A Florida dentist who orchestrated the death of his brother-in-law will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Leon County judge sentenced Charles Adelson, 47, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the shooting death of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. Adelson was found guilty and convicted of one count of first-degree murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and one count of solicitation to commit murder.
On July 18, 2024, Markel had been making a phone call while seated in his car when he was shot to death. According to NBC News, the defendant's role in the murder came to light after investigators discovered Adelson’s former girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, had facilitated the murder by hiring her ex-husband, Sigfredo Garcia, who is the father of her children, and his friend, Luis Rivera as hitmen.
Prior to the fatal incident, the defendant’s sister, Wendi Adelson, who was estranged and divorced from Markel, was in a bitter dispute and custody battle for their two children. Wendi had wanted to move with the children from Tallahassee to South Florida, close to her family, but the victim refused. In addition, the court judgment for the children to remain in Tallahassee went in favor of Markel.
During the trial, Adelson admitted to outsourcing the contract to kill Markel to Magbanua and paid her a partial payment of $138,000. Furthermore, he told authorities his ex-girlfriend had returned to his home a day after the killing to inform him that the hit was successful and he needed to pay an additional $300,000 within 48 hours or the defendant would suffer the same fate as his brother-in-law. As a result, Adelson continued to lavish Magbanua with expensive gifts and a monthly payroll of $3,000 to pacify Garcia and Rivera.
In 2019, Garcia and Magbanua were both convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, while Rivera was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 19 years for testifying against the duo.
Meanwhile, on Dec. 11, the defendant’s mother, Donna Adelson, was charged in court for conspiring with her son to commit the murder, reported WXTL Tallahassee. She is currently awaiting trial.
Adelson was sentenced to an additional 30 years each for the charges of conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to murder. He was ordered to serve the sentences consecutively.
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