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.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO