GUILTY FL - Dan Markel, 41, FSU Law Professor, Tallahassee, 18 July 2014 *arrests* #11

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If Katherine wasn’t involved at all, then how did SG get all the details to kill Dan? There are no emails, phone calls, texts or anything linking CA and SG are there? KM is the link. I listened to a podcast last night where a juror spoke about what hung the jury the first go-around. She said a juror was stuck on the fact that they could not find cell phone records or pings after the murder that indicated KM and CA did the money transfer. I found this so strange.
can you say what podcast is that?
 
Wed. 5/18 - Day 1 - Opening statements

Karl Etters
@KarlEtters
·
4h
@JeffBurlew
has been covering jury selection for the last two days. A 14-member panel was seated yesterday

I'll be covering the start of this trial from quarantine at home. Just a reminder folks, COVID is still out there.

Here we go. Jury is in the courtroom and being sworn in

ASA Sarah Dugan: "The defendant was the link or the middle man between the people who wanted this murder done and the man who pulled the trigger...

..."They had a big problem and that problem was Dan Markel and the solution to that problem was this defendant. She was the solution because she had connections to people willing to point a gun at a stranger and puling the trigger."

Dugan lays out the theory of motive: The desire of Markel's former in-laws to move his two kids to South Florida

Dugan: "The defendant's boyfriend was looking to hire a hitman and the father of the defendant’s children was the hitman that killed Dan Markel. Both of these paths ended with his defendant. Two investigations one conclusion."

State has wrapped its opening statement. Tara Kawass will be up for the defense

Kawass starts by saying she and the state agree that Charlie Adelson had Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia kill Dan Markel.
"What we do not agree on is whether or not Katherine Magbanua knew about plan to have Dan Markel killed. That's the only thing we don’t agree on..."

..."Did Katherine know? It's that simple."

"The only people who involved Katherine Magbanua into this conspiracy was the FBI and the police. The moment they said her name, they planted her in the middle of this investigation."

That's a wrap for opening statements. Short break then we'll get into witnesses

link: https://twitter.com/KarlEtters

Jada E. Williams
@JadaEWilliams
·
3h
OPENINGS: Attorneys will read opening statements this morning in the Katherine Magbanua retrial. Here’s a glimpse into the courtroom right now. Live stream will start up soon

Right now, Judge Wheeler is addressing the jury. Letting them know their role in this case and how it will go the next two weeks.

Assistant State Attorney Sarah Duggan will do opening statements. "The reason we're here this morning is because the defendant in this case, Katherine Magabnua, set up the murder of Dan Markel. She was the link between the people who wanted this done and the hitmen."

Duggan says Magbanua was dating a rich man who wanted Markel dead at the time. The state's theory is Dan Markel's ex-wife's family is responsible for the murder. Her brother, Charlie Adelson is the "rich man". He was arrested last month.

She describes Markel being stalked, shot in his driveway, as well as his neighbor's discovery of Markel in the car in his driveway. This day will be put under a microscope as early as this afternoon.

The state says Markel's divorce from Wendi Adelson was a catalyst in his murder. Wendi's desire to move to South Florida with her family led to the murder plot.

The jurors are all very engaged in this opening. They're listening intently and taking notes. The state's opening is laying out their case, focusing on the horror of Dan Markel's death. The state repeats that he was stalked and murdered by hitmen.

"Her boyfriend was looking to hire a hitmen and her children's father was the hitman. Both [investigation] paths ended with the defendant. Two investigations and one conclusion."

As the state goes through their theory in opening, Magbanua takes notes. She's also discussing bits and pieces with her attorney. A couple of objections from her side but all overruled.

Kawass starts off by saying defense and state agrees that Charlie Adelson, Sigfredo Garcia, and Luis Rivera killed Markel. She says her client is innocent and was only thrust into the case because the state put her into the equation.

Kawass is going through Wendi and Dan's marriage, divorce, and custody battle. Says Wendi Adelson is the person who tipped the police that her brother may be involved. (She tells police her brother made a joke about buying a tv to celebrate divorce but its cheaper than a hitman)

The state says Magbanua is the link. The defense says Sigfredo Garcia confronted Magabnua's new boyfriend- Charlie Adelson- where Adelson said he'll stop seeing her if Garcia kills Markel.

We're in a recess for roughly 10 more minutes. When we return: first testimony.


link: https://twitter.com/JadaEWilliams



I believe I'm going to follow Jada - she seems to be more "descriptive" of what is going on in court. :)

More coming up....
 
LUIS M RIVERA was booked in Leon County Jail a couple of weeks ago - 05/06/2022.
Sigfredo Garcia doesn't appear on the Jail Inmate Search page.
LEON COUNTY
Sheriff's Office
DisplayJISLargeImage.aspx
Name:
RIVERA, LUIS M
SPN:
245572
Race:
WHITE
Sex:
M
Eye Color:
BRO
Hair:
BLK
Height:
5'04"
Weight:
160
Age
39
Clerk Case #
Offense Date
Charge Literal
Statute
Bond Amount
Booking Date
Booking Agency
Agency Report #
Tentative Release Date
2022HH345A1
05/06/2022
FEDERAL FAVOR HOLD/// US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
00.00
05/06/2022
LEON COUNTY SHERIFF TALLAHASSEE
220063476
 
Wed. 5/18 - Day 1 - Morning session

Karl Etters
@KarlEtters
·
1h
Markel's neighbor is the first witness called to the stand

Says he heard a bang, which would later be determined to be a gunshot, a Prius leaving the driveway and found Markel in his car, which was still running

Says he found Markel bloody and moving slowly and then called 911. It took 19 minutes for an ambulance to arrive at Markel's house on Trescott Drive

Next up, retired Tallahassee police officer David Sims, the first officer on scene

Sims testified that Markel's house was still locked and it dd not appear to be a burglary

And we'll have our final witness before lunch break, Dr. Anthony Clark. An associate medical examiner in Tallahassee

Clark conducted Markel's autopsy

Jurors are seeing gruesome autopsy photos of Markel, who was shot twice at point-blank range, less than two feet

Markel's parents Ruth and Phil Markel are in the courtroom today

We'll go on lunch and resume at 1:30

link: https://twitter.com/KarlEtters



Jada E. Williams
@JadaEWilliams
·
1h
FIRST WITNESS: Jim Geiger. He was Markel's neighbor and a saw the Prius the hitmen were driving.

Geiger said he was concerned when he realized that Dan Markel hadn't moved out of driveway minutes after the car peeled away from his driveway. The garage door was open and the car was running.

Markel's neighbor is the first witness called to the standHe said he noticed broken glass. He noticed the driver side window was broken. He saw Dan's bloody head. "I really didn't know what happened. I hollered out really quickly, Dan what happened? I didn't get any response." He said there was no sound but Dan's head was slowly moving

SECOND WITNESS: David Sims. He's a retired Tallahassee police officer.

Sims responded to Markel's home the day of the murder. He said Markel's car was running. He had a cell phone in one hand and a business in the other hand.

WITNESS 3: Joanne Maltese. She's a forensic specialist with TPD.

We're seeing pictures of the broken glass, broken glasses, and phone on the garage floor. Also the back seat of Markel's car; which had his son's car seats in it.

Both law enforcement witnesses say there was no indication that the home or car was burglarized. The hole in the car window shown to be consistent with a bullet hole.

WITNESS 4: Dr. Anthony J. Clark. He's an associate medical examiner here in Tallahassee. His job is to do death investigations (autopsy work)

Just had our first side bar of the trial. Seems to be aimed at some of the autopsy photos. For many reasons, but mostly respect to the family- we won't be showing pictures of the autopsy.

The jurors are cringing as they look at the autopsy picture of Markel. It's the first in a series of a gruesome pictures.

link: https://twitter.com/JadaEWilliams
 
Jada E. Williams
@JadaEWilliams
·
1h
Markel was shot twice in the face at close range. This is a truly sad testimony. Most of the juror's have their hands on their face... recoiling a bit as they look at the pictures and hear the description.


We're back from lunch. WITNESS 5: Brock Dietz. He's a detective that worked on forensic video analysis... specifically analysis of videos related to the moments before Markel's death.

We're about to watch the surveillance video from Premiere Gym. Markel worked out moments before his death.

Surveillance video shows Garcia and Rivera stayed in the Premiere Fitness parking lot for more than an hour waiting on Markel to finish his work out. You can see that car circling the parking lot.

Surveillance video was pulled from the gyms cameras and Star Metro bus cameras.

The videos gave enough context to not only identify the make and model of the car, but also identifying details like the SunPass transponder, missing tow hook, and an odd side mirror. The car had been sold twice once and was painted white once police tracked it.


link: https://twitter.com/JadaEWilliams




Karl Etters
@KarlEtters
We're back from lunch with state forensic video analyst Brock Dietz

Dietz analyzed videos of Garcia and Rivera tailing Markel and stalking him in the hours before shooting him. Jurors will see the chilling video of Markel going into Premier gym, the hitmen waiting on him then following him home

former TPD investigator Craig Isom is next. Isom was on this case from the jump but has since retired from law enforcement

These videos from the gym and StarMetro buses have an eerie feeling to them

But they provided clues that led police back to the car.

An aftermarket side view mirror. A SunPass and a missing front tow hook. All key pieces of evidence that led police to THE Pruis that was used in the murder

Of all of the rental Priuses in Florida, this one was unique enough to locate. If I remember correctly, when police did find it, it had been repainted

We didn’t have anything else to go on," Isom said. "Just Prius."

Investigators were able to find the car using the SunPass going through toll booths on I-75 near Naples at 5:23 p.m. the day of the murder

link: https://twitter.com/KarlEtters
 
The defense said they would be calling Garcia to the stand before opening, but you notice nothing was said by Ms. Kawass. I don’t think they are going to call him.
There a line of enquiry that could firm that up.
Did Kawass or deCoste visit Garcia in prison and get a deposition from him and submit that to the Court ? I think we would have heard about that in the pre trial material. It would be rather risky to have him on the stand assuming he's going to write KM out of the story without having a plan of what he's going to say.
 
She makes me sleepy. Dramatic difference with Ms. Kawass, who I find to be a compelling speaker. JMO.
Agree, but I hope the jury doesn't confuse a polished, gregarious, emphatic way of speaking with actual truth. Hopefully they pay attention to content and not just the way she's saying things. Can be easy to be swayed when someone seems to authoritative about their opinions.
 
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