Victim
Dan Markel
Dan Markel was the murder victim — an FSU law professor and father of two shot in his Tallahassee driveway on July 18, 2014 — whose killing formed the sole charged offense across all three trials.
163 mentions · 3 trials
About
Markel is the named victim in the charged offense across all three trials and the evidentiary anchor for the motive narrative; his divorce and custody litigation records, autopsy findings, crime-scene physical evidence, and identifying information — including his vehicle tag recovered from a defendant's day planner — constitute load-bearing exhibits throughout the multi-trial archive.
Trial Record (163)
KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022
Trial Summary
Shot twice in the head in his garage driveway on July 18, 2014, Dan Markel — an FSU law professor and father of two — was the murder victim whose killing formed the sole charged offense organizing this entire trial against Katherine Magbanua.
Mentioned (42)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Tara Kawass
Day 1 Direct James Geiger - Direct Victim; Geiger's next-door neighbor; found critically wounded in his garage by Geiger on the morning of July 18, 2014; head moving but unresponsive
Day 1 Direct David Sims - Direct Victim found critically wounded in garage — unresponsive when called by name, breathing with an irregular sucking sound, blood on chest, cell phone in left hand, apparent business card in right hand
Day 1 Direct Joanne Maltese - Direct
Day 1 Direct Anthony Clark - Direct
Day 1 Cross Anthony Clark - Cross
Day 1 Direct Brock Dietz - Direct
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct
Day 1 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 1 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Jeffrey Lacasse - Redirect Referenced in the timeline reconstruction: survived through 2013 and into 2014, murdered in July 2014.
Day 2 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 2 Procedural Admissibility ruling — co-conspirator statements and murder-for-hire conspiracy timeline
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross murder victim; July 18 is 'the day that Professor Markel is murdered'
Day 4 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect Dugan suggests the goodbye tour message could mean goodbye to Markel rather than to Magbanua; Corbitt confirms the iCloud does not specify
Day 4 Cross Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Cross Murder victim; referenced when Kawass confirms Mascaro never heard Magbanua mention the homicide or Markel's name despite years of close friendship
Day 4 Direct June Umchinda - Direct
Day 4 Cross June Umchinda - Cross Referenced as Wendi's ex-husband who was murdered; Charlie described him to Umchinda only as someone 'shot in his garage.'
Day 4 Direct Elizabeth Richey - Direct The two projectiles examined by Richey were recovered from Markel's head; he is the murder victim whose death is the subject of the case.
Day 5 Cross Jessica Rodriguez - Cross
Day 5 Direct Mary Hull - Direct
Day 5 Direct Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Direct His photograph and a news article about his murder appear on the flyer (State's 83) handed to Donna Adelson
Day 5 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross
Day 5 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1) Photo used in bump flyer; murder victim; name never mentioned in post-bump Adelson calls; travel plans the day after murder corroborated via Wendi Adelson interview
Day 5 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 2)
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross murder victim; his travel plans and daycare drop-off schedule referenced in connection with Rivera's inconsistent sighting claim
Day 6 Direct Ryan Fitzpatrick - Direct
Day 7 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct Murder victim; Magbanua was directly asked and denied any knowledge of or involvement in his killing.
Day 7 Charge Conference Charge Conference Referenced as murder victim in lesser included offense discussion
Day 7 Procedural Second Motion for Judgment of Acquittal — Denied Referenced in passing as the subject of the paperwork described in Rivera's account of the murder-for-hire.
Day 7 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Katherine Magbanua - Redirect
Day 7 Jury Instruction Jury Instructions (Final)
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Tara Kawass
Day 8 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman Victim; described by Cappleman as the brother-in-law of Magbanua's boyfriend, killed by her child's father
Day 8 CA Charlie Adelson Oct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023
Trial Summary
Murdered on July 18, 2014 in his Tallahassee driveway, Markel appears throughout this trial as the central figure around whom motive, physical evidence, and the competing narratives of both sides were organized — the prosecution framing his killing as the resolution of a custody dispute, the defense conceding his murder while contesting Charlie Adelson's role in it.
Mentioned (60)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan Murder victim; Florida State law professor; father of two sons aged 3 and 4 at time of death; killed July 18, 2014 in his driveway
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Dan Rashbaum
Day 1 Direct James Geiger - Direct
Day 1 Direct David Sims - Direct
Day 1 Direct Joanne Maltese - Direct
Day 1 Procedural Lunch Recess — Defense Objection to Medical Examiner Photos Overruled
Day 1 Direct Anthony Clark - Direct
Day 1 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct victim; daily schedule, gym routine, contentious divorce, and financial benefits flowing from his death all discussed
Day 1 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross Discussed re: divorce timeline, grandmother motion, life insurance beneficiary change to his sister, and his July 11 child-care request to the Adelsons one week before his murder.
Day 1 Redirect Patrick Sanford - Redirect his murder as the reason all of Wendi's Tallahassee plans failed and the relocation goal was achieved; his ability to have exploited Adelson impropriety extinguished by his death
Day 1 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct
Day 1 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross (Part 1)
Day 1 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross (Part 2)
Day 2 Redirect Wendi Adelson - Redirect Referenced throughout as the murder victim, the father of Wendi's children, and the subject of the Profs Blog travel disclosure discussion.
Day 2 Direct Bill Brannon - Direct
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct Murder victim; his custody dispute with Wendi, the murder date of July 18, and Wendi's July 13 request to share a confidence about him are all woven through Lacasse's testimony
Day 2 Procedural Motion in Limine: Exclusion of Lacasse Proffer on Wendi Adelson's Alleged Hitman Statement — Ruled Out on Fairness Grounds Named in Wendi's alleged statement as 'the Danny Markel problem' that Charlie had allegedly explored addressing by hiring a hitman. Also referenced in the temporal framing — the statement was made five days before his murder.
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Jeffrey Lacasse - Redirect
Day 2 Direct Stephen Webster - Direct
Day 2 Cross Stephen Webster - Cross Webster's client; discussed in terms of litigation history, court admonishment, and prior counsel withdrawal
Day 2 Direct June Umchinda - Direct Murder victim; Umchinda testified Charlie never expressed curiosity or sympathy about his death to her, though she partially walked that back under examination.
Day 2 Cross June Umchinda - Cross
Day 2 Direct Ryan Fitzpatrick - Direct
Day 2 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 2 Redirect Wendi Adelson - Redirect
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct (Recall) Named as the target of the alleged hitman inquiry; victim of the July 18, 2014 murder whose residence Lacasse's route would have passed
Day 2 Cross Jeffrey Lacasse - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Jeffrey Lacasse - Redirect Victim; Lacasse cites the brutality of the murder as partial motivation for his extensive documentation effort
Day 2 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 3 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 3 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross Murder victim; repeatedly referenced during impeachment of Magbanua's prior denials of knowledge about his death
Day 3 Direct Mary Hull - Direct Murder date July 18, 2014 used as reference baseline for all financial pattern analysis
Day 3 Cross Mary Hull - Cross Murder referenced as the anchor event for Hull's financial timeline analysis throughout cross
Day 3 Direct Corey Hale - Direct Murder victim in the case Hale investigated
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 Referenced as the murder victim whose murder date anchors the week's timeline, and as the party who filed divorce motions against Wendi Adelson that explain the May 2 and May 7 communication clustering.
Day 4 Direct Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Direct
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Recall)
Day 4 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross (Recall) Referenced as murder victim; Charlie Adelson's wire statement calling his death 'a tragedy' is the climax of the examination.
Day 5 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal — Denied on All Counts
Day 5 Direct Kristin Adamson - Direct Opposing party in the divorce; discussed as filer of post-MSA sanctions motions alleging fraud and seeking disbarment of Wendi and Adamson, and as non-payer of the marital settlement funds
Day 5 Cross Kristin Adamson - Cross
Day 5 Redirect Kristin Adamson - Redirect Referenced as the opposing party whose fraud allegations Adamson characterizes as 'esoteric' and whose disbarment demands she identifies as the source of the case being 'odd'
Day 5 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 1) Victim; Wendi's ex-husband; described as litigious during divorce, not a good relationship with Charlie; Charlie denies any role in his murder
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 2) Victim; shot July 18, 2014, died July 19. Charlie testifies learning of the shooting mid-surgery and of Markel's death from his parents the following morning.
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 4) Referenced as the murder victim in Charlie's explanation of why he did not go to police and could not bring him back
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 5)
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Continued)
Day 7 Cross Charlie Adelson - Cross murder victim; his 14-hour suffering, funeral, sons' loss, and divorce litigation referenced throughout
Day 7 Redirect Charlie Adelson - Redirect Victim; referenced in context of who was shot in their driveway and whether Charlie bore responsibility
Day 7 Charge Conference Charge Conference — Jury Instructions Finalized for All Three Counts
Day 7 Jury Instruction Final Jury Instructions — Three Counts of Murder-for-Hire Conspiracy
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Dan Rashbaum
Day 8 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 Verdict Verdict The murder victim whose killing is the subject of all three counts; the verdict resolves criminal liability for his death.
Day 8 DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025
Trial Summary
FSU law professor and father of two boys shot and killed at his Tallahassee home on July 18, 2014; his murder and the custody and relocation dispute that preceded it formed the evidentiary and narrative core of all proceedings in this trial.
Mentioned (61)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan FSU law professor, father of two, murdered July 18 2014; at center of custody dispute that prosecution identifies as the conspiracy's motive
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 1 Direct James Geiger - Direct The shooting victim. Geiger describes finding him alive but unresponsive in his car, and establishes their neighbor relationship spanning roughly five years.
Day 1 Direct David Sims - Direct
Day 1 Direct Joanne Maltese - Direct
Day 1 Direct Anthony Clark - Direct
Day 1 Procedural OJP — Contested Admissibility of Composite Email Exhibit 64
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct Murder victim; FSU law professor; survived approximately 11 hours after being shot; engaged in contentious divorce and custody litigation with Wendi Adelson; authored emails forwarded to Donna Adelson
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct (Continued)
Day 1 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 1 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 1 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross The murder victim; marked #4 on Defendant's Exhibit 50
Day 1 Procedural Foundation Hearing: 'Grandma Motion' (State's Ex. 60-JJ) and Wendi Adelson Proffer Procedure
Day 2 Direct Jason Newlin - Direct
Day 2 Cross Jason Newlin - Cross
Day 2 Direct Wendi Adelson - Direct The murder victim and Wendi's ex-husband. Discussed throughout — his religious observance, his opposition to relocation, his divorce filings, the Grandma Motion, and his plans to travel to New York the day after he was killed.
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Wendi Adelson - Redirect Discussed throughout as the individual who refused to consent to relocation and 'wouldn't give Donna what she wanted' — the prosecution's closing motive framing.
Day 2 Direct Robert Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Direct Jeffrey Lacasse - Direct
Day 3 Direct June Umchinda - Direct murder victim whose case is central to the prosecution
Day 3 Cross June Umchinda - Cross
Day 3 Direct Ryan Fitzpatrick - Direct
Day 3 Cross Ryan Fitzpatrick - Cross
Day 3 Cross Clariza Lebredo - Cross
Day 3 Redirect Clariza Lebredo - Redirect
Day 3 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct Murder victim; central subject of the conspiracy Magbanua describes throughout her testimony
Day 3 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 4 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross January 2014 custody schedule email
Day 4 Direct Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Direct article about his murder was printed on the flyer handed to Donna Adelson
Day 4 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1)
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Direct Drina Bernhardt - Direct Victim of the murder; Bernhardt invokes justice for the Markel family as her moral motivation for reporting Adelson's scheme to law enforcement.
Day 6 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Recall) Murder victim; referenced in context of Charlie's August 2016 coke-dealer alternative theory and the complete absence of any murder discussion in post-murder Charlie-Magbanua texts
Day 6 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect (Recall) Murder victim; referenced as subject of the Sun Sentinel article covering the hitmen's arrests
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
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 Direct Richard Shagran - Direct Referenced obliquely as 'the grandsons losing their father'; explains Donna's heightened involvement with grandchildren
Day 7 Procedural Sequestration Dispute — Tim Kelly Courtroom Presence Named as party to the home search that is the sole subject of Kelly's proposed testimony
Day 7 Direct Tim Kelly - Direct
Day 7 Cross Tim Kelly - Cross
Day 7 Direct Kristin Adamson - Direct
Day 8 Cross Kristin Adamson - Cross
Day 8 Redirect Kristin Adamson - Redirect
Day 8 Procedural Bailey Sequestration Dispute — Proffer and Ruling Opposing party in the Adelson-Markel divorce; Bailey reviewed his motion filings and text messages with Wendi Adelson; his pending custody hearing was a focal point of Bailey's expert scope
Day 8 Direct Linda Bailey - Direct
Day 8 Cross Linda Bailey - Cross His post-judgment motions, financial obligations, murder, and the effect of his death on the custody dispute are central to the cross-examination.
Day 8 Direct Sara Newhouse - Direct Referenced as the victim who was shot — the news Wendi relayed to Donna during the call
Day 8 Charge Conference Charge Conference — Jury Instruction Settlement Before Closing Arguments Named throughout jury instructions as the deceased victim in all three counts
Day 8 Procedural Jury Instruction Colloquy — Lesser-Included Waiver, Calendar Rule-of-Completeness Ruling, Renewed JOA
Day 9 Jury Instruction Final Jury Instructions Named throughout as the murder victim in the elements of each count
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman Primary victim; Harvard-educated FSU law professor and father; framed as a man whose refusal to allow relocation of his children drove the murder conspiracy
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 9 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman Murder victim described as the obstacle to relocation that Donna sought to remove; Cappleman argues Donna decided those boys did not need their father
Day 9 Verdict Verdict Victim; referenced throughout Ruth Markel's impact statement and implied throughout verdict publication
Day 9