Defendant
Charlie Adelson
Wendi Adelson's brother, named across four trials in the State's murder-for-hire theory and a testifying defendant in his own 2023 trial.
Defendant Charlie Adelson
Appeared Charlie Adelson
1,838 lines · 8 appearances · 259 mentions · 4 trials
About
Charlie Adelson is a central connecting thread among all four trials in the Markel case, which makes his appearances a useful path through the record. Testimony and exhibits about him — the wiretapped calls, the Dolce Vita recording, the payment records, and the hitman remark — recur before four different juries, and following them across trials shows how the same body of evidence was framed by prosecutors, by co-defendants pursuing conflicting theories, by his own defense, and finally by a court where his conviction had become settled background. His 2023 testimony is also the only place in the case record where he responds to that evidence in his own words.
Trial Record (267)
GM Garcia–Magbanua Sep 26, 2019 – Oct 11, 2019
Trial Summary
Named throughout the Garcia/Magbanua trial as the uncharged person the State said commissioned Dan Markel's killing, Charlie Adelson never testified but appeared constantly through wiretapped calls, iCloud messages, and witness accounts.
Mentioned (96)
Opening
Opening Statement - Georgia Cappleman
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Saam Zangeneh
Day 1 Procedural Opening-Statement Evidence Ruling
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Tara Kawass Unindicted co-conspirator; Kawass argued he was the real target of the prosecution and that evidence of his direct contact with Garcia made Magbanua's alleged role unnecessary
Day 1 Direct Michael Dillmore - Direct
Day 1 Cross Michael Dillmore - Cross
Day 1 Direct Marcia Rodriguez - Direct
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct
Day 2 Cross Craig Isom - Cross (Part 2) No communication with Garcia found in any form
Day 2 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Craig Isom - Redirect Identified as recipient of one direct call from Garcia; Cappleman previews forthcoming wiretap evidence involving him.
Day 2 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct
Day 3 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 3 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross Discussed regarding his hot-tub self-presentation as someone with gritty, ex-special-ops gym associates, and as the person whose alleged murder-for-hire inquiry Wendi described to Lacasse as occurring in summer 2013.
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross Magbanua's boyfriend at the time; Charlie–Magbanua frequency slide subject; possible direct connection to Rivera discussed
Day 3 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 3 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 4 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 4 Redirect Luis Rivera - Redirect
Day 4 Direct June Umchinda - Direct
Day 5 Cross June Umchinda - Cross Umchinda's ex-partner; discussed regarding his lifestyle (marijuana use, gym, nightclub attendance), safe with stapled cash, Lexus transfer to Magbanua, behavioral changes after the 2016 arrests, and pre-testimony contact with the witness
Day 5 Cross June Umchinda - Cross
Day 5 Jury Questions June Umchinda - Juror Questions
Day 5 Direct Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Direct
Day 5 Cross Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Cross
Day 5 Cross Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Cross
Day 5 Redirect Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Redirect
Day 5 Jury Questions Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Juror Questions
Day 5 Direct Clariza Lebredo - Direct
Day 5 Cross Clariza Lebredo - Cross Described as a 'suitcase dentist' who traveled frequently to other dental practices for work
Day 5 Direct Erika Johnson - Direct
Day 5 Cross Erika Johnson - Cross Described as always on the go, traveling to other dental practices to perform periodontic surgery; coached Johnson during the wiretapped call
Day 5 Redirect Erika Johnson - Redirect
Day 5 Recross Erika Johnson - Recross Referenced as the person Johnson called during the police visit — the backdrop for the redirect question DeCoste was targeting on recross
Day 5 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 5 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Recall, Part 2)
Day 5 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 5 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 5 Procedural iCloud Evidence, Sequestration, and Wiretap Rulings
Day 5 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross (Continued)
Day 6 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect Discussed re: most iMessages with Magbanua being deleted and July 14 dinner location relative to Normandy Drive sector.
Day 6 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect (Recall, Part 2)
Day 6 Recross Christopher Corbitt - Recross Discussed as an iPhone user capable of app-based communication and as the subject of an iCloud chat about whether Garcia could obtain his phone number; no Rivera-Adelson app communication was established.
Day 6 Jury Questions Christopher Corbitt - Juror Questions (Recall) Juror question asked whether his iCloud deletions extended beyond Magbanua; Corbitt confirmed multiple contacts' messages were deleted
Day 6 Direct Mary Hull - Direct His Regions personal account, American Express and Capital One credit cards, and iCloud contents were reviewed as part of Hull's analysis.
Day 6 Procedural Magbanua Employment-Record Exhibit and Privacy Rulings
Day 6 Direct Mary Hull - Direct (Part 2)
Day 6 Cross Mary Hull - Cross
Day 6 Cross Mary Hull - Cross
Day 6 Procedural Magbanua Text-Message Exhibit Rulings
Day 6 Cross Mary Hull - Cross (Part 2) Recipient of Magbanua's September 17 texts about availability and starting; DeCoste argued they concerned Institute work, while Hull said the messages did not identify the job.
Day 6 Redirect Mary Hull - Redirect
Day 6 Direct Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Direct Called back the FBI covert phone number on April 28, 2016, after it was handed to Donna Adelson during the bump — central to the prosecution's conspiracy theory
Day 6 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross
Day 6 Procedural Gang-Expert, Wiretap, and Dolce Vita Rulings Subject of wiretap conversations; the meeting between Charlie Adelson and Magbanua was the one wiretap call already ruled admissible
Day 6 Procedural Wiretap and Dolce Vita Transcript Rulings
Day 7 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct Identified as a wiretap target; his phone ending in 9223 was placed under court-authorized intercept
Day 7 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross One of the two phones placed under Title III intercept
Day 7 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect Identified as the Adelson family member whose phone was placed under wiretap intercept; calls to and from other Adelsons captured through his intercept
Day 7 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct
Day 7 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 2)
Day 7 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 3)
Day 7 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
Day 7 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
Day 8 Redirect Patrick Sanford - Redirect
Day 8 Recross Patrick Sanford - Recross
Day 8 Jury Questions Patrick Sanford - Juror Questions
Day 8 Direct Louis Bronstein - Direct
Day 8 Cross Louis Bronstein - Cross
Day 8 Cross Louis Bronstein - Cross DeCoste questioned whether Bronstein observed Charlie Adelson showing Magbanua a piece of paper at Dolce Vita; Bronstein could not confirm it.
Day 8 Direct Craig Isom - Direct (Recall) His attorney David Marcus called Isom during Magbanua's arrest in Broward County
Day 8 Procedural State Rests and Judgments of Acquittal
Day 8 Direct John Sawicki - Direct
Day 8 Cross John Sawicki - Cross Subject of deleted-message analysis; iCloud showed communication with Magbanua; no recoverable communication with Rivera found
Day 8 Redirect John Sawicki - Redirect Zangeneh revisited Adelson's FaceTime call history and deletion patterns to argue that any Adelson-Rivera communications through off-carrier channels could have been erased with no recoverable trace.
Day 8 Direct Michael Dillmore - Direct His iCloud contacts contained 954-581-1747 under a different saved name from Garcia's phone, establishing an apparent third-party contact in common but not direct communication between the two men.
Day 8 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct His address appeared at the top of the prosecution's July 19 morning travel map; DeCoste contrasted it with Francis Magbanua's nearby address to offer an alternative travel origin.
Day 8 Direct Jason Newlin - Direct DeCoste characterized the prosecution's goal as obtaining Magbanua's cooperation against Charlie Adelson; Newlin reframed the goal as learning her own involvement
Day 8 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 9 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 9 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 9 Redirect Katherine Magbanua - Redirect Discussed in relation to the Dolce Vita meeting scenarios, the April 14 wiretapped call, and his iCloud contents held by the prosecution but not reviewed by Magbanua
Day 9 Procedural Magbanua Employment-Statement Ruling
Day 9 Redirect Katherine Magbanua - Redirect (Part 2)
Day 9 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Recall)
Day 9 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 9 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross Subject of all three defense Cellebrite exhibits; depicted making personal loans to Magbanua and paying her mechanic and dental bills in late 2014 and early 2015; also discussed regarding whether he had burner phones containing Sully's number.
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 10 Closing Closing Argument - Saam Zangeneh
Day 10 Closing Closing Argument - Christopher DeCoste
Day 10 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman
Day 10 KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022
Trial Summary
Named throughout the retrial as Katherine Magbanua's former boyfriend and the person the State said wanted Dan Markel dead, Charlie Adelson did not testify but was a constant subject of testimony, wiretap recordings, and argument by both sides.
Mentioned (68)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Tara Kawass
Day 1 Procedural Recess — Crawford Objection Flagged on Adelson Wiretap Calls
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct
Day 1 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 1 Redirect Craig Isom - Redirect
Day 1 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Wendi Adelson - Redirect
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Jeffrey Lacasse - Redirect
Day 2 Procedural Pre-Rivera OJP — exhibit disclosure dispute and co-conspirator hearsay motion Named as the alleged co-conspirator with Magbanua in the charged conspiracy — central to Kawass's argument that no independent evidence of that agreement had been presented
Day 2 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 2 Procedural Admissibility ruling — co-conspirator statements and murder-for-hire conspiracy timeline
Day 3 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross (Part 2)
Day 3 Redirect Luis Rivera - Redirect
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 4 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross (Continued) Subject of DeCoste's selected intercepted app references and the question about incomplete WhatsApp data.
Day 4 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect
Day 4 Procedural State's Exhibit 133 Played — Recorded Statements on Garcia-Adelson Contact; Lunch Recess Named in questions within the recording about possible contact with Garcia and what Garcia knew about who was behind or paying for the murder; the target captures no clear answer to the latter.
Day 4 Direct Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Direct
Day 4 Cross Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Cross
Day 4 Redirect Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Redirect
Day 4 Direct June Umchinda - Direct
Day 4 Cross June Umchinda - Cross
Day 4 Direct Clariza Lebredo - Direct
Day 4 Cross Clariza Lebredo - Cross
Day 4 Direct Erika Johnson - Direct
Day 4 Cross Erika Johnson - Cross
Day 4 Procedural End of Day — Jail Call Admissibility Rulings and Scheduling Recorded calls with Donna Adelson subject to pending Crawford hearing before jury can hear them
Day 4 Procedural Pre-Testimony Motions: Exhibit 100 Ruling and Crawford Challenge to Adelson Wiretaps Speaker in Exhibit 100; characterized as carefully declining to direct Johnson to release records; party to the FBI bump wiretap calls at issue in the Crawford argument
Day 5 Direct Jessica Rodriguez - Direct
Day 5 Cross Jessica Rodriguez - Cross
Day 5 Redirect Jessica Rodriguez - Redirect
Day 5 Direct Mary Hull - Direct
Day 5 Procedural Lunch Recess and Exhibit Preview — FBI Undercover Bump Calls
Day 5 Cross Mary Hull - Cross
Day 5 Direct Louis Bronstein - Direct
Day 5 Cross Louis Bronstein - Cross
Day 5 Direct James Keith McElveen - Direct Identified as the male speaker on the Dolce Vita recording; his voice was captured substantially more clearly than Magbanua's due to volume, direction, and speaking frequency; noted to have repeatedly asked 'What was that?' during the conversation
Day 5 Cross James Keith McElveen - Cross Subject of the Dolce Vita surveillance recording; discussed as the more prominent voice captured by the FBI device
Day 5 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1)
Day 5 Procedural Pre-session ruling: FBI undercover bump calls (Exhibits 128 and 134) admitted over defense hearsay objection
Day 6 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 2)
Day 6 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 4)
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross (Continued)
Day 6 Redirect Patrick Sanford - Redirect
Day 6 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal Denied — All Three Counts Proceed to Jury
Day 7 Direct Michael Dillmore - Direct
Day 7 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 7 Procedural Pre-recess colloquy — Fitzpatrick preview, defendant testimony deadline, hearsay objection preview
Day 7 Direct Jason Newlin - Direct (Continued)
Day 7 Direct Ryan Fitzpatrick - Direct
Day 7 Cross Ryan Fitzpatrick - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Ryan Fitzpatrick - Redirect
Day 7 Procedural Scheduling set for Magbanua testimony; defense text-message exhibits admitted Subject of admitted text messages showing relationship with Magbanua, awareness of Garcia's upset, and decision to end relationship with Magbanua ('goodbye tour')
Day 7 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 7 Procedural Second Motion for Judgment of Acquittal — Denied Raised by Kawass in argument that the paperwork bearing Dan Markel's face may have come directly from Adelson, not from Magbanua, as an alternative explanation the state failed to eliminate.
Day 7 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Katherine Magbanua - Redirect
Day 7 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Tara Kawass
Day 8 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman Magbanua's boyfriend; recipient of her text 'don't be such a dick to someone that has done something for you'; alleged to have hired the hit on Dan Markel
Day 8 CA Charlie Adelson Oct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023
Trial Summary
Tried as the sole defendant on charges arising from the July 2014 shooting of Dan Markel, Charlie Adelson was the subject of the State's murder-for-hire theory from opening statement through closing, and elected to testify in his own defense across two trial days of direct, cross, and redirect examination.
Testimony (8)
Direct
Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 1)
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 2)
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 4)
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 5)
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Continued)
Day 7 Cross Charlie Adelson - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Charlie Adelson - Redirect
Day 7 Mentioned (39)
Jury Instruction
Preliminary Jury Instructions — Trial Conduct, Communication Rules, and Defendant's Rights
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Dan Rashbaum
Day 1 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct
Day 1 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 1 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross (Part 1)
Day 1 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross (Part 2)
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct
Day 2 Procedural Motion in Limine: Exclusion of Lacasse Proffer on Wendi Adelson's Alleged Hitman Statement — Ruled Out on Fairness Grounds The defendant is named as the subject of Wendi's alleged statement — she allegedly told Lacasse that Charlie had looked into 'all possible options to take care of the Danny Markel problem, including hiring a hitman.' Also discussed in the celebration dinner issue as the one who allegedly used the phrase.
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Jeffrey Lacasse - Redirect
Day 2 Cross June Umchinda - Cross
Day 2 Redirect June Umchinda - Redirect
Day 2 Direct Ryan Fitzpatrick - Direct
Day 2 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 2 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct (Recall)
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct (Recall)
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Jeffrey Lacasse - Redirect Subject of the corrected hot-tub statement about criminal connections and the alleged hitman inquiry
Day 2 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 3 Redirect Luis Rivera - Redirect
Day 3 Redirect Katherine Magbanua - Redirect
Day 3 Direct Clariza Lebredo - Direct
Day 3 Direct Erika Johnson - Direct
Day 3 Redirect Erika Johnson - Redirect
Day 3 Cross Mary Hull - Cross
Day 3 Redirect Mary Hull - Redirect
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 4 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross (Continued)
Day 4 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect
Day 4 Direct Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Direct
Day 4 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross
Day 4 Cross Louis Bronstein - Cross
Day 4 Direct James Keith McElveen - Direct
Day 4 Cross Special Agent Undercover #3 (Matsuri) - Cross
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Recall, Continued)
Day 5 Procedural End-of-Day Scheduling Housekeeping
Day 6 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025
Trial Summary
Named throughout the Donna Adelson trial as the defendant's son and, in the State's theory, the person she relied on to solve the family's problem with Dan Markel; he did not testify, appearing instead through recordings, phone and iCloud records, and witness accounts.
Mentioned (56)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 1 Procedural OJP — Contested Admissibility of Composite Email Exhibit 64
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct (Continued)
Day 1 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 1 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 1 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Direct Robert Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct
Day 3 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 3 Direct June Umchinda - Direct
Day 3 Cross June Umchinda - Cross
Day 3 Direct Ryan Fitzpatrick - Direct
Day 3 Cross Ryan Fitzpatrick - Cross
Day 3 Procedural Sidebar — Slide 38 Hearsay Ruling & Hull Late-Disclosure Accommodation
Day 3 Direct Mary Hull - Direct
Day 3 Redirect Mary Hull - Redirect
Day 3 Direct Clariza Lebredo - Direct
Day 3 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 3 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 4 Procedural Adoptive Admission Ruling — Defense Crawford and Foundation Objections Overruled Identified by the court as the person whose testimony at his own trial the defendant is said to have agreed with; the defense states there is no evidence she heard it.
Day 4 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 4 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect
Day 4 Direct Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Direct
Day 4 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross
Day 4 Direct Louis Bronstein - Direct
Day 4 Direct Brian Kendall - Direct
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1)
Day 4 Procedural Day 4 Recess — Fulford Preserves Record on Cumulative Testimony
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 2)
Day 5 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Direct Drina Bernhardt - Direct
Day 6 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Recall)
Day 6 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross (Recall)
Day 6 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect (Recall)
Day 6 Redirect Patrick Sanford - Redirect
Day 6 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal on Counts 1 and 3
Day 7 Direct Ann Elizabeth Cunningham - Direct
Day 7 Cross Ann Elizabeth Cunningham - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Ann Elizabeth Cunningham - Redirect
Day 7 Direct Ron Gutterson - Direct
Day 7 Direct Kelsey Guay - Direct
Day 7 Redirect Kelsey Guay - Redirect
Day 7 Direct Richard Shagran - Direct
Day 7 Procedural Bailey Sequestration Dispute — Proffer and Ruling Bailey read Adamson's prior testimony from Charlie Adelson's trial; also mentioned in the tranche of emails Bailey reviewed
Day 8 Direct Marissel Descalzo - Direct
Day 8 Charge Conference Charge Conference — Jury Instruction Settlement Before Closing Arguments Named as co-conspirator in conspiracy and solicitation instructions; prior trial referenced as precedent for giving non-standard intent instruction
Day 8 Procedural Privilege Waiver Colloquy & Testimony Decision — Donna Adelson
Day 8 Jury Instruction Final Jury Instructions Named in Count 2 and Count 3 elements as the alleged co-conspirator/solicitee
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 9 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman
Day 9 Verdict Verdict Co-defendant in related proceedings; referenced by defense counsel Zelman as comparator for sentencing scheduling procedure
Day 9