Judge allows secret recording in Adelson murder trial that helped convict Magbanua

The judge presiding over the Charlie Adelson case ruled that a secretly recorded conversation between him and a former girlfriend already convicted in the murder plot to kill law professor Dan Markel can come into evidence in his upcoming murder trial.

Leon Circuit Judge Stephen Everett sided with prosecutors on that issue during a hearing Monday at the County Courthouse. However, he granted a defense request to bar jurors from seeing a transcript of the FBI recording.

The rulings were not exactly a surprise. During the 2022 murder trial of Katherine Magbanua, who dated Adelson and was on the payroll of his dental office, Leon Circuit Judge Robert Wheeler allowed the recording in but not the transcript.

The recording proved powerful evidence for the jury, which found Magbanua guilty for murder and other crimes. The conversation, which occurred in 2016 at the Dolce Vita restaurant in Miami, happened not long after an FBI agent posing as a blackmailer approached Adelson’s mother, Donna Adelson, in an operation dubbed “the bump” that was designed to get suspects talking.

At the restaurant, Charlie Adelson, who attended Monday's hearing, told Magbanua that the suspected agent who went up to his mom was either a blackmailer or a cop. The man gave her a newspaper article about Markel with $5,000 written on it and a phone number to call.

See the evidence: Dan Markel murder: Read the transcript and watch the video that prompted charges against Charlie Adelson

During the recording, Adelson allegedly suggested making a one-time “charity” payment to the so-called blackmailer or, as prosecutors said in the 2022 trial, killing him.

Daniel Rashbaum, a Miami attorney representing Charlie Adelson, argued that the recording shouldn’t be allowed in because one side of the conversation — what Magbanua’s said — was largely inaudible.

“You’re hearing half a conversation here,” Rashbaum said.

However, Assistant State Attorney Rachel Jankowski said that the audio, which was clarified by sound experts, was in fact audible.

“After Ms. Magbanua’s trial, jurors ... actually approached the state and told us that not only was it audible, but it was compelling evidence," Jankowski said.

Everett said he would allow the recording, including a comment that Adelson made early in the conversation that “If they had any evidence here, we’d be at the airport.” Adelson's lawyers argued that comment was prejudicial.

“I am going to permit the recording to be played for the jurors,” Everett said. “I do agree with the state — context can be derived from the portion that is audible.”

Markel, a law professor at Florida State University, was shot at close range and killed in his Betton Hills garage in 2014 in a professional hit that prosecutors say Charlie Adelson arranged. The murder happened amid a bitter custody battle between his sister, Wendi Adelson, and Markel over their two sons.

The Adelson family has long denied involvement. The hit men, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, along with Magbanua, were earlier convicted in his murder.

FSU professor Dan Markel's killing: Everything to know about the murder-for-hire case

Over the objections of the defense, Everett also ruled Monday that voluminous court filings in the divorce can come in that either show a motive for Charlie Adelson or a "multi-tiered motive" among members of the family.

"Those can be presented as evidence of motive," the judge said.

However, Everett said he was leaning toward excluding a statement that Donna Adelson made shortly after the bump that she thought Dan Markel was "haunting (her) from the grave." He indicated he would rule on that and other evidence the defense is seeking to keep out later.

Everett also ruled against a defense request to use a questionnaire during jury selection to see whether potential jurors have knowledge or opinions about the case. Kathryn Meyers, co-counsel for the defense, said she was "very concerned" that intense media coverage "may have provisioned the jury pool." Everett said the court would conduct individual jury selection instead.

In other developments, a hearing on a state motion to hold Charlie Adelson’s parents, Donna and Harvey Adelson, in contempt of court was rescheduled for Thursday. Prosecutors last week said the couple failed to comply with an investigative subpoena to appear for an interview.

Donna and Harvey Adelson’s lawyer, Marissel Descalzo of Miami, signaled in court filings that they would assert their 5th Amendment rights at any interview. Descalzo, in a subsequent motion, said that the interview had been rescheduled for Oct. 17 in case the court compels their testimony. The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 23. The Tallahassee Democrat will livestream the trial on its YouTube and Facebook pages.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Dan Markel murder: Judge allows Dolce Vita recording in Charlie Adelson trial