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Dan Markel— Case Archive
personpersonMary HullMary HullA certified fraud examiner and state financial investigator who testified for the prosecution as a forensic accounting expert in all four Dan Markel murder trials.← All People
Expert witnessMary Hull Financial Investigations

Mary Hull

Courtroom still of Mary Hull.

A certified fraud examiner and state financial investigator who testified for the prosecution as a forensic accounting expert in all four Dan Markel murder trials.

AppearedGarcia–MagbanuaMagbanua RetrialCharlie AdelsonDonna Adelson
2,399 lines·25 proceedings·3 mentions·4 trials

About

Mary Hull was a financial investigator and forensic-accounting witness who organized and explained bank, tax, employment, vehicle, communication, and business records. Her testimony addressed Luis Rivera’s changed banking pattern after Dan Markel’s murder, cash deposited to Katherine Magbanua’s accounts, a Lexus transferred without a recorded payment, expenses paid by Charlie Adelson, and checks issued by the Adelson Institute. She identified $46,820 in Magbanua’s 2014 cash deposits, compared those deposits with reported income, and traced 44 institute checks totaling $17,729.73. In later testimony, she identified Donna Adelson’s signatures on those checks and three additional checks that appeared in bank records but not in the QuickBooks records produced under subpoena. Under cross-examination, Hull consistently limited her conclusions to the records she reviewed, acknowledging missing records, unknown sources of cash, possible cash payments or employment income, and the possibility that additional information could change her analysis.

Trial Record (25)

GMGarcia–MagbanuaSep 26, 2019 – Oct 11, 2019Called by prosecution

Financial investigator Mary Hull used bank, tax, employment, vehicle-title, and payment records to compare reported income with cash deposits and expenses associated with Katherine Magbanua, Sigfredo Garcia, Luis Rivera, and Charlie Adelson. Her testimony highlighted substantial 2014 cash deposits while acknowledging that missing records, unknown deposit sources, and incomplete message context limited what her analysis could establish.

Day 6

DirectMary Hull - DirectMary HullAnna Norris3highlights256lines spoken

Summary

Financial investigator Mary Hull authenticated financial records and summaries, testified about vehicle purchases and banking patterns, and described Adelson Institute payments to Katherine Magbanua.

Highlights (3)

testimony highlightHull identified vehicles acquired by Garcia and Rivera after the homicide, described Magbanua's Lexus title history, and said her review found no record of a payment by Magbanua for the Lexus.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
testimony highlightHull described a temporary change in Rivera's banking pattern after July 16, 2014, saying he stopped making large cash withdrawals and overdraft payments before the former pattern resumed.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
DirectMary Hull - Direct (Part 2)Mary HullAnna Norris1highlight159lines spoken

Summary

Mary Hull described financial records concerning payments to Katherine Magbanua, her surgery and employment records, and a cash-deposit analysis; the court limited some text evidence and admitted the amended exhibit set.

Highlights (1)

CrossMary Hull - CrossMary HullChristopher DeCoste2highlights194lines spoken

Summary

Magbanua's counsel tested limits in Hull's financial analysis, introduced bank-record excerpts, and disputed proposed text-message exhibits.

Highlights (2)

Day 8

KMMagbanua RetrialMay 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022Called by prosecution

On Day 5, financial investigator Mary Hull presented an analysis of cash deposits, employment entries, Adelson Institute checks, and related payments. Cross-examination examined the limits of tracing cash and payments to particular sources.

Day 1

Day 5

DirectMary Hull - DirectMary HullSarah Kathryn Dugan4highlights454lines spoken

Summary

Financial investigator Mary Hull presented bank-record and employment analyses, including Magbanua's cash deposits, Adelson Institute checks, and Rivera's changing cash-withdrawal pattern.

Highlights (4)

testimony highlightHull testified that Luis Rivera's usual pattern of promptly withdrawing cash from direct deposits changed after July 18, 2014; she said the money stayed in his account without overdrafts until the prior pattern resumed around November.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“He primarily worked in cash. His Coastal Masonry employment records would be direct deposited into his account. And then as soon as it hit his account, he would pull it out in cash, almost all of it; so much so that he would end up having overdrafts for automated charges that would come through. And that was just a normal pattern for him. He operated in cash.”— Mary HullHull described the baseline banking pattern she used to compare Rivera's later account activity.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“You wouldn't necessarily write three checks to one employee.”— Mary HullHull explained her view of why sequential checks to one employee differed from ordinary payroll practice.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
CrossMary Hull - CrossMary HullChristopher DeCoste3highlights203lines spoken

Summary

Hull said her bank-record analysis could not identify cash sources; the court allowed Lexus-message questioning and admitted a defense bank-statement exhibit.

Highlights (3)

CACharlie AdelsonOct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023Called by prosecution

Presented forensic-accounting testimony on Day 3 about banking patterns, cash deposits, vehicle-related assistance, and Adelson Institute payments.

Day 3

DirectMary Hull - DirectMary HullSarah Kathryn Dugan5highlights334lines spoken

Summary

Financial investigator Mary Hull presented admitted records and testimony about cash deposits, banking patterns, and Adelson Institute payments.

Highlights (5)

testimony highlightHull testified that Rivera's prior pattern of withdrawing payroll cash and incurring overdraft charges stopped after the murder before later resuming, which she interpreted as consistent with another cash source.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“That indicated to me that he had additional source of cash, and he was not having to rely on removing cash from the bank to operate. He liked to operate in cash.”— Mary HullHull stated her interpretation of Rivera's changed banking pattern.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“She received $1400 that she put into her Chase 7242 account.”— Mary HullHull identified a cash deposit she found after reviewing messages and Magbanua's account records.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Show all 5 highlights
testimony highlightHull testified that Magbanua deposited $44,963 in cash in the 12 months after the murder, compared with $15,600 in the preceding 12 months; she identified $17,300 deposited from July 19 through the end of August 2014.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
RedirectMary Hull - RedirectMary HullGeorgia Cappleman2highlights18lines spoken

Summary

Hull clarified the differing cash-deposit patterns and described messages between Magbanua and Charlie Adelson.

Highlights (2)

testimony highlightHull contrasted Rivera's lack of a cash-deposit habit with Magbanua's daily-recorded deposits, which she said were broken into differing amounts rather than made as one monthly $2,000 deposit.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“No. They were always broken up. I think the highest deposit she ever put in was 2,000, though.”— Mary HullHull disputed the characterization of Magbanua's deposits as a single recurring monthly payment.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
DADonna AdelsonAug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025Called by prosecution

Testifying as the State's forensic-accounting witness, Mary Hull analyzed financial and business records concerning banking activity, Adelson Institute checks deposited to Katherine Magbanua, payroll, and corporate management.

Day 3

DirectMary Hull - DirectMary HullSarah Kathryn Dugan2highlights385lines spoken

Summary

Forensic accountant Mary Hull detailed financial records involving cash deposits, Adelson Institute checks to Katherine Magbanua, and banking patterns following Dan Markel's murder.

Highlights (2)

Quote“Right after the murder, he, all of a sudden, left the money in the account, and then nothing overdrafted for about four months.”— Mary HullHull identified the post-murder change in Rivera's banking pattern that the State explored as a possible cash-source indicator.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
CrossMary Hull - CrossMary HullJackie L. Fulford2highlights17lines spoken

Summary

Mary Hull confirmed limits in the reviewed financial records and clarified Adelson Institute management and ownership dates.

Highlights (2)

Quote“There was no explanation in the text messages to say why there was a discount for cash.”— Mary HullHull identified a limitation in the records underlying the cash-discount discussion.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶

Day 9