Incident timeline
July 18, 2014, reconstructed from surveillance, phone records, receipts, and testimony across four trials.
Overview
Records establish Markel's preschool drop-off, his visit to Premier Health and Fitness, and the movement of his vehicle and a Prius toward Trescott Drive. Testimony describes the shooting and emergency response. Phone records, a liquor-store receipt, and witness accounts then trace the first calls and Wendi Adelson's route to Mosaic restaurant, where police contacted her.
8:50–10:38 a.m.
The parties stipulated that Dan Markel dropped the children at Creative Preschool at 8:50 a.m. A witness later gave a different time estimate.
The parties stipulated that Markel dropped the children at Creative Preschool at 8:50 a.m.
Leland recalled Markel and a Prius at the preschool, but estimated 9:45–10:00 rather than the stipulated 8:50 time.
Surveillance video authenticated at trial showed the Prius arriving at Premier Health and Fitness.
Corbitt testified that Premier video showed the Prius arrive at 9:16 and leave immediately after Markel at 10:38.
The testimony placed the Garcia and Rivera phones on sites and sectors consistent with Premier, not at an exact phone location.
Dietz authenticated the Premier and bus surveillance clips and their displayed times; the trial presentations included isolated spans, circles, or pauses.
Premier surveillance showed Markel depart at 10:38 and the Prius leave immediately after.
Corbitt testified that Premier video showed the Prius arrive at 9:16 and leave immediately after Markel at 10:38.
The testimony placed the Garcia and Rivera phones on sites and sectors consistent with Premier, not at an exact phone location.
Dietz authenticated the Premier and bus surveillance clips and their displayed times; the trial presentations included isolated spans, circles, or pauses.
10:48–about 11 a.m.
Bus footage showed Markel's vehicle southbound near 10:48 and the Prius in the Benton Road turn lane at 10:51.
Sanford adopted the displayed bus-video times: Markel southbound near 10:48, the Prius turning toward Benton at 10:51, and the Prius northbound near Bus 707 at 10:55.
Isom used the 10:51 and 10:55 bus views to narrow the shooting window. He described two apparent front-seat occupants and distinctive vehicle features, but the footage did not identify anyone inside.
The bus observations bracket an approximately four-minute window but do not timestamp the shots. Rivera testified that Garcia approached the driver's side and fired; that identification comes from Rivera's account.
Isom used the 10:51 and 10:55 bus views to narrow the shooting window. He described two apparent front-seat occupants and distinctive vehicle features, but the footage did not identify anyone inside.
Rivera testified that he drove behind Markel and that Garcia approached the driver's side and shot Markel twice; that attribution is Rivera's account.
Schlazer said Markel mentioned an unfamiliar person, asked him to hold, and then stopped speaking after a loud sound. Schlazer later texted Markel and called 911. At trial, the call was described only as happening around 11; no timestamped record fixes its exact start or duration.
Schlazer described the unfamiliar person, loud sound, breathing, text, and 911 sequence; counsel supplied only the phrase 'around 11.'
A northbound bus camera showed the Prius near Hermitage. The footage appeared to show two front-seat occupants and distinctive vehicle features, but it did not identify anyone inside.
Sanford adopted the displayed bus-video times: Markel southbound near 10:48, the Prius turning toward Benton at 10:51, and the Prius northbound near Bus 707 at 10:55.
Isom used the 10:51 and 10:55 bus views to narrow the shooting window. He described two apparent front-seat occupants and distinctive vehicle features, but the footage did not identify anyone inside.
Dietz authenticated the Premier and bus surveillance clips and their displayed times; the trial presentations included isolated spans, circles, or pauses.
Immediately afterward
Geiger said he heard a bang, saw a light-colored vehicle he believed looked like a Prius leave quickly, and first found the garage open with Markel's car running. He could not identify occupants or a tag.
Geiger described the bang, believed-Prius sighting, two garage checks, discovery, and said he called 911; he could not identify occupants or a tag.
On a second check, Geiger found the shattered driver's window and Markel bloodied and unresponsive, then ran home for his phone.
Geiger described the bang, believed-Prius sighting, two garage checks, discovery, and said he called 911; he could not identify occupants or a tag.
Schlazer and Geiger each testified that he called 911. Their testimony does not establish the order of the calls or tie either the 11:01 or 11:02 time to a named caller.
Schlazer described the unfamiliar person, loud sound, breathing, text, and 911 sequence; counsel supplied only the phrase 'around 11.'
Geiger described the bang, believed-Prius sighting, two garage checks, discovery, and said he called 911; he could not identify occupants or a tag.
Isom adopted 11:02 as the 911-call time, but the excerpt does not identify the caller; 11:01 appears elsewhere in attorney statements.
Sims said he arrived first and found Markel unresponsive and gasping, holding a phone in a locked, running vehicle. A 14:36 marker in the played 911 call is elapsed recording time, not the time of day.
Geiger confirmed that a first responder appeared 14:36 into the played recording; that marker is not a wall-clock time.
Sims described Markel unresponsive and gasping in the locked, running car and estimated EMS arrived three to four minutes after he did.
Sims estimated EMS arrived three to four minutes after he did. EMTs removed Markel from the car and provided aid.
Sims described Markel unresponsive and gasping in the locked, running car and estimated EMS arrived three to four minutes after he did.
11:42 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Phone-record testimony showed an unanswered outgoing call from Wendi Adelson to Markel that routed to voicemail. The record does not establish its purpose.
Corbitt identified the unanswered 11:42 outgoing call; the records do not establish Wendi Adelson's purpose.
Phone-record testimony showed an unanswered 11:42 outgoing call from Wendi Adelson to Markel that routed to voicemail.
The phone reconnected to the network around 12:29 and placed a short call to Magbanua at 12:30. The records do not show why it had been unavailable.
Garcia's phone placed a connected outgoing call to Magbanua at 12:30; earlier forwarded events did not provide location.
The records support a network return around 12:29 and a 20-second Garcia-to-Magbanua call at 12:30; they do not prove deliberate shutdown.
About noon–after 1:30 p.m.
Wendi said she made a last-minute lunch plan and left home, but her estimates shift from around noon to roughly 12:30–12:45. A 12:31 call near her home is the first timestamped record of the route.
Wendi Adelson described the last-minute lunch plan, guessed she left around noon, and said she turned at Trescott before continuing via Benton.
Phone events at 12:31, 12:35, and 12:47 plus the receipt support an approximate roadblock passage, not an exact logged time.
Wendi Adelson guessed around noon in 2022, then said refreshed memory put departure around 12:45 and adopted counsel's roughly 12:30 suggestion in 2023.
A call began on a site consistent with the residence area at 12:31, used another site at 12:35, and ended near the store at 12:47. The sites do not establish the phone's exact position.
Phone events at 12:31, 12:35, and 12:47 plus the receipt support an approximate roadblock passage, not an exact logged time.
The GIS comparison was about 3.63 miles and 11 minutes versus almost 9.5 miles and a little over 20 minutes; it is route context, not motive evidence.
Corbitt rejected exact phone placement and agreed Wendi Adelson's home was very close to ABC.
Corbitt derived the range from call events, travel sequence, and the later receipt. It is a reconstruction, not a logged roadblock time.
Phone events at 12:31, 12:35, and 12:47 plus the receipt support an approximate roadblock passage, not an exact logged time.
Corbitt used the call sequence and 12:49 receipt to estimate a 12:35–12:45 roadblock encounter and found no later call to daycare, Markel, or 911.
In 2019, Wendi Adelson said she did not turn onto Trescott; in 2022, she said she did. In a later trial, she agreed that any turnaround would have been a K-turn; in another, she described a three-point turn. Brannon saw an Odyssey turn near the roadblock but could not identify the driver.
Wendi Adelson described the last-minute lunch plan, guessed she left around noon, and said she turned at Trescott before continuing via Benton.
Corbitt used the call sequence and 12:49 receipt to estimate a 12:35–12:45 roadblock encounter and found no later call to daycare, Markel, or 911.
The 2019 account says no turn; the 2022 account says there was a turn; later testimony adds conditional K-turn and three-point-turn descriptions.
Corbitt's highlighted records after 12:47 contained no call to Markel, Creative Preschool, 911, or police.
Brannon consistently described an Odyssey matching the model Wendi Adelson was driving turning near the roadblock, but he could not identify the driver; his time estimates range from around noon to about 1 p.m.
The receipt timestamped Wendi's bourbon transaction at 12:49:13. It does not itself timestamp the earlier roadblock encounter.
Corbitt used the call sequence and 12:49 receipt to estimate a 12:35–12:45 roadblock encounter and found no later call to daycare, Markel, or 911.
The receipt fixed the ABC transaction at 12:49:13; it did not timestamp the earlier roadblock encounter.
Wendi said she went from the liquor store to Mosaic, where Isom found her eating with two other people.
Isom estimated 2:15, saw Wendi Adelson with two other people at Mosaic, moved her aside to discuss her ex-husband, and reassured her that the children were safe.
Isom named Mosaic but estimated contact at 1:30–2:00, producing a genuine range against his later estimate.
Wendi Adelson said she went from the liquor store to Mosaic; Isom located her there with two other people.
Isom's estimates span 1:30–2:15 across trials. He moved Wendi away from the table, said he needed to discuss something involving her ex-husband, and reassured her that the children were safe.
Isom estimated 2:15, saw Wendi Adelson with two other people at Mosaic, moved her aside to discuss her ex-husband, and reassured her that the children were safe.
Isom named Mosaic but estimated contact at 1:30–2:00, producing a genuine range against his later estimate.
Wendi Adelson testified that officers did not tell her at the restaurant that Markel had been shot; she said they told her in the police car before the station interview.
Wendi Adelson said police did not tell her at the restaurant that it was a shooting; she said they told her in the car before the interview room.