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No Bond for Markel Murder Suspect

Broward County Sheriff's Office

The South Florida woman accused of being the go-between in the alleged murder-for-hire of a Florida State University professor almost two years ago will not be getting out of jail before her trial.

Today (12/9) a Leon Circuit Judge turned down Katie Magbanua’s bail request. Magbanua’s lawyers claimed there wasn’t sufficient evidence to hold their client on murder charges. So prosecutors spent most of Friday presenting evidence. Much of it from Tallahassee Police Investigator Craig Isom. He said Sigredo Garcia, one of the accused hit men and father of Magbanua’s two children, made a critical phone call right after the April, 2014 murder of Professor Daniel Markel in Tallahassee’s posh Betton Hills neighborhood.

“Garcia contacted Magbanua and the conversation was, ‘It’s done.’”, he told the court during Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman’s questioning.

Isom said Magbaunua was also connected to Charlie Adelson, the brother of Markel’s wife Wendi who planned to move back to South Florida with the couple’s children.

“We also learned that Charlie Adelson had a relationship with Katherine Magbaunua,” he testified.

Plus, Magbauna’s bank account grew significantly and mysteriously after the murder. Circuit Judge Charles Hankinson turned down the bail request. Magbanua’s murder trial is set for February.

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Tom Flanigan has been with WFSU News since 2006, focusing on covering local personalities, issues, and organizations. He began his broadcast career more than 30 years before that and covered news for several radio stations in Florida, Texas, and his home state of Maryland.

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