Jeffrey Lacasse
Florida State University professor and Wendi Adelson's former boyfriend, who testified for the prosecution in all four Dan Markel murder trials about a confidential statement she made to him five days before the killing.
About
Lacasse is a lay witness who appeared in all four trials arising from Dan Markel's killing and testified that Wendi Adelson told him, days before the murder, that Charlie Adelson had priced a killing. Because Wendi herself denied that specific conversation, his testimony became an important part of the prosecution's account of prior knowledge and motive, and defense counsel addressed it from different angles. His appearances also mark how a single recollection was tested and re-tested by different lawyers over more than half a decade, making his testimony a useful thread for anyone tracing how the case's central motive evidence was built and challenged.
Trial Record (48)
GM Garcia–Magbanua Sep 26, 2019 – Oct 11, 2019
Trial Summary
Testified on the third day of trial as an FSU associate professor who dated Wendi Adelson from fall 2013 through July 2014, recounting her July 13, 2014 statement that her brother Charlie Adelson had looked into having Dan Markel killed. Cross-examined by counsel for both defendants on his own former suspect status, the deteriorating relationship, and the absence of any reference to Katherine Magbanua in the disclosure.
Testimony (4)
Mentioned (4)
KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022
Trial Summary
Called by the State on trial day two, Jeffrey Lacasse testified as an FSU associate professor who dated Wendi Adelson from late 2013 through July 2014, describing a March 2014 Miami dinner at which he met Katherine Magbanua and Charles Adelson and a July 13, 2014 statement he attributed to Wendi Adelson about her brother looking into hiring a hitman.
Testimony (3)
Mentioned (4)
CA Charlie Adelson Oct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023
Trial Summary
Prosecution witness and Wendi Adelson's former boyfriend, who testified on the second trial day about a March 2014 dinner and hot-tub conversation with Charlie Adelson and, after a motion-in-limine ruling and a recall, about Wendi's July 13, 2014 statement that Charlie had looked into hiring a hitman.
Testimony (9)
Mentioned (16)
DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025
Trial Summary
Called by the State on the third trial day, Jeffrey Lacasse testified about dating Wendi Adelson in the year before Dan Markel's murder and about a July 13, 2014 conversation in which she told him her brother Charlie had looked into hiring someone.