Dan Markel murder: Charlie Adelson taking the stand in his own defense | LIVESTREAM
Charlie Adelson, the South Florida dentist, accused of orchestrating one of Tallahassee’s most shocking crimes — the murder-for-hire killing of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel — will take the stand in his own defense.
"I will testify," Adelson said after the judge swore him in and told him that if he chose not to testify, that wouldn't be held against him.
He will begin his testimony Thursday morning. Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed that they would start the day fresh with his testimony in the morning.
Charlie Adelson, who prosecutors say hired the hitmen, faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation for allegedly hiring the two hit men from Miami who stalked and killed Markel, his former brother-in-law, nearly a decade ago. Those two people, one a Latin Kings gang leader, the other his best friend, along with the woman who connected them to Adelson, have already been convicted and sent to prison in his murder.
But until now, no one suspected of masterminding the crime has ever faced a jury — a moment Markel’s still-grieving family and their supporters have long anticipated. It marks the fourth prosecution and the third trial since Markel’s death the morning of July 18, 2014.
His attorneys alluded to the possibility that he may testify in recent court hearings and their opening statement. Legal observers expected he could be forced to testify, a peril for any defendant, given the secretly recorded conversation between him and Magbanua at the Dolce Vita restaurant in Miami Beach — the state’s closest thing to a smoking gun.
Follow along live: State rests after five days of witness testimony in the trial of Charlie Adelson | LIVE
FSU professor Dan Markel's killing: Everything to know about the murder-for-hire case
Who is Charlie Adelson?
Wendi Adelson's brother Charles was a periodontist at the Adelson Institute in Fort Lauderdale, a dentistry practice he shared with his father. Emails uncovered in the investigation showed that Charlie Adelson didn't like his ex-brother-in-law.
The day after Markel was shot, Wendi Adelson admitted that Charlie had joked that buying her a TV was cheaper than hiring a hitman. A former boyfriend of Adelson, Jeffrey Lacasse, told investigators that Charlie Adelson had "looked into" hiring a hitman for $15,000 in the summer of 2013.
According to prosecutors, he found one through his girlfriend at the time Katherine Magbanua.
The lawyers for Adelson told jurors during opening statements Thursday that he was innocent — and instead pointed the finger at his ex-girlfriend and her associates for the 2014 murder of Dan Markel.
His attorney's theory of the case involves an elaborate extortion scheme.
He told jurors that Magbanua was the murder plot "mastermind," who told Charlie Adelson shortly after the murder that people she knew had done it, and that he would have to pay them or they would kill someone in his family. The hitmen and Magbanua split $100,000 the day after the murder, which prosecutors said came from Charlie Adelson in stapled-together $100 bills.
Chronicling the case:
Pre-trial: What we learned from jury selection
Walkthrough of witnesses: Those making the case for, against Charlie Adelson
Case primer: Everything to know about the murder-for-hire case
Day 1 opening statements: Defense says ex-girlfriend was murder 'mastermind'
Day 1 testimony: Wendi Adelson says she was surprised to learn Charlie knew Dan Markel's murderer all along
Day 2: Charlie Adelson murder trial sees twists, turns as his sister and a hit man testify
Day 3: Magbanua flips: Web of lies and phone records dominate Day 3 of Charlie Adelson trial
Day 4:Enter the FBI: Surveillance, wiretaps and phone records dominate Day 4 of Adelson trial
Day 5:State rests after five days of witness testimony | LIVE
Charlie Adelson trial
GAVEL-TO-GAVEL COVERAGE: The Tallahassee Democrat will livestream each day of the trial of Charlie Adelson from the courthouse in Tallahassee. Watch on Tallahassee.com and the Tallahassee Democrat's Facebook and YouTube pages. For best viewing experience: Download the Tallahassee Democrat app to watch and receive text alerts on when to watch – from opening arguments to the verdict.
Contributing: C. A. Bridges, Karl Etters, Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat and USA TODAY Network
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: WATCH LIVE: Charlie Adelson taking the stand in his own defense
