Dan Markel's murder

Dan Markel, a prominent Florida State University law professor, was shot July 18, 2014, and died the following day.

Shooting details

Markel was shot in the head while sitting in his car in the garage of his Tallahassee, Florida, home.

Shark circling

After leaving the gym, Dan Markel drove home expecting an ordinary day. Instead, his killer was waiting for him.

Phone call with Stewart Schlazer

Markel was talking on the phone with music teacher Stewart Schlazer about school options for his children when he heard an unfamiliar person in his driveway.

Shocking discovery

Markel said, 'Can you please hold on a second? There's an unfamiliar person in my driveway,' before hearing a loud boom.

“Can you please hold on a second? There's an unfamiliar person in my driveway”

Shark circling metaphor

Producer Lily Fletcher described the final hours as 'a shark circling' with 'something so sinister and eerie during such a mundane part of his day.'

“a shark circling”

Custody dispute

Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel's marriage fell apart after two sons, Benjamin and Lincoln, due to their fight over where the children would grow up.

Donna Adelson's anger

Donna Adelson was furious after Wendi's request to move the children to South Florida was denied.

Murder-for-hire plot

Prosecutors argued Donna helped orchestrate Markel's killing after he stood in the way of letting her daughter and two young grandsons move south.

Hitmen network

Charlie Adelson arranged for Markel's killing through his then-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, who connected him to Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera.

Garcia and Rivera

Sigfredo Garcia shot Markel while Luis Rivera drove the getaway car.

Investigation

Over the next decade, investigators used cellphone records, surveillance video, financial records and secretly recorded conversations to build the case.

FBI wiretaps

There are hundreds of wiretapped phone calls of the Adelson family that show how deeply Donna and Charlie involved themselves in Wendi's life.

Donna's conviction

Donna Adelson was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder in 2025.

Consequence

Donna Adelson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and an additional 30 years for the conspiracy and solicitation convictions.