Day 2 - October 27, 2023
Wendi Adelson's cross and redirect concluded, including her denial of a claim later linked to Jeffrey Lacasse; the court first excluded Lacasse's account that Wendi told him Charlie explored hiring a hitman, then admitted it before the jury after Wendi denied it under recall; and confessed hitman Luis Rivera began direct testimony describing the murder-for-hire arrangement, the shooting, and payment from "the dentist."
Full day summary
8:15:05 3. Jeffrey Lacasse — Direct/Cross/Redirect
Jeffrey Lacasse, Wendi Adelson's former boyfriend, completed his testimony on Day 2 — including a significant jury-out ruling in which Judge Everett excluded, on fairness grounds, Lacasse's account of Wendi telling him that Charlie Adelson had explored hiring a hitman roughly five days before Dan Markel's murder.
Highlights
Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct “He mentioned having contacts on both sides of the tracks — meaning dentists, lawyers, professional-class people, but they also had people he knew that were a criminal element.” — Jeffrey Lacasse Lacasse recounts Charlie Adelson's own description, during their one meeting, of contacts spanning professional circles and a criminal element. Motion in Limine: Exclusion of Lacasse Proffer on Wendi Adelson's Alleged Hitman Statement — Ruled Out on Fairness Grounds ruling Judge Everett rules that while the motion in limine did not restrict the prosecution's impeachment use, fundamental fairness grounds bar it: Cappleman's sidebar representation affected defense strategy, and Wendi's Fifth Amendment right prevents the defense from remedying the prejudice by recalling her. The hitman statement is excluded from the jury for now, with revisitation possible if the prosecution recalls the witness. Motion in Limine: Exclusion of Lacasse Proffer on Wendi Adelson's Alleged Hitman Statement — Ruled Out on Fairness Grounds “The ability of the defense to address this matter is compounded by the constitutional right of the witness and their inability to call her. On fundamental fairness grounds, I'm not going to permit the impeachment on this topic.” — Stephen Everett The ruling — grounded not in hearsay law but in fairness — is the pivotal moment of the proceeding. It temporarily blocks the jury from hearing the hitman statement and acknowledges the constitutional asymmetry that prevented the defense from remedying the prejudice. Motion in Limine: Exclusion of Lacasse Proffer on Wendi Adelson's Alleged Hitman Statement — Ruled Out on Fairness Grounds testimony highlight In the proffer, Lacasse delivers the full content of Wendi Adelson's alleged July 13, 2014 statement: that Charlie had explored 'all possible options to take care of the Danny Markel problem, including hiring a hitman' at a cost of approximately $15,000–$50,000, made five days before the murder while Wendi was 'dead serious' and visibly affected. He adds that the statement was preceded by Wendi saying the only way she could leave Tallahassee was if 'something happened to Danny.' Motion in Limine: Exclusion of Lacasse Proffer on Wendi Adelson's Alleged Hitman Statement — Ruled Out on Fairness Grounds “After asking to speak to me confidentially, she told me that last summer, Charles Adelson had looked into all possible options to take care of the Danny Markel problem, including hiring a hitman, and that it would cost about $15,000.” — Jeffrey Lacasse The core of the proffer — Lacasse's account of Wendi Adelson's alleged July 13 statement delivered five days before the murder. This is the most direct alleged evidence linking Charlie Adelson to the murder plot presented in the proceeding, though it was excluded from the jury. Motion in Limine: Exclusion of Lacasse Proffer on Wendi Adelson's Alleged Hitman Statement — Ruled Out on Fairness Grounds ruling Before the jury returns, Rashbaum raises a second motion in limine item: Lacasse's expected testimony that a post-murder dinner was referred to as a 'celebration dinner' attributed to Charlie Adelson. The court excludes it on the same fundamental fairness grounds, noting the same procedural posture applies.
6. Wendi Adelson — Direct/Cross/Redirect (Recall)
Wendi Adelson's recall testimony closes with three short proceedings — a recall direct in which she denied Lacasse's excluded proffer account, a recross establishing that detectives introduced Lacasse's name in her July 18 interrogation, and a redirect confirming the same. Judge Everett then dismissed Wendi subject to subpoena, ending her multi-day testimony.
Highlights
Wendi Adelson - Direct (Recall) testimony highlight Cappleman frames the July 13 hitman allegation with specificity — location, date, context, dollar amounts — and Wendi denies making the statement to Lacasse, placing her denial on record against his excluded proffer account. Wendi Adelson - Redirect procedural action Judge Everett dismisses Wendi Adelson subject to subpoena, concluding her multi-day testimony arc across Days 1 and 2 of the trial.
7. Jeffrey Lacasse — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Recross (Recall)
Jeffrey Lacasse's recalled direct examination — centered on Wendi Adelson's alleged July 13, 2014 disclosure that Charlie had investigated hiring a hitman for $15,000–$50,000 — followed by cross-examination, two redirects, a recross, and a sidebar over Lacasse's destroyed handwritten notes.
Highlights
Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct (Recall) impeachment Lacasse testifies to the jury that Wendi Adelson told him on July 13, 2014, in a serious and confidential tone, that Charlie had explored hiring a hitman to kill Dan Markel — testimony given the same day Wendi denied making the statement. Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct (Recall) “She asked to speak to me confidentially, in a very serious tone of voice, told me that Charlie had investigated all possible options to take care of the problem of Danny Markel — including hiring a hitman, which would cost about $15,000. And I later revised that and thought maybe it was $50,000, but the dollar amount was the only thing in question. She definitely said that Charlie Adelson had looked into hiring a hitman to kill Danny Markel.” — Jeffrey Lacasse Central hearsay account, delivered to the jury for the first time, of Wendi Adelson's alleged statement that Charlie explored hiring a hitman — given the same day Wendi denied making it. Jeffrey Lacasse - Recross impeachment Rashbaum elicits that Lacasse destroyed his handwritten notes after using them to guide videotaped investigator interviews, then closes on the irrefutable concession that the notes cannot be reviewed. Jeffrey Lacasse - Recross “No, they were destroyed. I used them to guide my interviews with investigators, and then I destroyed them.” — Jeffrey Lacasse Central admission of the recross — Lacasse confirms he destroyed his handwritten notes, the same documentation Cappleman's redirect had framed as evidence of fear-driven, nine-year thoroughness.
9. Luis Rivera — Direct
Luis Rivera's direct examination as the prosecution's cooperating eyewitness, preceded by a proffer on his Latin Kings affiliation and closed by a weekend recess deferring cross-examination to Monday.
Highlights
Luis Rivera - Direct testimony highlight Rivera testified that Sigfredo Garcia recruited him for the murder at Katherine Magbanua's arrangement, that the murder-for-hire money came from "the dentist" — identified as Wendi Adelson and her brother — and that the purpose he understood was connected to Wendi's children. Luis Rivera - Direct testimony highlight Rivera testified he obtained the .38 revolver used in the murder on the streets in Miami specifically for the job, that there was no formal plan for how the killing would occur, that he refused to act if the victim's children were present, and that he suggested switching the murder to a robbery of Wendi before Garcia insisted the job proceed. Luis Rivera - Direct testimony highlight Rivera described pulling in behind Markel's car in the driveway, Garcia getting out and shooting Markel twice while Markel raised his hands, and Garcia hiding the gun in the car immediately afterward. Luis Rivera - Direct “Garcia jumped out and shot him.” — Luis Rivera Rivera's direct account of the shooting itself, the central act of the murder-for-hire scheme. Luis Rivera - Direct “He told her everything is done. She's like, "I know." And, um, you know, what about the money?” — Luis Rivera Rivera's account of the post-murder call to Katherine Magbanua, suggesting she already knew the killing had occurred before being told. Luis Rivera - Direct testimony highlight Rivera described receiving roughly $37,000 of a $100,000 payment split three ways, buying a motorcycle with the money, authenticating Magbanua's and Garcia's voices on recorded calls, denying any contact with the Adelson family, and agreeing he would have been just as willing to rob Charlie Adelson directly had he known Adelson had the money.