A woman from southern Florida has been sentenced to life in prison plus additional time for her role in the murder of local law professor Daniel Markel, eight years ago.
Katherine Magbanua was sentenced on Friday to life imprisonment with no parole or probation, along with two more 30-year terms, for her role in a murder-for-hire plot, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Magbanua was convicted in May of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder.
#BREAKING Katherine Magbanua has been sentenced to life in prison with no probation or parole for her role in the murder of FSU law professor Dan Markel. https://t.co/kngA0wRzDC
— WCTV Eyewitness News (@WCTV) July 29, 2022
Prosecutors said that Magbanua acted as a go-between for her ex-boyfriend, Charlie Adelson, and the men who he supposedly hired to kill Markel, a Florida State University law professor, the New York Post reported.
Markel was a prominent lawyer and had a contentious divorce with Adelson’s sister, Wendi.
Last week marked eight years since Markel was gunned down in his own garage.
“Eight years he has not been with us and in those eight years we continue to suffer. We continue to grieve,” Shelly Markel, the victim’s sister, said via video conference, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“His murder has been horrible for me and my family. Shocking, surreal and so hard to understand. His future was cut short. Imagine what was ahead of him,” Markel’s sister added.
Do you think Adelson will be found guilty?
Tara Kawas, Magabanua’s attorney, asked the judge to impose a minimum sentence for the additional charges, but her request was unsuccessful.
On behalf of Magbanua, Kawas provided a statement and reference letters of support for her client.
“She does think about Dan Markel every single day; she does think about his kids every single day,” Kawass said. “Not a day goes by that she’s doesn’t express how her heart is broken for the Markel family. One thing that I can say that Ms. Magbanua hopes and prays for is that justice is ongoing and has not been reached in this case, and she wants each and every person who had a hand in this and knows something about this to be brought to justice.”
Meanwhile, Adelson’s case is still ongoing.
He was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder in connection with the murder of his former brother-in-law, Markel.
Adelson has pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, his attorney filed a motion for a bond hearing, which Circuit Judge Robert Wheeler said would likely come in November or December, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Adelson’s trial date could likely then take place in early 2023.
