NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 | 53
J
N
SOMETHING VERY
DIFFERENT
I almost never cover high-
profile crimes. But this
one is different. About 10
days ago, I stumbled on
a YouTube video about
the 2014 murder of Dan
Markel. At the time of his
death, Markel was 41 and
a law professor at Florida
State University (FSU),
Tallahassee.
Fairly quickly, I realized
that this was a “big case”
that had been covered,
on-and-off, for almost a
decade by 20/20, Court
TV and other media
outlets. As I learned more
details, I thought had this
murder not taken place in
Tallahassee, but in a media
capital, like New York or
Los Angeles, “everybody”
would already be familiar
with this truly unusual
case.
Unusual in that Markel
was Jewish, as is his
ex-wife, Wendi Adelson
(now 44) — and they both
were law professors — and
almost from the day of his
murder, Wendi, and/or her
family (her brother, her
parents) were suspected
of involvement in Dan’s
murder.
Also, almost from the
beginning, the police
suspected that the
couple’s custody fight
for their two very young
sons had something to
do with the murder. Of
course, custody fights
are common. But it is
rare for such a fight to
end in a murder — and
such murders virtually
never involve Jewish
professionals.
Well, the case is back
in the news. The murder
trial of Charles Adelson,
Wendi’s brother, began last
week. Court TV and scores
of other, similar YouTube
channels are covering
it. Adelson is a wealthy,
Miami-area based dentist.
He works with his father,
a very successful dentist.
Charles is charged with
hiring two Hispanic Miami-
area men (one a gangster)
to murder Markel.
Markel grew up in
Toronto in a “very Jewish”
family. He was a Harvard
grad (undergraduate
and law degree) and,
on a fellowship, he did
graduate work at Hebrew
University. He was living
in Washington, D.C., when
he met Wendi Adelson
on JDate. I gather that
she was living in D.C,
but frequently visited
her family home in South
Florida.
In 2016, 20/20
extensively covered
Markel’s murder (program
called Over My Dead Body
— it’s posted online). A
friend of Markel told 20/20
that the couple’s parents
agreed to split the cost
of the Dan/Wendi Jewish
wedding (2006). Dan
wanted a kosher caterer,
and he was sure that
Wendi’s parents, who were
hiring the caterer, would
honor his request. His
friend said that Dan was
shocked, on his wedding
day, that the food wasn’t
kosher. It was a “omen,”
the friend said, of bad
things to come.
In 2005, Dan began
teaching law at FSU. It was
a tenure track position.
FSU offered Wendi a
lesser, “contract” law
professor position, which
she took.
Their sons were born in
2009 and 2010, and Dan is
described by all as a very
loving father. However,
Wendi, who has a vibrant
personality, describes Dan
as “emotionally abusive.”
Hard to judge what that
exactly means — but it’s
clear that Wendi hated
Tallahassee, a north
Florida city that’s more like
an Alabama town than a
Florida city, and she felt
her legal career could go
nowhere there.
She left Dan in 2012
when he was out of town.
She took the children to
her family home in the
Miami area. The court
granted joint custody to
Dan and Wendi but ruled
that the children had to
remain in Tallahassee.
Wendi challenged this
ruling several times before
Dan’s murder but kept on
losing.
The Adelson clan were
enraged, and Wendi’s
mother even suggested
that Wendi should threaten
Dan this way: She (Wendi)
would have her sons
baptized in the Catholic
church if he didn’t let her
and the boys live in South
Florida!
In 2016, Dan’s murderers
were arrested. One of the
two killers was the former
boyfriend of Katherine
Magbanua, a store clerk.
He was the father of her
two children. At the time of
Dan’s murder, Magbanua
was Charles Adelson’s
girlfriend.
The two killers were
convicted in 2019 and got
a life sentence. In 2022,
Magbanua was convicted
and got life. It appears that
she’s now willing to testify
against Charles and a
new audio tape (2014) has
emerged that seems to
implicate Charles.
“Everyone” is wondering
if enough evidence will
ever emerge to tie Wendi
and/or parents to Dan’s
murder.
Final note: Dan’s
mother, Ruth Markel,
has written a book that
is just out: The Unveiling:
A Mother’s Reflection on
Murder, Grief and Trial
Life. Last month, Ruth
saw her grandchildren
for the first time in about
10 years. Florida law
formerly gave no right to
grandparents to visit their
grandkids. A new Florida
law, called the Markel Act,
passed in 2022. It gives
grandparents visitation
rights in narrow, tragic
situations.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
Dan Markel
RUTHMARKEL.COM
Ruth Markel