“That said, the claim that ‘justice’ delayed is no justice at all, and indeed, unconstitutional, needs more work – so it seems to me.” Read one sentence in the last paragraph of Dan Markel’s final blog post on July 16, 2014, three days before he was killed.
The blog post addressed the question of “What’s an acceptable error rate in death penalty distributions?” Therein, Professor Markel was humble enough – not arrogant as people who despised him thought – to admit, after lengthily going into the subject, that he was “still unsure about what [his] views” were.
Exchanging subjective perspectives for objective facts: No one has, nor likely will get a death sentence for Dan’s killing. Some are going to spend their lives behind bars, others got away with only a couple of years on top of another comparatively minor sentence, others still have the trial process to get through, and, the one who likely stood the most to gain, his ex-wife, so far, got limited immunity for her – arguably unhelpful – testimony.
Regardless, none of these people are the primary focus of this true crime story. The villains in this narrative are not the protagonists. Dan Markel is the one to be discussed, who he was as a brilliant professional and beloved individual, and what tragically, and unjustly, happened to him.
Who was lawyer and criminal justice professor Dan Markel?
Preferably, the perspective we should get on Dan is that of someone who knew him best and loved him deeply: Ruth Markel, his bereaved but “battle-ready” mother.
Growing up in Toronto, he was Danny, until he chose to go by Dan when he turned 18 and entered college. His academic and professional journey is admirable. Dan studied politics and philosophy, at Cambridge and Havard, earned a Master’s degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, went back to Harvard for his law degree, worked in white-collar criminal defense and civil litigation at a law firm in Washington D.C., and went on, in 2005, to teach at Florida State University.
Dan was a prolific scholar, passionate and dedicated, who tried to bring the law academic community together. Perhaps more importantly, Dan loved his two children and, even in the midst of a spiteful and taxing custody battle, he did his utmost best as a father. He was equally beloved as a son, family member, and friend.
To briefly quote his mother’s long and heartfelt victim impact statement in 2019:
“Dan offered the world his love, his wisdom and opinion, his energy, his friendship, and his warmth. Since the day he was born, Dan was alert and energetic. He did not waste this energy – he used it to live life to the fullest.”
And continue to live life he should have, and would have, if not for the overblown resentment and selfish motives of the minds behind his murder.
The day the heinous plot was put into motion
The exact role Wendi Adelson had in her ex-husband’s death is still up in the air, and no charges have been brought against her – for now, at least. However, in 2023, her brother Charles, a man who may not have thought making jokes about hiring hitmen would later be used against him, was convicted for his role as one of the masterminds who orchestrated the law professor’s murder. Whether Donna Adelson, Dan’s former mother-in-law will also see the same fate after her trial, only time will tell.
Ruth and Dan Markel had the ritual of him calling her on his drive home from university after a day of teaching. Other than the fact that he was, as per usual, aggravated at his ex-wife Wendi, there was nothing strange in the call his mother received on July 18, 2014. He said, “Ma I have to take this call, talk to you later.”
Only later never came. Dan parked in his garage and another car, a silver/green Prius, parked behind his. In the car, stalking him since Dan had gone to the gym that morning and was now returning, were hired killers Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, who shot him two times in the head. After first responders arrived, Dan was brought to the hospital, and his family was told by a doctor that, in the rare event of Dan surviving, “he would be a vegetable.” But Dan ended up not resisting the uncontrollable brain hemorrhage and died in the early hours of July 19.
Garcia shares children with Katherine Magbanua, Charles’ girlfriend at the time and the now-convicted felon who acted as a middleman between the masterminds and the paid hitmen. Garcia and Rivera drove hundreds of miles to Tallahassee from Miami to kill someone they didn’t personally know because a twisted wealthy family was willing to pay over $100,000 to have the father of their two young nephews/grandsons (sons too, if Wendi is at some point proven involved in the conspiracy) murdered. That was definitely less than the $1 million sum – $333,000 from each family member, according to an email from Donna – the Adelsons were considering paying Dan to allow Wendi to leave Tallahassee with their sons. Was it worth it?
Thankfully at least, the ones who had been left laughing in the wake of the tragedy, no longer have reason to. They may indeed regret not giving more consideration to the more expensive, but less evil and murderous option.
(Main source: The Unveiling: A Mother’s Reflection on Murder, Grief, and Trial Life, Post Hill Press, 2022).
