Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer Blog
It is being reported today that the death of Daniel Markel, a former Florida State University law school professor, has been linked to a murder-for-hire scheme. Markel was shot in the head inside his garage at his home during the middle of the day on July 18, 2014.
Law enforcement officers in Hallandale Beach, Florida have arrested Sigfredo Garcia for his alleged role in the 2014 death of Daniel Markel. On May 25, 2016, Garcia was charged with shooting Markel only two days after he was interviewed by investigators. He has pled not guilty and is presently being held without bond in Leon County, Florida. Law enforcement officers intend to charge a second man, Luis Garcia, in connection with the homicide.
It is believed that the murder of Daniel Markel is related to the desire of his former wife’s family to have his former wife, Wendi Adelson, and their two minor children relocate from Tallahassee, Florida to Miami, Florida. It is, however, unknown who hired the killers.
Markel and his former wife had an extremely contentious divorce. Their arguments were related to money and time-sharing matters pertaining to their two children. The parties divorce was filed in September 2012. Markel had returned home from a business trip and found that his family had relocated to South Florida, the majority of the contents of the home were missing and divorce papers were left on his bed. Markel objected to the parental relocation of Adelson and the two minor children from Tallahassee to Miami, Florida. Adelson returned to Tallahassee but, in June 2013 the judge ultimately denied her request to permanently relocate. The court entered the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage in July 2013.
Markel’s death took place shortly before a scheduled court hearing in which he was requesting that the minor children’s contact and access with his former mother-in-law be limited due to the fact that she had made disparaging remarks about him to his children. Specifically, Markel was requesting that the trial Judge require that the minor children be supervised in the presence of Adelson’s mother.
Adelson, who was also a law school faculty member at Florida State University, now lives in Miami, Florida.
Parents that are going through time-sharing, parenting plan and relocation litigation as part of their marital and family law dispute should contact an experienced marital and family attorney in Fort Lauderdale. Sandy T. Fox, P.A. has extensive experience in the practice of law dealing with legal problems that arise during a divorce of a husband and wife and the impact on a parent and child.
Sandy T. Fox, Esquire is a Florida Bar Board Certified Marital and Family Law attorney who handles complex divorce, child support, paternity and parental relocation cases in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton. You can contact our Miami divorce lawyer online or by calling (800)596-0579 to discuss pretrial and trial process including evaluating, handling and resolving your case.