Paul L. Caron
Dean





Monday, April 27, 2020

Lawyer For Hit Man In Dan Markel Murder Case: 'Detectives Were Stationed Outside The Adelsons’ Homes, Ready To Make Arrests'

FloridaPolitics.com, Lawyer in Dan Markel Case Hints Major Developments, Vowing Quest For Justice, Legislative Efforts Into Next Session:

Markel SuspectsFor those following the Dan Markel murder case, it’s been a long winter. ...

Of the three conspirators arrested for his murder so far, one pleaded guilty, one was convicted of first-degree murder, and one will face a retrial after the threat of COVID-19 abates and courts reopen.

But it’s been nearly six years since his July 2014 murder, and at least three members of the Adelson family — suspected of planning and orchestrating his murder — have yet to be arrested.

According to Saam Zangeneh, lawyer of convicted hit man Sigfredo Garcia, however, there may be more happening behind the scenes than we know.

Zangeneh gave a live interview Monday afternoon with the Law & Crime network on Facebook and YouTube, in which he was asked a series of questions relating to the Adelson family.

When asked to sum up his view of Wendi Adelson’s testimony, Zangeneh said that Adelson’s pattern of “not remembering” and deflecting questions under oath was equivalent to an Academy Award performance.

But the one thing he wagers was Adelson’s “biggest lie” is that “she wasn’t involved or that she didn’t know about the murder plot in advance.” ...

Zangeneh said a “little birdie” shared that detectives were already stationed outside the Adelsons’ homes, ready to make arrests, had the state secured two convictions, instead of one conviction and a mistrial.

These assertions — from a party so close to the case who has seen mountains of evidence not yet made available to the public — breathe some hope into the possibility that authorities are not satisfied with only partially solving this tragic case, and will continue to seek justice.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2020/04/lawyer-for-hit-man-in-dan-markel-murder-case-detectives-were-stationed-outside-the-adelsons-homes-re.html

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Comments

AndyBan,

We never heard from Garcia at the trial. We heard from the other killer, but he was never in close contact with Magbanua or the Adelsons. Garcia would know much more about which of the Adelsons were involved, and he very likely told everything to his attorney under privilege.

Posted by: JM | Apr 29, 2020 5:14:18 PM

Potentially, a lot, especially evidence that’s only relevant to the family, not the current defendant.

Posted by: Bull Johnson | Apr 29, 2020 4:49:01 PM

I'm not a lawyer but follow the case and feel curious by these comments ... how much evidence would Garcia's lawyer REALLY have gotten to see beyond what the public heard during trial anyway?

Posted by: AndyBan | Apr 28, 2020 5:19:58 AM

It is my opinion that she played this as flawlessly as she could, had everyone's number, and played them like a fiddle. Planned to a T. Heck, it was the third attempt, and you know what they say about the third time. SZ has dropped the gauntlet publicly, and in my view, there isn't a decent place to hide now, six years later. What I am saying is, it's time to let the sunlight in and disinfect this tragedy. I'm sorry that it's an upsetting outcome. The heart is a poor judge.
#JusticeforDan

Posted by: JFD | Apr 27, 2020 1:41:51 PM

AnonLawProf - The "impossible" narratives always read like willful ignorance (at best) to me. I question why so many otherwise intuitive professionals towed that line. I'd wager one should trust the lawyer who saw all the protected evidence, read all the jailhouse transcripts, and followed his client's orders to not malign the co-defendant despite her doing so to him. Must have frustrated the heck out of him to hold back til now ...

Posted by: Ghibercz | Apr 27, 2020 11:47:09 AM

There have been so many comments here and on Turley's website arguing that this is impossible. Who to believe, a bunch of law profs who have never seen the evidence, or the lawyer for the guy who pulled the trigger?

Posted by: AnonLawProf | Apr 27, 2020 9:17:27 AM

Attorney Zangeneh has likely heard the whole story from his client, Garcia, so, for me personally, these statements carry a lot of weight.

Posted by: JM | Apr 27, 2020 6:56:02 AM