Hulu’s True-Crime Series Explores the Contract Murder of Professor Dan Markel
Hulu released a four-part docuseries that recounts the 2014 contract killing of law professor Dan Markel and the investigation that implicated his former mother-in-law Donna Adelson and former brother-in-law Charlie Adelson.
Hulu’s four-episode true-crime docuseries, directed by Sebastian Smith, investigates the 2014 contract murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. The program outlines the killing in Markel’s Tallahassee driveway and the collapse of his marriage to Wendi Adelson, whose family ran a dental practice in the Miami area. Law-enforcement work eventually linked the gunmen, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, to payments made by former mother-in-law Donna Adelson and former brother-in-law Charlie Adelson.
The series also highlights Katherine Magbanua, who dated Charlie Adelson, and Jeff Lacasse, a former girlfriend of Wendi who later told police about Charlie’s interest in hiring a hit man. While the show offers an in-depth look at the dysfunctional Adelson family, critics note that Markel’s own story receives less emphasis. The review recommends streaming the series for its thorough examination of the family’s role in the murder.
Why it matters
It shows how personal family disputes can lead to a premeditated killing and the complexities of solving such crimes.
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