Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Make a Passover gift and support Jewish journalism. DONATE NOW
Fast Forward

Dan Markel Slain in His Garage — Report Suggests He Knew Killer

Law professor Dan Markel was reportedly shot and killed in the garage of his Florida home — and cops are hunting a silver Toyota Prius seen leaving the scene of the puzzling crime.

The new details were revealed in a heavily-redacted four-page police report obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper.

The edited report said Markel’s keys were found in his own unlocked black Honda, which was in the garage where his body was found. But it did not say what he may have been doing before the slaying.

The report suggests Markel knew his attacker, since there was no sign of forced entry or robbery at his home in the Florida capital.

Markel, 41, was killed with a gunshot to the head on July 18.

Police have been tight-lipped about the crime, but say they are sure he was the “intended victim” of the murder, as opposed to a break-in or random attack.

Investigators did not offer any possible motive for the crime or say if there were any suspects.

His estranged wife, also a law professor, was said to be distraught at the news and cooperating with the investigation.

The Jewish Florida State University College of Law professor was at home when neighbors heard a loud bang Friday morning.

Paramedics rushed the popular professor and scholar to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.