Re: Charlie's possible motivation:
In the divorce proceeding didn't Dan Markel subpoena the financial records of Wendi's parents and her dad's dental practice? Doing this would directly implicate Charlie's livelihood and finances, and who knows if there were any lingering issues regarding taxes, gambling debt, drugs, other illegal activities. Or isn't it possible that Dan threatened to disclose something he knew about Charlie (or perhaps Charlie's girlfriend) and her background or potentially illegal activities if Wendi did not back off in the divorce? If supported by any evidence this would create a much more compelling motive story that Charlie stepping in as a loyal son who didn't like his sister's ex to protect his mom or sister.
Without better evidence of some motive or evidence of a payment from Charlie, I think that he will never be charged and if he is prosecutors will face an uphill battle. It just seems that there are other plausible explanations for why Garcia and Rivera would kill Markel that could readily create some doubt in the minds of a jury. Here's one: Given that Dan was aggressively pursuing every litigation angle in the divorce and that he clearly was angry at her family and was also disagreeing with Wendi about the kids and their diet, friends and schools, it doesn't seem beyond the pale for Dan to hire a private investigator to look into her family members, including Charlie and his relationship(s). If Dan had learned something about Kathy and her history with Garcia, he might have learned something about her past Garcia and threatened to bring this out in the divorce to keep his kids away from Charlie and her. From what I hear about Dan, based on what a number of his friends and colleagues have said, he was a somewhat relentless and overbearing guy who often did not know when to back off. It also appears that much of his effort to spend lots of time with the kids and to be super-involved with them really followed Wendi filing for divorce; before then he clearly had put his career first and had an active travel schedule, and this must have required Wendi to bear most responsibility for the kids. Given that he clearly seemed hurt by Wendi's approach to the divorce and he did not want her and her family to be around the kids, he was likely pursuing every possible angle. How could that get him murdered? Based on what a number of his friends have said, Dan seemed to be the kind of guy who would not know when to back off and who was going to pursue every possible angle, even if it meant public character assassination of Wendi and her family. Perhaps Dan was even making inquiries about Garcia and his activities on his own, as a way of gathering dirt on Charlie to keep him and his girlfriend away from the kids. If Dan was in over his head in investigating gang or other illegal activities that could be traced to Kathy, as a way of impugning Charlie's character, he could easily have set off Garcia and/or Rivera himself.
