Charlie Adelson was found guilty last month of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation to commit murder. Prosecutors said the periodontist enlisted two men to travel to Tallahassee and kill Markel, Adelson's former brother-in-law, in 2014. Markel was embroiled in a bitter custody battle with Adelson's sister Wendi at the time, and Adelson's parents were desperate to have Wendi and her two sons back in South Florida.
In addition to the life sentence, Leon County Judge Stephen Everett handed Adelson, 47, two 30-year sentences that will run consecutively for the solicitation and conspiracy charges.
During Tuesday's sentencing, Markel's father Phil spoke about his only son and how he and his wife Ruth have had very limited contact with the two grandchildren since their father's murder. He said that after a six-year period in which he did not see them, he was permitted only a few short, supervised visits with the kids, whom he fears were "brainwashed" about Markel's death.
"Not only have I lost my son, but I have effectively lost two of my grandkids as well," Phil Markel said.
Phil recounted Dan's time at Harvard Law School and how Dan would make sure to fly home for the holidays and family events. He said that after Dan moved out of the family home in Canada, the two of them stayed in touch and grew closer despite the distance between them.
"I wake up in the middle of the night in a terrible sweat at the thought of Dan's murder and all that has happened. There is not a single day in my life since Dan's death that, in one way or another, he does not enter into my thoughts," the father said.
"I miss him with all my heart," he told Judge Everett. "We continue to hope and pray for justice."
Adelson sat still and largely without expression during the victim-impact statement, though he shook his head when the father said it is "satisfying to see justice being done." He addressed the court only to say he maintains his innocence.
Dan Markel was a prominent law professor at Florida State University.
Florida State University College of Law photo
The trial, which began with opening arguments October 26, featured testimony from Adelson's ex-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, who was previously convicted for helping Adelson hire the two killers — Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera.
While on the stand, Magbanua publicly admitted her part in the murder for the first time. She testified that Adelson had approached her about finding a hit man on Halloween in 2013 and that she was paid through checks from the Adelson family dental office, the Adelson Institute, following the murder. Magbanua and Garcia were sentenced to life in prison while Rivera accepted a plea deal and received a 19-year sentence.
Adelson spoke out for the first time about the murder when he testified. He insisted he never hired Garcia and Rivera to kill Markel, and that he was merely joking when he repeatedly told his sister Wendi that buying her a TV for her divorce present would be cheaper than hiring a hit man to kill her ex-husband.
Adelson testified that Garcia, Rivera, and Magbanua extorted him after Markel's murder. He said Garcia and Rivera had taken it upon themselves to kill the esteemed law professor after Magbanua told the duo about the Adelson family's wealth and a million-dollar sum that the Adelsons were willing to pay to convince Markel to relocate to South Florida.
Just a week after Adelson's conviction, his mother, Donna Adelson, was arrested at Miami International Airport as she and her husband Harvey tried to board a flight to Vietnam. Before she was arrested, Donna had discussed plans with Charlie about leaving a trust for the grandchildren, committing suicide, or fleeing to a non-extradition country, according to a police affidavit.
She was charged with first-degree murder, solicitation to commit murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. She appeared in a Leon County courtroom yesterday, where she pleaded not guilty. Judge Everett also denied the defense's motion for her to be moved out of solitary confinement or placed on house arrest.
A tenured professor at FSU, Markel had developed a reputation as a prominent criminal law scholar in the years before his death. He authored articles tackling the intersection between philosophy, law, and ethics, as well as a 2009 book, Criminal Justice and the Challenge of Family Ties. He also served as a source for national media outlets on law topics, once quoted as a "sentencing expert" in a Los Angeles Times column, "Is Public Shaming Fair Punishment?"
Describing him as having "tremendous energy" and "great warmth," Markel's father recalled during his court statement how Markel would always come off the ice exhausted and red-faced after skating practice as a child. He said "this desire for improvement and commitment to excellence was a defining characteristic of his short life."
"Losing a son or a daughter is something I wish nobody should have to experience. It's not in the order of nature," Phil Markel said.
"The wheels of justice turn very, very slowly. But so far, we are very grateful that they are still turning," the father said.
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