Man Convicted in Murder of Law Professor Locked in Family Feud
The trial of two people charged with murdering a prominent Florida law professor locked in a rancorous battle with his ex-wife and in-laws ended with a guilty verdict for one defendant and a mistrial for another.
The victim, Dan Markel, 41, was a professor at the Florida State University College of Law who had helped build a network of online legal scholarship. After a divorce, he and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, were given joint custody of their two young sons.
The New York Times reports that the state had charged three people with the murder, hoping to pressure them into revealing whoever may have financed the crime, according to Times reporter Patricia Mazzei.
The Tallahassee jury found Sigfredo Garcia guilty of first-degree murder but was unable to reach a verdict for defendant Katherine Magbanua.
Prosecutors argued that Markel was murdered because a court order prevented his ex-wife from relocating to South Florida with their children. They said her brother and mother then got involved, and arranged to pay the alleged killers $100,000 for the murder.
None of the former in-laws have been charged, and through their lawyers they have maintained their innocence.
