Who was Dan Markel, the FSU professor killed in a murder-for-hire plot?
.jpeg "This photo taken on Feb. 7, 2006, and made available by Florida State University shows law school professor Daniel Markel. Markel was shot in the head at his home in Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday, July 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Florida State University)")
Eight years ago, Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel was shot and killed during a murder-for-hire plot at his Tallahassee home.
For years, police and prosecutors suspected Broward dentist Charlie Adelson, brother of Markel’s ex-wife, hired two Miami gang members to kill the father of two in 2014.
On Thursday, Adelson, 44, was arrested in Broward after officials said they now have key evidence through newly enhanced audio of a secretly recorded 2016 conversation between Adelson and one of the hit men’s girlfriend at a Miami restaurant.
Adelson will be sent to Tallahassee, where he’s been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder.
As a court case gears up, let’s take a look back at who Markel was and what investigators say was the motive for his murder:
Who was Dan Markel?
▪ Daniel Markel was a D’Alemberte law professor at Florida State University well known for his criminal law expertise. He was featured in media outlets such as The New York Times and USA Today, and had his work published in a variety of law reviews, including Yale Law Journal and Cornell Law Review.
▪ He joined Florida State University College of Law faculty in 2005 as an assistant professor, was tenured in 2010 and became a full professor in 2012.
▪ Markel founded PrawfsBlawg, a popular blog about law that grew to have an international following. His last post, uploaded the night before he died, was about the death penalty, as the Miami Herald has previously reported. The blog is still active today, with posts written by a variety of legal experts.
▪ He previously served as law clerk to Judge Michael Daly Hawkins of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
▪ Markel was a scholar. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Harvard University, did graduate work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earned a master of philosophy at the University of Cambridge, where he graduated with high honors, and then went back to Harvard University for his law degree, according to FSU.
▪ He was raised in Toronto, Canada.
How did Markel and Adelson know each other?
Markel married Wendi Adelson, Charlie Adelson’s sister, in February 2006. She was a third-year law student at the University of Miami. Their wedding was announced in The New York Times.
Markel and Wendi Adelson had two sons together. They divorced after six years of marriage.
How was Dan Markel killed and why?
Markel was sitting in his car, in his garage, when he was shot twice in the head in July 2014, according to Herald archives. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. He was 41.
The motive for Markel’s death?
Police and prosecutors believe it was to end a court order that wouldn’t let Wendi Adelson move her kids to South Florida following the divorce. Wendi Adelson, during testimony, said she didn’t know about the plot to kill her ex.
Miami Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 4:05 PM.
