GUILTY FL - Dan Markel, 41, FSU law professor, Tallahassee, 18 July 2014 - #1 *Arrests*

[Blondie in Spokane]

Daily Mail:

Was it a contract killing? Police reveal Harvard-educated law professor was murdered with point-blank shot to the head inside locked home as they release photo of suspicious Toyota Prius seen nearby

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-Toyota-Prius-seen-nearby.html#ixzz38R3rFS1g
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[ATasteOfHoney]

Not sure how accurate it is but the comments to a news article say this is a Prius hybrid and it was seen in Starbucks buying an iced latte and that an hour earlier it was in whole foods... If true and if (a big if) it is connected, what does that say? Sounds yuppyish.

Good choice for a vehicle if it's a "hit man or woman"----Prius's make virtually NO noise. And they don't stand out visually.

 

[noZme]

I have to question it taking a week to get videos from these nearby businesses, but hopefully there will be something helpful.

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/BREAKING-Police-Investigate-Shooting-on-Trescott-Dr-267684731.html

Whole Foods is about a block down TVL Road from the intersection with Betton which is just a block away from Markel's street. That Goodwill bookstore is at the intersection. The nearest Starbucks, that I know, is on N Monroe, a quick drive down John Knox Road, then a zigzag on Southride which runs into TVL Road near the bank.... not much drive time between these locations.

Does it seem the theory is that the Prius was driving around, killing time? Was he expecting someone to stop by? Why would the house being locked mean he was intended victim or maybe he was tied or something else not reported? I hope we wake up to a headline tomorrow "ARREST"

 

[dotr]

Good choice for a vehicle if it's a "hit man or woman"----Prius's make virtually NO noise. And they don't stand out visually.

Plus, nobody looks at one and thinks, I better keep an eye out for that suspicious and creepy looking Prius. imo

 

[Inspector Gidget]

This article was written by a friend of his and shows how well liked he was as a professor and person.
http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2014/07/dan-markel-my-friend.html

 

[Yellow]

Me too, I keep on hoping it will be an arrest, I think we will either see something next week once they go through the tips. The problem is Dan knew everybody. So I think he has a ton of friends and acquaintances that LE will have to circle around to once (and if) they eliminate his inner circle. He probably knew everyone in Tallahassee, or at least everyone in his circle, like everyone at law school, everyone at synagogue, etc.

I do hope the perp is brought to justice, I saw on Facebook pics of him and his young sons. He looked to be an involved dad. Just on July 15 he was boating with the boys according to the pics. I don't even know how you tell children like that about things like this. Obviously you have to tell them but it must be so hard.

I just don't see what motive anyone could have.

If they are looking for the car that has to mean it does not belong to anyone who would be a stereotypical suspect. It seems like it has to be a hit or else someone from his wide social circle, though I don't see much of a motive unless someone is just plain mental or perhaps overly sensitive and got mad at him for something.

Hopefully there will be an arrest soon! Wonder why police eliminated random robbery so quick?

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Not sure how accurate it is but the comments to a news article say this is a Prius hybrid and it was seen in Starbucks buying an iced latte and that an hour earlier it was in whole foods... If true and if (a big if) it is connected, what does that say? Sounds yuppyish.

Don't know of too many young people driving a Prius. Sounds more like a married man or woman trying to save money on gas... If its a male, a Prius certainly isn't viewed as a chick magnet. Then again, law school in the US is very expensive – especially considering lawyers make the most money when a big name school signs off on their degree - so maybe a student trying to save money could have been driving that car? Or somebody that's green maybe? Idk...

Something that bugs me is that a Prius is almost silent. If the killer didn't want to detected, then why didn't he or she use a silencer on the gun?

<modsnip>

The fact that the neighbor heard a loud bang makes me sort of wonder if somebody just got mad, went to confront Markel & ended up shooting him either bc that's what they intended to do in the first place or else maybe there was an argument prior with the shooting as the outcome. Ether that or gang initiation- but hey, a gang member driving a darn Prius just doesn't seem right...

 

[Jersey*Girl]

I think profilers would say this is definitely a man. For lack of a better word, female gunners are often less comfrontational. Females tend to kill more in the sleep, I.e. Betty Broderick, or as part of a murder suicide or as part of a long drawn out psychotic episode. Usually shot husbands fit into one of those scenarios or else the wife makes it look like a suicide, creating some doubt. I cannot think of any cases where you have a female walk in broad daylight and execute someone. Why did not this killer do this at night? Much much less chance of getting caught plus it is likely the neighbors would not have heard. Could it be a contract hit and the person behind it wanted a clear alibi for the day? No one ever has a good alibi at night really as most of us are sleeping though I guess you could make yourself am alibi with phone call pings and Internet use.

I gather the shot must have been at the front door because if in the house, how would the neighbor have heard it? It looks like there is a healthy distamce between houses, how did the neighbor hear unless it is really loud? And did they run immediately or pause a moment to get phone? Scary for them because they probably just literally missed the killer. How did the killer get out of there?

Also, with a lawyer friend of Markel's living right next door to him & a retired mayor of Tallahassee living right across the street, why pick that time of day to shoot somebody? How brazen to do so at the front door!

Wonder what he had planned for that day... I see through his FB that he attended a gym & there's a class he attends. I wonder if this workout class was on his docket for that Friday...

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Here's a general google search for Tallahassee Prius. It seems like Prius may be a fairly common car there. So could a Prius have been used to blend in?

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Tallahassee+Prius

 

[Jersey*Girl]

This article was written by a friend of his and shows how well liked he was as a professor and person.
http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2014/07/dan-markel-my-friend.html

Beautifully written.

 

[dotr]

http://www.wtxl.com/news/tallahasse...cle_707629c2-1424-11e4-8990-0017a43b2370.html
bbm
"According to the report, a neighbor heard a loud bang and called 911. The witness also told police that he had seen a sliver or white car leaving the area the report sated that he "further described the car as being small, clean, and possibly a newer model. The complainant continued that believed the car was a Prius, or a Prius "type" of vehicle."

Tallahassee police released a picture of a car matching what the witness described calling it a vehicle of interest.

The report also states that the victim's garage was the primary crime scene."

 

[dotr]

"Goodwill Gives TPD Surveillance Video For Markel Murder Case"


http://www.wctv.tv/news/bigstories/...tigate-Shooting-on-Trescott-Dr-267684731.html


"The bulk of what our camera is going to show is our donation cneter which is more of the Thomasville Road side," said Goodwill's Donna Wright. "But again, we're happy to give TPD the surveillance with the hope that it can lead to solving this horrible, heinous crime," she said.

Goodwill was expected to get that video to TPD Thursday.

Investigators have also stopped by other nearby businesses seeking surveillance video.

They include the Shell gas station and SunTrust Bank.

The back of Markel's home is close to those businesses.

The back of the home runs parallel to the Betton Hills Nature Trail, specifically, Raccoon Pond Trail.

There's a fenced in creek bordered by a steep rock wall between Markel's home and the nature trail making a possible get away over the backyard fence for a suspect extremely difficult.

The Ashford Club Apartments is on the other side of the trail.

The manager says the complex doensn't have any surveillance cameras".

 

[dotr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC8eJX55P9Y

 

[Kip]

http://www.wtxl.com/news/tallahasse...cle_707629c2-1424-11e4-8990-0017a43b2370.html
bbm
[snipped]

The report also states that the victim's garage was the primary crime scene."

Interesting. I'm guessing the garage door must have been up for the neighbor to have perceived the shot as loud. So I wonder if the law prof was coming or going.

If he was on his way out, someone would have had to had known his approximate schedule.

If he was coming home, someone could have followed him - either someone targeting him specifically or a road rage thing. Road rage seems like a long shot, but an ex-neighbor of mine, age 71 (a doctor), just shot a 69-year-old ex-CEO who had followed him home in a road rage incident (on a road where the speed limit is 35). It seems crazy, but it does happen.

 

[LambChop]

Please do not discuss any of the relatives, family, ex's, etc. that are not now named as a suspect by LE. It is against the rules to sleuth them. If your post has been removed it is because you violated TOS.

 

[dotr]

Interesting. I'm guessing the garage door must have been up for the neighbor to have perceived the shot as loud. So I wonder if the law prof was coming or going.

If he was on his way out, someone would have had to had known his approximate schedule.

If he was coming home, someone could have followed him - either someone targeting him specifically or a road rage thing. Road rage seems like a long shot, but an ex-neighbor of mine, age 71 (a doctor), just shot a 69-year-old ex-CEO who had followed him home in a road rage incident (on a road where the speed limit is 35). It seems crazy, but it does happen.

Funny, I was about to post about the possibility this was a road rage incident, wonder what type of car the victim drove?

 

[Yellow]

Interesting. I'm guessing the garage door must have been up for the neighbor to have perceived the shot as loud. So I wonder if the law prof was coming or going.

If he was on his way out, someone would have had to had known his approximate schedule.

If he was coming home, someone could have followed him - either someone targeting him specifically or a road rage thing. Road rage seems like a long shot, but an ex-neighbor of mine, age 71 (a doctor), just shot a 69-year-old ex-CEO who had followed him home in a road rage incident (on a road where the speed limit is 35). It seems crazy, but it does happen.

Police now say incident was in garage and that neighbor saw this Prius type car leaving the area around that time

http://www.wtxl.com/news/tallahasse...cle_707629c2-1424-11e4-8990-0017a43b2370.html

Incident report redacted released is here. Keys were in vehicle, car unlocked according to report.

http://www.talgov.com/uploads/public/documents/assets/news/tpd-markel.pdf

 

[dotr]

Lengthy article, lots of pics.
bbm.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

"The Harvard educated professor mysteriously shot dead inside his own home was found in the garage with his car keys still in the car after being ambushed there, according to a Tallahassee Police Department report released on Friday.

The heavily redacted report only adds to the mystery surrounding the death of Florida State University Professor Dan Markel, 41, who was found inside his locked home on Friday 18 July having been shot point-blank in the head.

And police sources who have spoken to MailOnline today have indicated that they believe Markel did not necessarily know his killer, rather he was 'specifically targeted' for this murder - raising the possibility that the Cambridge educated law expert was the subject of a contract killing".

 

[justbeachy]

OMG. I just read the incident report and I know the officer VERY well! I'm gonna see if I can get any info out of him...

 

[dotr]

http://gawker.com/who-killed-a-nationally-renowned-blogging-law-professor-1610994860
initialed bm.
"Markel's friends&#8212;including keen legal minds&#8212;aren't all confident:

"It doesn't make sense on any level. But at least the initial theory was that it was some kind of robbery gone wrong, which is awful, but at least makes sense," said M. M., a friend who teaches law at the University of New Hampshire and who recently collaborated with Prof. Markel on a journal article. "This has become a story that no longer makes sense. If, in fact, he was somehow targeted, I literally just cannot understand that."