This is the first episode in our new pod studio! Tali's mic was not co-operating until about 8:20 which is right about when the case starts ◡̈

A Harvard law professor. A bitter divorce. A dentist with a Ferrari and a god complex. Two Miami gang members. And a mother-in-law who, the day after her son was convicted of murder, booked a one-way flight to a country with no extradition treaty.

This is the murder of Daniel Markel.

Dan Markel was 41 years old, a tenured law professor at Florida State, a devoted father to two little boys, and one of the most respected criminal law scholars in the country. He spent his career writing about punishment, retribution, and what justice actually looks like.

On July 18, 2014, he was shot twice in the head in his own garage by two Miami gang members who had driven up in a rented Toyota Prius and followed him home from the gym.

It took eleven years, five convictions, and four separate trials to get there. His boys were toddlers when he died. They're teenagers now. Their mother changed their last names.

This episode covers the full story: the Adelson family, the custody war, the chain of connections that linked a periodontist with a Ferrari to a Latin Kings hitman, and the woman in the middle who held it all together. It also covers what happened to the boys, what Ruth and Phil Markel have been fighting for ever since, and why the prosecutor told reporters to "stay tuned."

In this episode:

Who Dan Markel was and why his career in criminal law philosophy makes this story hit differently
The Adelson family: Donna, Harvey, Charlie, and what "enmeshed" actually looks like in practice
The divorce, the custody battle, and the relocation request a judge denied
The motion Dan filed in 2014 to restrict Donna's unsupervised access to his sons
July 18, 2014: what happened, and the 911 dispatch error that has stuck with everyone who covered this case
How investigators built the chain: SunPass records, cell data, a phone call made immediately after the shooting
Katherine Magbanua: the woman who connected the Adelsons to the trigger man
Luis Rivera's confession and the words he remembered: "the lady wants her two kids back"
Four trials, two mistrials, one plea deal, five convictions
Charlie Adelson on the stand in his own defense and why the jury didn't buy it
Donna at Miami International Airport with one-way tickets to Hanoi
Wendi: what we know, what she's said under immunity, and why she hasn't been charged
The Markel Act: Florida legislation passed because of this case
Ruth and Phil Markel, eleven years of trials, and two grandsons who are only now starting to ask about their father

People mentioned:

Dan Markel — victim, law professor, FSU College of Law

Wendi Adelson — Dan's ex-wife, named unindicted co-conspirator, not charged

Charlie Adelson — Wendi's brother, convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation, sentenced to life plus 30 years

Donna Adelson — Wendi's mother, convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation, sentenced to life in prison

Harvey Adelson — Wendi's father, named unindicted co-conspirator, not charged

Katherine Magbanua — convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation, sentenced to life plus two consecutive 30-year terms

Sigfredo Garcia — convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole Luis Rivera — pled guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 19 years

Ruth and Phil Markel — Dan's parents, advocates for grandparent visitation rights

Georgia Cappleman — lead prosecutor