The killing of Dan Markel (right) is the subject of a new Wondery podcast titled "Over My Dead Body." (The Markel Family)
Phil Markel is hoping his participation in a podcast covering the shocking death of his son will help bring him closer to his grandchildren.
The heartbroken patriarch recently came forward in Wondery’s “Over My Dead Body,” which chronicles the senseless shooting of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel.
People magazine previously reported Dan, 41, died after he was shot point-blank in the head execution-style while parked in his Honda Accord in the garage of his suburban Tallahassee, Fla., home on July 2014.
Police questioned Dan’s ex-wife, attorney Wendi Adelson, as the couple emerged from a tumultuous divorce. But Adelson was soon released.
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More than two years after the slaying, police charged Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera with first-degree murder. The mother of Garcia’s two children, Katherine Magbanua, was also eventually charged with first-degree murder, the magazine reported.
Dan Markel (The Markel Family)
For the six-episode series, those who knew Dan and Adelson well came forward to examine the life and sudden death of the father of two.
An attorney for Adelson’s brother, Charlie Adelson, who allegedly was involved in a personal relationship with Magbanua, told Fox News “no comment” about “Over My Dead Body.” An attorney for Adelson did not respond to Fox News’ requests for comment concerning the podcast or claims that the Markels have lost contact with Dan’s children. A rep for Wondery also told Fox News Adelson is aware of the podcast and was approached, but declined to be interviewed on tape.
Markel claimed it’s been over two years since he last heard from his grandchildren.
“We are devastated by this,” Markel told Fox News. “To us, to the Markel family, the word family has been a very, very important part of our relationships. And not to have two grandchildren… is very, very hurtful and it’s just unbelievable… Hopefully, they’ll contact us, or we’ll be able to contact them. We want them to know that they’re part of our family… We want them to know that we love them and we miss them.”
(The Markel Family)
“It’s so hard to have them removed from us and to not be allowed to see them,” added Dan’s sister Shelly Markel. “We worry that they also don’t have a great understanding of who their father is and what an amazing person he was and more than anything, how much he loved them and how much they meant to him… Danny’s love for his children was so strong… We want them to know about him and his love for them.”
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According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Dan’s parents contacted investigators in September 2015 to notify them that Adelson had changed the children’s last names and removed her older son’s middle name, which was the Hebrew name of Dan’s maternal grandmother. The police report stated the Markel family was “deeply troubled” by this action and believed it was done by Adelson to “sever any connection to the Markel family.”
“For the first couple years after Danny’s murder, we did see [the children] and speak to them,” explained Shelly. “We were in contact…. We all visited them. Once the arrests were made in the case, all contact was ended. We continued to try. We sent cards, emails, gifts. We asked to Skype with them. We asked to see them when we’re down in Florida. Our requests are either ignored… or denied.”
Markel admitted there’s not a day that goes by when he doesn’t think about the beloved son he lost or the two grandchildren that seemingly vanished from his life.
(The Markel Family)
“Dan was a fantastic kid, a great son, a great brother,” said Markel. “He was very energetic. He was an active and inquisitive kid. He was always very, very determined. He set goals for himself… Danny would never greet people with just a handshake or hello. It’s always a big hug…. He was just an outpouring of warmth and love to everybody. And family meant everything to him.”
“He was so loving to his children, they meant the world to him,” shared Shelly. “They were such an important part of his life and he just dedicated himself to them. He was so proud of them.”
A Tallahassee Police Department affidavit said Dan’s death came after a 2013 contentious divorce from Adelson, a lawyer who lives in Miami Beach and works for a federal judge.
According to court records, there was a battle between the former couple over Adelson’s desire to move to South Florida with their children so they could be closer to her family. There were also disagreements over money Dan was supposed to pay Adelson and whether his mother-in-law could have unsupervised visits with the children.
Markel said every marriage has their share of woes, but his son’s brutal killing was a horrific tragedy no one had anticipated.
In August 2016, attorneys for Wendi Adelson (pictured) and several family members said in a statement that speculation they had a role in Dan’s death is “categorically false." (YouTube/Democracy Lives in Miami)
“It’s totally against Mother Nature,” he said. “Parents are supposed to die before children. I was away for the weekend and then I got the news. I went into shock. I just thought it couldn’t be, that it was a mistake. Mistaken identity. How do you describe that? It’s just awful.”
Police said Garcia and Rivera traveled from South Florida to Tallahassee to kill Dan, who was shot in broad daylight. Since the killing, Rivera was convicted of unrelated federal racketeering charges stemming from his leadership role in the Latin Kings street gang and was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
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Luis Rivera (left) and Sigfredo Garcia. (Federal Bureau of Prisons/Broward County Sheriff's Office)
In August 2016, attorneys for Adelson and several family members said in a statement that speculation they had a role in Dan’s death is “categorically false." Authorities have previously said there may have been a possible link between Markel’s slaying and the couple’s contentious divorce.
“To be clear, none of the Adelsons — Wendi, her brother Charlie, or their parents Donna and Harvey — had anything to do with Dan’s murder," said the statement emailed to The Associated Press.
(The Markel Family)
The statement also indicated that the Adelson family fully intended Dan to remain a presence in the children’s lives and that there was no ill will toward them.
“Dan’s death was a tragedy, and the loss is profound,” said the statement, adding the family has been subjected to an intense investigation over the past two years — including FBI involvement — that went over phone and computer records, emails, financial documents and text messages.
Both Markel and Shelly said they felt the telling of Dan’s story in “Over My Dead Body” was fair and took no sides. The pair also shared they had faith in justice finally being served.
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WCTV reported in November 2018 Garcia and Magbanua are set to stand trial in June 2019. Rivera is expected to testify against them during the trial.
Katherine Magbanua (Broward County Sheriff's Office)
“I would say that we have faith in the justice system,” said Shelly. “There’s a trial upcoming and we pray and hope every day that the justice system will do its work, the investigators will have done their work and will do their work so that the case will get resolved and all those that have perpetrated the crimes will be brought to justice… We hope [the case] will be resolved the right way with the justice system working its course.”
Markel and Shelly said they do hope “Over My Dead Body” will keep Dan’s memory alive, but also raise awareness in their love and willingness to be reunited with his children.
(The Markel Family)
“We desperately want to see the children,” said Markel. “We desperately want to have contact with them. We want them to know that there is a Markel family that they are a part of… They had a father who loved them dearly, tremendously…. Even as a law professor, he made a special effort every day to spend lots of time with them. I don’t know what they remember. I don’t know what they will remember. We just hope and pray there is another way of communicating with them.”
“We want them to know of his amazing legacy,” added Shelly. “And they were his world… We want to keep him alive in our memories.”
All episodes of "Over My Dead Body" can be heard here. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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