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

[T-Rex]

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

Oh, my: "Creative Pre-School near the intersection of Tharpe Street and Mission Road may be one of, if not the last place Dan Markel was seen before he was fatally shot in his home's garage. According to the owner and director Doctor Pamela Phelps, Markel arrived with his two young sons about 9 on Friday morning July 18th."

Shades of Rusty Sneiderman?

 

[Yellow]

Could it have been a student that didn't pass a final? I forget who it was but somebody on here that knew Dan, or knew of him at least, said that his final exam grades would have been in end of May til June... So if it were a student that shot him, why wait until the middle of July to do it?

FSU says in calendar that exams began April 28 and ended May 9. Usually students have one big exam and profs grade them by themselves usually so it can take some time. Of course all schools and profs vary but I think typically profs have at least a month to turn the grades in. The exception is graduating kids which they need to get done by the graduation in mid May. Maybe someone knows FSU's deadline but it would have been over 2 months and almost 3 months since the exam so I assume grades would have been out already. I think those grades would have been out way before then.

Also, it seems that why would a disgruntled student murder the prof? They could just appeal the grade, most schools also have some procedure to go over the prof's head if they really thought it unfair.

 

[CHERIE.T]

No robbery. A professional hit? Who is the beneficary of his LI?

 

[Yellow]

Wow, didn't even think of that! But wouldn't the police be able to trace that call if the perp & caller were the same person?

The perp had to be hiding too. They could not just be standing there. What if a neighbor saw him or delivery man? He had to be on the side

Or else perp knew EXACT time dan would arrive home. I wonder if you can tell when dan's car was coming down the street? Like maybe he had to make a turn and the perp was watching toll he made the turn and then popped up?

Either way brazen crime. We all say how stupid it was to murder in broad daylight but still LE cannot solve the case ironically!

Why would not hit man strike at night? Less chance anyone would encounter the victim till morning. No one would hear crime.

It almost seems like someone was boiling mad about something and just needed to pounce. I wonder if emails, etc will yield any clues.

So sad about the boys, sharing last breakfast w dad. I wonder who got the boys. They might have been scared when police showed up. Soo sad.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

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

Oh, my: "Creative Pre-School near the intersection of Tharpe Street and Mission Road may be one of, if not the last place Dan Markel was seen before he was fatally shot in his home's garage. According to the owner and director Doctor Pamela Phelps, Markel arrived with his two young sons about 9 on Friday morning July 18th."

Shades of Rusty Sneiderman?

The perp had to be hiding too. They could not just be standing there. What if a neighbor saw him or delivery man? He had to be on the side

Or else perp knew EXACT time dan would arrive home. I wonder if you can tell when dan's car was coming down the street? Like maybe he had to make a turn and the perp was watching toll he made the turn and then popped up?

Either way brazen crime. We all say how stupid it was to murder in broad daylight but still LE cannot solve the case ironically!

Why would not hit man strike at night? Less chance anyone would encounter the victim till morning. No one would hear crime.

It almost seems like someone was boiling mad about something and just needed to pounce. I wonder if emails, etc will yield any clues.

So sad about the boys, sharing last breakfast w dad. I wonder who got the boys. They might have been scared when police showed up. Soo sad.

If perp knew that Dan would have his sons that morning, and if perp knew that Dan would be dropping his children off at preschool/daycare, then did perp know Dan's daily schedule? The perp picked a time that Dan would be going home. How did the perp know Dan would be coming home without his children? For all anyone knows, Dan could have had other things to do after dropping his children off at Creative Learning, then maybe have been out for the rest of the day not to pick them up on his way back home...yet the killer knew he'd be going back to his house without his children. Maybe this is why police think the perp behind this killing is someone that Dan is acquainted with. Maybe it really was a contract hit idk. I mean, who would know the daily ins and outs of Dan's life? If the perp isn't someone Dan is acquainted with, or hired by someone Dan's acquainted with, then they had to of studied his daily routine for quite some time given the custody & court battles & his business meetings. From everything I've read, Dan was full of energy & always on the go, when he got an idea in his head he rolled with it. He was always doing things with his children. He attended synagogue regularly. He attended a gym. He was just a flat out active guy business wise as well as personally. So again, the killer had to know Dan would be going home. Or did the perp just get lucky? If it was road rage, wouldn't Dan have been followed home and therefore the perp wouldn't have been waiting for him but instead followed after him? Unless it was road rage from a previous day or even that morning? Nothing makes sense.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Is Dan's garage door automatic or does he have to physically lift up the door? I'm assuming its an automatic door?

 

[Wondergirl]

Read this case on CNN today.

My immediate reaction was it sounds like a hit.

 

[Wondergirl]

Then again, a hit man would not leave his victim alive and able to communicate

 

[Razz]

Maybe it was a parent of a student who just that morning had pled his/her case to Dan about the son/daughter and the unfairness of his grading system? Maybe this son or daughter had been denied work or some type of internship because of
low test grades or...Dan gave an unfavorable reference for this person when contacted by a law firm or a judges office? Just speculating.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Police must have confirmation Dan was at all of the areas they noted. Dan dropped his kids off at preschool and 1.5 hours later he's shot dead. Dan was at or near the synagogue but no services until Friday night? Dan was still sitting in the driver's seat, keys in the car, doors to the car unlocked as previously reported - yet the driver's side window was "bashed" out? If the gun was shot through the window to kill Dan, would it shatter the entire window to look like it was bashed put or would it just leave a hole with some shattering around the hole?

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/ne...es-piece-together-markels-final-day/13297053/

Police say they believe Markel stopped by at least four Tallahassee locations on July 17 and 18. On Monday, TPD asked the public if they saw Markel or his black 2008 Honda Accord, with license number 534YBM, in the following places: The area of Tharpe Street and Mission Road; the I-10/Thomasville Road corridor; the area surrounding the FSU College of Law on Jefferson Street at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; and Congregation Shomrei Torah on Kerry Forest Parkway.

"We do believe Markel was in all the areas,"said Officer David Northway, TPD spokesman. "We're wondering if someone may have seen him either in his vehicle, outside of his vehicle, talking with people, interacting with community members. Anything that may give us another piece of evidence to move forward."

Dr. Pamela Phelps, the owner of Creative Preschool, said Markel stopped by the school between 9 and 9:30 a.m. on July 18 to drop off his two boys. The school is on Tharpe Street just east of Mission Road, one area where TPD is focusing.

Markel was devout in the Jewish faith and was a member of Congregation Shomrei Torah. The synagogue's president Ellen Simon said she has not heard Markel was at the synagogue on either of those days. No events were held Thursday and Shabbat services on Friday don't start until 8 p.m., several hours after Markel was shot.

The caller told Officer Kenneth Davis he heard a loud bang next door and then went over to Markel's house, where he found a bleeding Markel inside his car in the garage. Markel, the caller said, was sitting in the driver's seat and was moving, but not talking, said notes provided by the Tallahassee Fire Department's dispatch log. The driver's side window was "bashed" out, the caller added.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

http://www.wctv.tv/news/bigstories/...g-on-Trescott-Dr-267684731.html?device=tablet

Eyewitness News has also confirmed Markel was hired as a consultant in a New Jersey case involving four Orthodox rabbis.

They're accused of conspiring to kidnap and force Jewish men to grant their wives religious divorces.

According to the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, two of the rabbis were recorded discussing plans to kidnap and torture victims.

For one particular target, those plans included kidnapping the victim in a van and assaulting him with a cattle prod.

New York attorney Benjamin Brafman, who represents one of the rabbis, says he recently hired Markel as an expert on conspiracy law.

Brafman says his client is being monitored by ankle bracelet as he awaits trial.

He says the rabbis' case has no connection to Markel's murder.

 

[SeaEclipse]

Then again, a hit man would not leave his victim alive and able to communicate

But then neither would someone who was worried that Dan could specifically identify him/her, right? In other words, I'd think a stranger (hitman or no) would be less concerned that Dan could identify him/her in the event he lived than an acquaintance would.

 

[SeaEclipse]

Police must have confirmation Dan was at all of the areas they noted. Dan dropped his kids off at preschool and 1.5 hours later he's shot dead. Dan was at or near the synagogue but no services until Friday night? Dan was still sitting in the driver's seat, keys in the car, doors to the car unlocked as previously reported - yet the driver's side window was "bashed" out? If the gun was shot through the window to kill Dan, would it shatter the entire window to look like it was bashed put or would it just leave a hole with some shattering around the hole?

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/ne...es-piece-together-markels-final-day/13297053/

I think Dan was shot through the window, since the window was described as "bashed" and he was found still in the car. Pretty sure that the "bashed" description just comes from the panicked neighbor on the 911 call, who was probably not focusing on how the window got broken in those moments. I bet a bullet fired from very close range could easily completely shatter a window completely.

 

[dotr]

Daniel Markel was obviously a very well known and respected man ' who gave life ' to the law community, is this the reason, that his life, was taken away?


http://kfor.com/2014/07/29/police-ask-public-for-help-in-solving-fsu-law-professors-murder/
bbm

"Markel also founded PrawfsBlawg, a blog focused on law and life, and his writing appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Slate, The Jerusalem Post and The Atlantic Monthly. On PrawfsBlawg, 10 fellow law professors posted about the respect they had for Markel and the mutual love he shared with his friends and family.

“His boundless energy was at the center of this community; it made it run, it gave it life. We are stunned and bereaved by his loss, and our thoughts go to his two little boys, who were precious to him, and to his family.”

 

[Jersey*Girl]

http://www.wctv.tv/news/bigstories/...g-on-Trescott-Dr-267684731.html?device=tablet

"It's devastating and I just keep everybody in my thoughts and prayers," said FSU Professor Melissa Radey.

Radey says she knew Markel because her two daughters attend the same pre-school as his sons.

Radey says Thursday night before the murder, she saw Markel with his sons at the Trousdell pool and splash park.

"Our kids played together and we chatted," she said.

 

[creepingskills]

Why would not hit man strike at night? Less chance anyone would encounter the victim till morning. No one would hear crime.

Unless the hit man had a key (and if he did, might be stupid to go this route) he wouldn't have access to the house. I think I saw an ADT sign on the front lawn, so its likely the house had an alarm, which would be set at night, the house locked etc. I wonder if the hit man knew most neighbors would be at work or out of the home at 11AM - didn't account for the 72 year old neighbor apparently.

What strikes me is a few things; the hit man knew his victim's habits, so did he stalk or have inside information? And unless this murderer is lucky, he must have known that dan would park in the garage...hiding behind the house until the sound of garage door opening. The prius had to be parked nearby, if the neighbor saw it leaving the scene. If this was a road rage incident, who would be so brazen? I guess they could assume Dan wouldn't recognize the car. Perhaps the Prius followed Dan home. Pulling in the driveway behind him. That could also explain the "someone's in my driveway" comment without remarking who it was or if he knew them. Maybe the killer was still in the Prius.

 

[dotr]

bbm
http://www.wflx.com/story/26140278/police-fsu-professor-ambused-by-gunman

"Investigators believe he was followed into his garage by the gunman who fired one shot through the car window"

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Quick question... If a person goes through law school, passes the bar but can't land a job, would the military pay off their student debt if they enlisted & served?

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Unless the hit man had a key (and if he did, might be stupid to go this route) he wouldn't have access to the house. I think I saw an ADT sign on the front lawn, so its likely the house had an alarm, which would be set at night, the house locked etc. I wonder if the hit man knew most neighbors would be at work or out of the home at 11AM - didn't account for the 72 year old neighbor apparently.

What strikes me is a few things; the hit man knew his victim's habits, so did he stalk or have inside information? And unless this murderer is lucky, he must have known that dan would park in the garage...hiding behind the house until the sound of garage door opening. The prius had to be parked nearby, if the neighbor saw it leaving the scene. If this was a road rage incident, who would be so brazen? I guess they could assume Dan wouldn't recognize the car. Perhaps the Prius followed Dan home. Pulling in the driveway behind him. That could also explain the "someone's in my driveway" comment without remarking who it was or if he knew them. Maybe the killer was still in the Prius.

1- Didn't account for the next door neighbor AND also didn't account for the neighbor across the street that also happens to be the retired mayor of Tallahassee. This perp was indeed VERY brazen!

2- My sentiments exactly. Also, I posted a few days ago regarding a Prius google search for Tallahassee. Looks like it may be a common car in that area. When looking at used sales, it appears that lighter colors are abundant - silver, white, pale blue...

 

[dotr]

Wondering if DM had a dog?
If so, other dog walkers and/or neighbours might know Daniel's schedule..
Could be a source of dispute, imo.

Also wonder if any renovations or changes to the neighbourhood were instigated, or opposed to, by Mr Markel?