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