelson had another function to go to, and, uh, he didn't have child care for them, and he asked them to watch the kids for him?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: So this is before the murder.
PATRICK SANFORD: Not aware of it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Ms. Cappleman on direct asked you about life insurance policy. Do you remember that?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she asked you — she made it seem like — well, let me be clear: was it your position that Wendi Adelson gained two million dollars from that life insurance policy?
PATRICK SANFORD: I believe there is a — um, I believe that Mr. Markel's sister has custody of that and is supposed to distribute to — I don't know all the ins and outs of it, but I believe distribute to the children as needed.
MR. RASHBAUM: So let me be clear, so the jury's not confused. Are you aware that Professor Markel had a life insurance policy in March of 2012?
PATRICK SANFORD: I'm not sure of the dates, but I knew he had one.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that originally Wendi Adelson was the beneficiary of that policy.
PATRICK SANFORD: That sounds right.
MR. RASHBAUM: But in October of 2012, two years before his murder, he signed the policy over, making his sister the beneficiary and the custodian for his boys.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware of that?
PATRICK SANFORD: I wasn't sure of the date, but, yes, I'm aware of that.
MR. RASHBAUM: So Wendi Adelson isn't permitted to get any money from that policy without Professor Markel's sister, correct?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, without her sister, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, I just want to make sure that's clear.
MR. RASHBAUM: Special Agent, you've been an FBI agent for almost 25 years.
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Mostly in Miami, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, here in Tallahassee.
MR. RASHBAUM: In Tallahassee. Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: Apologies.
MR. RASHBAUM: You've investigated — have you investigated, fair to say, maybe more than a dozen murders?
PATRICK SANFORD: Fair to say.
MR. RASHBAUM: How many murders for hire have you done?
PATRICK SANFORD: Recently?
MR. RASHBAUM: In your life?
PATRICK SANFORD: Over my lifetime, probably half a dozen, but in the past two years, two.
MR. RASHBAUM: So, putting this case aside — which I know you believe is a murder for hire — putting this case aside, in those cases that you've done that were murders for hire, did the hitman get paid over time?
PATRICK SANFORD: Paid over time?
PATRICK SANFORD: Not in those cases.
MR. RASHBAUM: Never, right? In your experience?
PATRICK SANFORD: Not in those particular cases, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: Because hitmen, they usually don't like to be connected to the people they're doing a hit for, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: It's a case-by-case basis.
MR. RASHBAUM: But in your experience, hitmen get paid before and after — two payments? Or one payment?
PATRICK SANFORD: It depends on circumstances.
MR. RASHBAUM: How about in the ones you've done?
PATRICK SANFORD: Depends on circumstances. Sometimes after, sometimes before, sometimes both.
MR. RASHBAUM: But in your cases, that's it — it's either before, or one payment after, right? Right?
PATRICK SANFORD: The ones I've investigated have been — we made arrests on them, so they didn't continue on.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. You made arrests immediately on them?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Have you ever done an extortion case?
PATRICK SANFORD: Yes, but it's been years ago.
MR. RASHBAUM: You've seen a lot of extortion cases, I'm sure, at the Bureau?
PATRICK SANFORD: Sure.
MR. RASHBAUM: How do people get paid in extortion cases?
PATRICK SANFORD: Different ways.
MR. RASHBAUM: Mostly they get paid over time, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: They can, if the extortion continues.
MR. RASHBAUM: Yes. May I have one moment, Your Honor?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: In reference to the money that is set aside for the boys — how does the money get to the little kids?
PATRICK SANFORD: From the sister, through Wendi Adelson. She has to make those requests, and then provides it to them.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So, per Donna Adelson, in reference to those emails you were asked about — what was the number one objective for Wendi?
PATRICK SANFORD: Relocation to South Florida, to be close to family.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And going through the courts, that failed, right?
PATRICK SANFORD: Correct, it did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So whether it was a moonshot or not, it didn't work.
PATRICK SANFORD: That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And as far as making sure the bribe to Dan Markel was gonna be legal — what would Dan Markel have done if they had done something illegal?
PATRICK SANFORD: He would have held it against him.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Should have nailed their butts with it, wouldn't he?
PATRICK SANFORD: Absolutely.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Can't do that now, can he?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And did any of those plans that were gonna take place in Tallahassee, after the murder, happen?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, they did not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did Wendi buy a house in Tallahassee?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, she didn't.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did Wendi fly out of Tallahassee to go to a wedding?
PATRICK SANFORD: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did the boys go to school that fall here in Tallahassee?
PATRICK SANFORD: No, they didn't.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Where did they go to school?
PATRICK SANFORD: In South Florida, right across the street from where grandma lived.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Why didn't those plans happen in Tallahassee?
PATRICK SANFORD: Because Mr. Markel was murdered.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did the grandma motion you were asked about — they said, well, it probably wasn't going to get granted? Well, it didn't get granted or denied, did it?
PATRICK SANFORD: Never was heard.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Why not?
PATRICK SANFORD: Because he was murdered.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No further questions.
JUDGE EVERETT: Agent Sanford you may step down for now.
JUDGE EVERETT: Members of the jury, we're going to take a brief break before we hear from the next witness.
JUDGE EVERETT: The bailiff will escort you to the jury room.