What to Know
- The new trial date will come on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel's killing.
Two defendants charged in the murder-for-hire slaying of a Florida State University professor with connections to South Florida won't go to trial until next summer.
A circuit judge this week scheduled the trials of Sigfredo Garica and Katherine Magbanua for June 2019.
The trial had been scheduled to start this fall, but it was postponed because one of Magbanua's attorneys had medical problems.
The new trial date will come on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel's killing.
Garcia is accused of gunning Markel down in his garage while Magbanua is accused of helping to orchestrate the murder-for-hire plot that led to the killing of the Toronto native.
Both Garcia and Magbanua have pleaded not guilty.
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Police say the killing was sparked by a bitter divorce and family squabbles.
Magbanua at one time had a romantic relationship with Charles Adelson, the brother of Markel's ex Wendi Adelson and whose family runs a successful dental practice in Broward County.
Wendi Adelson and Markel divorced in 2013, but before it was finalized, the two fought over Wendi Adelson's push to move her two small children from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to her family, court records show.
At the time of Markel's death, the two were battling over money. Markel also complained that his mother-in-law, Donna Adelson, was disparaging him and wanted the court to prohibit her from having unsupervised visits with his children, who were living with him.
