A Florida appeals court upheld the conviction of Charlie Adelson in the 2014 murder-for-hire killing of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel, rejecting all arguments Adelson raised on appeal.The Florida First Distri ct Court of Appeal issued its ruling Wednesday, affirming Adelson's convictions on all counts first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder. The trial court had sentenced Adelson to life in prison plus 2 consecutive terms of 30 years in prison.Adelson was the fourth of five defendants convicted in connection with Markel's murder.WHAT ADELSON ARGUED ON APPEALAdelson raised 4 claims of trial court error on appeal: The trial court should have granted a change of venue due to extensive pretrial publicity in Leon County. The trial court should have struck the entire jury panel after prospective jurors made comments about the case in the jury assembly room. The trial court should have admitted certain text messages into evidence. The trial court should not have excluded hearsay evidence from a recorded phone call.He also argued the combined effect of those errors denied him a fair trial.The appeals court affirmed all 4 claims without further discussion on the text message and phone call issues and addressed the venue and jury panel arguments in detail.THE CHANGE OF VENUE ARGUMENTAdelson argued that pretrial publicity in Leon County was so pervasive that it was impossible to seat an impartial jury. During jury selection, the court individually questioned 130 prospective jurors. Of those, 96 had heard about the case, and 54 had formed an opinion 53 of whom believed Adelson was guilty. The trial court excused all 54.The appeals court found Adelson failed to preserve the venue argument for appeal in 2 ways: his attorney never filed the motion in writing as required by Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.240, and he never renewed the motion before the jury was sworn. In fact, when the trial court asked Adelson directly whether he accepted the jury, he replied, "Yes, your honor."The court also found that even if reviewed for fundamental error, Adelson could not meet the legal standard. The 12 jurors who were seated had very limited knowledge of the case 7 did not regularly watch the news, and each told the court they had not formed an opinion about Adelson's guilt and could be fair and impartial.THE JURY PANEL ARGUMENTAdelson also argued the trial court should have dismissed the entire jury pool after some prospective jurors ignored instructions not to discuss the case while waiting in the assembly room. One prospective juror reported hearing someone say Adelson was guilty. Another reported hearing, "I think he did it."The trial court offered defense counsel the opportunity to review assembly room recordings to investigate the extent of the conversations. Defense counsel declined.The appeals court rejected this argument, arguing the motion was made orally rather than in writing as required by Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.290, and was not renewed before the jury was sworn. The court further found that even under a fundamental error review, the statements made in the assembly room were not sufficiently prejudicial to warrant striking the entire panel.The ruling was written by Judge Rowe and joined by Judges Winokur and M.K. Thomas.THE MURDER AND THE CONSPIRACYFormer FSU professor Dan Markel was shot twice in the head while sitting in his car inside his home garage in Tallahassee in July 2014. Investigators uncovered a conspiracy rooted in a custody dispute between Markel and his recently divorced wife, Wendi Adelson.Markel had opposed Wendi's request to relocate from Tallahassee to South Florida with their two sons. Wendi, her parents Donna and Harvey Adelson and her brother Charles Adelson all wanted her to return to South Florida. Donna Adelson had even suggested Wendi offer Markel $1 million to allow the move.Surveillance video obtained by investigators showed Markel was followed by a rental car on the morning of the murder as he drove to his sons' school, the gym, and then home. That car was rented by Luis Rivera and Sigfredo Garcia.Investigators connected Garcia to the Adelson family through Katherine Magbanua, Charlie Adelson's former girlfriend, who was also romantically involved with Garcia. Two months after the murder, Magbanua began receiving a salary from the Adelsons' dental practice despite no evidence she worked there.Rivera eventually confessed, telling investigators that Magbanua hired Garcia to kill Markel, and Garcia then recruited Rivera a member of the Latin Kings to carry out the killing. Rivera, Garcia, and Magbanua were paid $100,000 for the murder, in $100 bills stapled together in $1,000 increments. Investigators learned that Adelson habitually kept his money stapled in that same manner.THE CONVICTIONSRivera pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Oct. 7th, 2019, and was sentenced to 19 years in prison. Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder on Oct. 17th, 2019, and sentenced to life in prison. Magbanua was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder on Sept. 1st, 2022, and sentenced to life in prison. After her conviction, Magbanua admitted that Adelson gave her money for the hit and provided information to locate Markel.Charlie Adelson was tried by a jury and found guilty on all 3 counts. The trial court sentenced him to life in prison plus 2 consecutive 30-year terms.Donna Adelson was convicted following a 2025 jury trial for her role in the conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison. Her direct appeal is pending.***This story has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.***Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.Like us on FacebookFollow us on Instagram and X. ...read more read less