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Dan Markel— Case Archive
Magbanua Retrialtrial-daytrial-dayGeorgia CapplemanChristopher DeCosteTara KawassBill BrannonMarcia RodriguezWendi AdelsonJeffrey LacasseLuis Riveradirectcrossredirectcross_waivedDay 2 - May 19, 2022Wendi Adelson, Jeffrey Lacasse, and Luis Rivera testified as the court addressed subpoena limits and co-conspirator hearsay.
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Day 2 - May 19, 2022

Adelson, Lacasse, and Rivera Testify

Judge Robert R. Wheeler
22Proceedings
6Pages
5Witnesses
5,080Lines
2Sidebars
Day 2 of 8
Appearing:
Georgia Cappleman Christopher DeCoste Tara Kawass Bill Brannon Marcia Rodriguez Wendi Adelson Jeffrey Lacasse Luis Rivera

Wendi Adelson, Jeffrey Lacasse, and Luis Rivera testified as the court addressed subpoena limits and co-conspirator hearsay.

Full day summary

Before the jury entered, Judge Wheeler ruled that Wendi Adelson would testify under the State's subpoena, restricted cross-examination to matters raised on direct examination, and deferred a separate defense call because she would invoke the Fifth Amendment. He also deferred a ruling on possible use of Katherine Magbanua's earlier-trial testimony. Marcia Rodriguez described digital-phone extractions, and sampled Cellebrite-report pages were admitted. Wendi Adelson testified about her divorce from Dan Markel, efforts to relocate with their children, family discussions of a possible payment for relocation permission, and her relationship with Charles Adelson. She denied involvement in or advance knowledge of a plan to kill Markel, while acknowledging that she had told law enforcement someone might have acted on her behalf. She also described encountering a roadblock on Trescott Drive on the day of the killing. The court limited questions about unadmitted emails, admitted a photograph of Charles Adelson and Magbanua, and admitted Adelson's voice-identification list for wiretap calls. Officer Bill Brannon described responding to the shooting scene and seeing a Honda Odyssey turn away from the perimeter, though he could not conclusively identify its driver or occupants. Jeffrey Lacasse testified about his relationship with Wendi Adelson, a dinner where he met Charles Adelson and Magbanua, and statements he attributed to Wendi Adelson concerning a hit man. On cross-examination, he was questioned about his recollection and his decision to identify Charles Adelson to police after the murder. Luis Rivera, a cooperating codefendant, testified that Garcia shot Markel while Rivera drove and that Magbanua arranged the job and later delivered payment. The defense questioned Rivera about his cooperation agreement, prior statements, and the benefits associated with his sentence. After the jury was excused, the court heard further argument on co-conspirator hearsay and requested legal authority and additional independent evidence before deciding the issue.

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1. Wendi Adelson — Fifth Amendment motion and subpoena ruling

Before the jury entered, the court ruled on Wendi Adelson's anticipated Fifth Amendment invocation, limiting any defense cross-examination to the State's direct examination, while deferring a prior-testimony issue and approving a larger defense table for Mr. Rivera's anticipated cross-examination.

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Procedural
Day 2 Opening — Witness Scheduling and Late-Notice Dispute Over Lacasse
21 lines
Procedural
Wendi Adelson — Fifth Amendment motion and subpoena ruling Wendi Adelson
13 lines

The court required Wendi Adelson to testify only under the State subpoena and limited cross-examination to the State's direct examination.

Procedural
Defense preserves cross-examination objection — Wheeler affirms ruling
3 lines

The defense preserved an objection to limits on cross-examination, and Judge Wheeler reaffirmed his prior ruling.

Procedural
Pre-jury logistics — admissibility of prior trial testimony deferred
10 lines

Judge Wheeler deferred any ruling on prior-trial testimony until the issue was presented and objected to.

Procedural
Defense table request for Rivera cross-examination materials
18 lines

The court agreed to provide the defense a larger table for cross-examination materials by lunchtime.

Highlights

Wendi Adelson — Fifth Amendment motion and subpoena rulingrulingThe court ruled that Adelson must testify under the State subpoena, limited cross-examination to matters raised on direct examination, and barred calling her in the defense case because she would invoke the Fifth Amendment.

2. Marcia Rodriguez — Direct/Cross

Marcia Rodriguez described a Cellebrite extraction from a phone purportedly owned by Wendi Adelson, and the court admitted sampled report pages as State's Exhibits 55 through 58. Cross-examination was deferred until she reviewed proposed materials concerning another phone report.

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Direct
Marcia Rodriguez - Direct Marcia Rodriguez Georgia Cappleman
51 lines

Rodriguez authenticated Cellebrite report excerpts from a phone purportedly owned by Wendi Adelson, and the court admitted State's Exhibits 55 through 58.

Cross
Marcia Rodriguez - Cross Marcia Rodriguez Christopher DeCoste
44 lines

Cross-examination was postponed until Rodriguez could review documents tied to a proposed phone-download report before being recalled.

1 sidebar inside this proceeding
  1. Phone Download AuthenticationCounsel discussed authenticating a phone-download report and postponing cross-examination so the witness could review the relevant documents.

3. Wendi Adelson — Direct/Cross/Redirect

Wendi Adelson testified about her divorce, her family's relocation efforts, and her denial of any knowledge of a plot to kill Dan Markel.

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Direct
Wendi Adelson - Direct Wendi Adelson Georgia Cappleman
1065 lines

Wendi Adelson testified about the divorce, family relocation concerns, Charlie Adelson's relationship with Katherine Magbanua, and her actions on the day Dan Markel was killed.

1 sidebar inside this proceeding
  1. Hearsay Documents and MotiveCounsel addressed whether documents could be used for motive and raised concerns about statements being presented to the jury before objection.
Cross
Wendi Adelson - Cross Wendi Adelson Christopher DeCoste
474 lines

Wendi Adelson denied knowing who killed Professor Markel or being involved as defense counsel pressed her about Charles Adelson, the divorce, and her claimed avoidance of case coverage.

Redirect
Wendi Adelson - Redirect Wendi Adelson Georgia Cappleman
61 lines

Adelson addressed an email about her children's care and said she had not discussed the murder with her parents or received any admission or denial from Charlie or her parents.

Highlights

Wendi Adelson - Directtestimony highlightWendi Adelson testified that relocation was her mother's most important nonnegotiable divorce term and that her family discussed offering up to $1 million to obtain permission for the move.Wendi Adelson - Direct“I did say I thought someone might have done this on my behalf, yes.”— Wendi AdelsonWendi Adelson acknowledged an earlier statement that someone could have acted on her behalf.Wendi Adelson - Directtestimony highlightWendi Adelson described leaving home around noon, encountering a roadblock on Trescott, and turning around because she assumed it was related to weather or a fallen tree.

4. Bill Brannon — Direct/Cross

Officer Bill Brannon described the shooting-scene perimeter and a Honda Odyssey that approached, turned around, and left; the defense waived cross-examination.

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Cross Waived
Marcia Rodriguez - Cross (Waived) Marcia Rodriguez Christopher DeCoste
6 lines
Direct
Bill Brannon - Direct Bill Brannon Georgia Cappleman
95 lines

Officer Brannon described securing the Trescott Drive perimeter and seeing a Honda Odyssey turn around and leave; he could not conclusively identify its driver.

Cross Waived
Bill Brannon - Cross (Waived) Bill Brannon Christopher DeCoste
6 lines

The defense waived cross-examination, and Officer Brannon was excused.

5. Jeffrey Lacasse — Direct/Cross/Redirect

Jeffrey Lacasse testified about the relocation dispute, a 2014 dinner with Charlie Adelson and Katherine Magbanua, and statements he attributed to Wendi Adelson. Defense counsel questioned his relationship, memory, and later review of records; he said he had no connection to the killers.

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Direct
Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct Jeffrey Lacasse Georgia Cappleman
244 lines

Lacasse recounted his relationship with wendi Adelson, alleged statements involving Charlie Adelson and Dan Markel, and the travel alibi he said eliminated him as a suspect.

Cross
Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross Jeffrey Lacasse Tara Kawass
433 lines

Lacasse was questioned about wendi Adelson, his meeting with Charles Adelson and Katherine Magbanua, and his early police interviews after Dan Markel's murder.

Redirect
Jeffrey Lacasse - Redirect Jeffrey Lacasse Georgia Cappleman
73 lines

Lacasse denied any connection to the killers and addressed the dinner timeline, Charlie Adelson's demeanor, and the timing of Dan Markel's murder.

Procedural
Lunch Recess
4 lines

Highlights

Jeffrey Lacasse - Directtestimony highlightLacasse testified that wendi Adelson told him Charlie had explored hiring a hit man to solve the problem of Dan Markel; he said he regarded that as separate from the television joke.Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct“And she tells me that last summer, when the relocation got denied, Charlie investigated multiple ways to fix this problem of Danny Markel, including hiring a hit man, and that it was going to cost about $15,000.”— Jeffrey LacasseLacasse recounted the alleged statement that he said wendi Adelson made five days before the murder.

6. Luis Rivera — Direct/Cross

Luis Rivera testified that Katherine Magbanua arranged and paid for the killing after surveillance trips to Tallahassee. The defense challenged his credibility, cooperation benefits, and prior statements; the court later reserved ruling on related co-conspirator hearsay.

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Procedural
Pre-Rivera OJP — exhibit disclosure dispute and co-conspirator hearsay motion
53 lines

The court resolved a defense-material disclosure dispute and allowed anticipated Rivera testimony subject to a preserved co-conspirator hearsay objection.

Direct
Luis Rivera - Direct Luis Rivera Georgia Cappleman
1172 lines

Rivera testified that Garcia shot Dan Markel and that Magbanua arranged and delivered payment for the murder-for-hire scheme.

Procedural
Afternoon recess before Rivera cross-examination
14 lines
Cross
Luis Rivera - Cross (Part 1) Luis Rivera Christopher DeCoste
1179 lines

The defense challenged Rivera's credibility through his cooperation benefits, prior statements, and phone-record account; Rivera maintained that Magbanua and Garcia were involved.

Procedural
End-of-Day — Co-Conspirator Hearsay Dispute and Rivera Cross Logistics
41 lines

The court deferred a co-conspirator hearsay admissibility decision, required further authority and independent-evidence support, and set logistics for continuing Rivera's cross-examination.

Highlights

Luis Rivera - Directtestimony highlightRivera testified that he was hired and paid to participate in Dan Markel's murder and described Katherine Magbanua as the intermediary who directed Sigfredo Garcia to do the job.Luis Rivera - Directtestimony highlightRivera described the second trip, saying Garcia followed Markel home, exited the Prius, and shot him while Rivera drove.Luis Rivera - Direct“Garcia jumped out, went around the car to the driver side, shot him.”— Luis RiveraRivera gave a concise eyewitness account of the shooting he said occurred at Markel's home.Luis Rivera - Cross (Part 1)testimony highlightRivera acknowledged the terms of his cooperation agreement, including a reduced second-degree-murder charge, a 19-year sentence, and waived charges and penalties discussed by defense counsel.Luis Rivera - Cross (Part 1)“I gave them the truth, bro. I'm not going to go back and forth with you. Man, I gave them the truth. Like, it was Katie and Garcia. It was all three of us involved.”— Luis RiveraRivera rejected the defense's suggestion that he tailored his account for a deal and reaffirmed his accusation against Magbanua and Garcia.End-of-Day — Co-Conspirator Hearsay Dispute and Rivera Cross LogisticsrulingJudge Wheeler said he needed legal authority supporting the State's position and other independent evidence before determining whether the testimony was admissible under the co-conspirator hearsay exception.
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