Magbanua Retrial
Second trial of Katherine Magbanua for her role in the 2014 murder-for-hire of Dan Markel. Magbanua was the alleged intermediary between the Adelson family and the hitmen.
Charges (3)
May 2022
The jury heard competing opening accounts, followed by crime-scene, autopsy, surveillance, and investigation testimony.
Wendi Adelson, Jeffrey Lacasse, and Luis Rivera testified as the court addressed subpoena limits and co-conspirator hearsay.
Rivera’s cross-examination and redirect continued as rental and phone-record testimony followed. The court addressed newly disclosed jail calls and disputed iCloud contact information.
Cell-site testimony, employment and relationship witnesses, and rulings on recorded calls occupied the day.
The court ruled on wiretap calls as the State presented firearms, financial, undercover, surveillance, and wiretap evidence.
FBI Agent Patrick Sanford's testimony concluded after cross-examination on investigative practices. The State rested, and the court addressed a discovery issue before the defense case.
Katherine Magbanua testified in her own defense, the parties rested, and the court denied a renewed motion for judgment of acquittal before finalizing jury instructions.
Final instructions and closing arguments preceded guilty verdicts on all three charged counts. All 12 jurors affirmed the verdicts in a poll, and the court ordered a presentence investigation.