Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia were charged with the murder of FSU Law professor Dan Markel in 2014.
Garcia was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 2019, and Magbanua’s hearing just concluded on July 29, 2022.
The incident occurred on July 19, 2014, when Magbanua, Garcia, and another man named Luis Rivera followed Markel to his house. Garcia and Rivea shot Markel in broad daylight near his own home.
The reason for the killing was traced back to the contentious divorce between Markel and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, a lawyer who was also a law professor at FSU. After the divorce, the two had a court case for the custody of their two sons.
Trial: Who Is Katherine Magbanua?
Katherine Magbanua is a woman who is convicted of the murder of FSU Law professor Dan Markel. She was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua traveled to Tallahassee from South Florida to kill Dan Markel. Along with them, Luis Rivera was also present during the murder of Markel, whom they shot to death in broad daylight.
The reason for the murder was the 2013 contentious divorce of Dan and Wendi Adelson and the child custody of their two sons.
It was revealed that Katherine was in a relationship with Wendi’s brother, Charlie Adelson, at the time of the shooting. She was also the mother of the children of Sigfredo Garcia, a convicted felon, whom the Adelsons hired to eliminate Markel for a reported $100,000.
A Toyota Prius driven by Garcia and Rivera, convicted felons, was seen following Dan’s car from a fitness center to his home on surveillance videos. Two men got out of the car near his home and returned 10 minutes later.
Katherine Magbanua Jail Sentence And Mugshot
Katherine Magbanua has been sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole, followed by two consecutive 30-year sentences for the conspiracy and solicitation in the murder of FSU professor Dan Markel.
They were charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
The statement means that Magbanua is sentenced to the maximum allowed under the law. Sigfredo Garcia was previously sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019.
Luis Rivera, the second shooter of Markel, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to seven years in prison. He is a key witness and was the first who flipped in the prosecution of Garcia and Magbanua.
Dan Markel Murder Case – Why Was He Killed?
Daniel Eric Markel was a professor at Florida State University. He was born on October 9, 1972, and was 42 years old when his life was taken away by Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua on July 19, 2014.
In 2013, Markel divorced Wendi Adelson, a lawyer who was also a law professor at FSU.
She relocated to South Florida with their two children to live with her mother. The contentious divorce was the main reason for the murder.
However, in June 2013, a Leon County judge formally denied Adelson’s plea for relocation with the children to South Florida with her mother. A struggle between the mother-daughter duo and Markel ensued for the custody of the two boys.
The killing emanated from the desperate desire of the Adelsons to have Wendi, and the kids move to South Florida. Her brother Charlie ordered his girlfriend, Katherine, and another person named Sigfredo Garcia to kill Dan Markel.