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Markel Murder Suspect Granted Six-Month Trial Delay

Sigfredo Garcia, 34, is being held at the Broward County Jail. He's charged with the 2014 murder of FSU Law Professor Dan Markel.
Broward Sheriff's Office

One of the men suspected of murdering a Florida State University law professor will get a six-month delay in his trial.  Sigfredo Garcia’s defense attorneys say the volume of evidence in the case is overwhelming.

Garcia’s defense attorney says the amount of documentation alone is approaching one million. Circuit Judge James Hakinson approved the motion to delay Thursday and is expected to set a new trial date in January.

Garcia is accused of killing FSU Law professor Dan Markel in 2014. The woman prosecutors claim helped orchestrated the crime, Katherine Magbanua, is still awaiting trial. She’s the alleged link between the two men charged with murder in the case, and Markel’s in-laws.  The third co-defendant, Luis Rivera accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying against Garcia and Magbanua.

They are still set to be tried together but the possibility of separate trials has not been ruled out.

Follow @HatterLynn

Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lynn has served as reporter/producer for WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She is an award-winning member of the Capital Press Corps and has participated in the NPR Kaiser Health News Reporting Partnership and NPR Education Initiative. 

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