The Adelson Family (Through Their Attorneys) Deny Any Involvement In Dan Markel's Murder

On behalf of the Adelson family, we continue to send our deepest condolences to the Markel family.  Dan's death was a tragedy, and the loss is profound.  Although Wendi and Dan were divorced, he was the father of their two children, who must now grow up without their dad.

There has been a lot of unsupported speculation that the Adelsons had something to do with the murder.  That speculation is categorically false.  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.

We respect the process and the enormous amount of work that the Tallahassee police department has done in this case.  They have spent the past two years reviewing every shred of evidence out there -- every phone record, financial record, text message, email, internet search, everything.  We understand why the government has put the Adelson family through this type of severe scrutiny. But nothing has turned up that supports this fanciful fiction that the Adelsons were involved. The investigation has gone so deep that it employed FBI agents, undercover agents, and a tip line.  There is a reason that the police have not arrested any of the Adelsons – they weren’t involved in Dan’s death.

We are issuing this statement because the media continues to run stories suggesting – without any support or evidence – that the Adelsons were somehow involved in Dan's murder.  Again, this is simply not true.  The Adelsons were not involved. We share in the hope that those responsible will be brought to justice."

On behalf of Wendi, John Lauro.

On behalf of Charlie, David Oscar Markus and Margot Moss of Markus/Moss and Michael Weinstein.

On behalf of Donna and Harvey, Daniel Rashbaum and Jeffrey Neiman of Marcus, Neiman and Rashbaum.

• ABC News, Ex-Wife of Slain Florida Law Professor Denies Role in Death
• Above the Law, The Dan Markel Murder Case: The Adelson Family Speaks
• NBC News, Ex-Wife of FSU Law Professor and Her Family Issue Statement Denying Any Role in His Murder
• Tallahassee Democrat, Adelsons: Markel Accusations 'Fanciful Fiction'

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Man Arrested In Murder Of Dan Markel (May 26, 2016)
• Dan Markel Killing Investigated As Murder for Hire, 5-6 More Arrests Expected (May 26, 2016)
• Update On Murder-For-Hire Investigation Into Dan Markel's Death (May 31, 2016)
• Police: Dan Markel Was Killed In Murder-For-Hire Plot Orchestrated By Ex-Wife's Brother (June 2, 2016)
• Anatomy Of The Hit On Dan Markel (June 4, 2016)
• Update On Murder-For-Hire Investigation Into Dan Markel's Death (June 6, 2016)
• Wendi Adelson Discusses Her Ex-Husband Dan Markel's Murder: Transcript And Commentary (June 8, 2016)
• Dan Markel's Law Prof Colleagues Finger Ex-Wife's Family In Murder-For-Hire Killing (June 10, 2016)
• Update On Murder-For-Hire Investigation Into Dan Markel's Death (June 13, 2016)
• Grand Jury Indicts Two Hit Men In Dan Markel's Murder, State Attorney Expects More Indictments; Girlfriend Of Ex-Brother-in-Law Denies Ex-Wife's Family's Involvement (June 18, 2016)
• Update On Murder-For-Hire Investigation Into Dan Markel's Death: In Defense Of Charlie Adelson (June 21, 2016)
• Update On Murder-For-Hire Investigation Into Dan Markel's Death: Hit Men Thwarted In Previous Attempt To Kill FSU Law Prof (June 27, 2016)
• Update On Murder-For-Hire Investigation Into Dan Markel's Death: Charlie Adelson Denies 'Any Involvement'(July 3, 2016)
• Lawyer Denies Adelson Family's Involvement In Dan Markel's Murder, Fingers Florida State Law Students, PrawfsBlawg Readers As Possible Suspects (July 18, 2016)
• State Outlines Evidence, Witnesses In Markel Murder Case (July 28, 2016)
• Documents Reveal Wendi Adelson's Odd Behavior After Murder Of Dan Markel (Aug. 2, 2016)