Katherine Magbanua’s Age: Timeline, Sentence, and Appeal

Katherine “Katie” Magbanua’s age places her birth year around 1984 or 1985: she was 31 when she was arrested in October 2016 and 37 when she was sentenced in July 2022 for her role in the 2014 murder-for-hire of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. She is now serving life in prison plus 60 years in Florida.

Her Age at Each Point in the Case

The public record fixes Magbanua’s age at two moments, and the rest of the timeline follows from them.

She was 31 years old when Broward County authorities arrested her on October 1, 2016, in Davie, Florida. News reports at the time described her as a single mother of two.1ABC News. Suspect Arrested in 2014 Murder of Florida Professor Dan Markel

She was 37 when Leon County Circuit Judge Robert Wheeler sentenced her on July 29, 2022.2WTXL. Katherine Magbanua Sentenced to Life in Prison

Working backward from those two anchors, her age at the other events in the case lines up like this:

The research file does not give an exact date of birth, so her precise age in any given month depends on which side of her birthday the event falls.

Who She Is in the Markel Case

Magbanua’s age matters mainly because she sat at the center of a conspiracy that reached from South Florida to Tallahassee. She was the mother of two children with Sigfredo Garcia, one of the two gunmen hired to kill Dan Markel, and she was simultaneously in a romantic relationship with Charlie Adelson, the brother of Markel’s ex-wife Wendi Adelson.8Above the Law. The Dan Markel Case: Katherine Magbanua Arrested and Charged With Murder

Prosecutors described her as the “go-between” who connected the Adelson family’s money and motive to the men willing to carry out the killing.5WLRN. Magbanua Is Sentenced to Life as Adelson Seeks Freedom Before His Trial Markel, a 41-year-old Florida State University law professor, was shot twice in the head at point-blank range on July 18, 2014, in the garage of his Tallahassee home, moments after returning from dropping his two young sons at preschool. He died the next day. He had been fighting a bitter custody dispute with Wendi Adelson, whose family wanted the children relocated to South Florida.9Tallahassee Democrat. Dan Markel Murder-for-Hire: Charlie Adelson Guilty

At Donna Adelson’s 2025 trial, Magbanua described the chain of communication: Donna spoke with Charlie, Charlie spoke with her, and she passed instructions and payments to Garcia.10WTXL. Katherine Magbanua Testifies in Donna Adelson Trial Financial records showed that between the murder and April 2016, Magbanua received 44 checks from the Adelson family dental practice despite not working there, all signed by Donna Adelson.11CNN. Donna Adelson Murder Trial Witnesses

Trial, Mistrial, and Retrial

Magbanua was first tried alongside Sigfredo Garcia in October 2019. After roughly ten hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Garcia of first-degree murder and conspiracy but could not agree on Magbanua, and the court declared a mistrial on October 11, 2019. Co-defendant Luis Rivera had already taken a plea and testified against both of them.4WCTV. Mistrial Declared in Case of Katherine Magbanua

Her retrial came in May 2022. By then, prosecutors had an enhanced version of a 41-minute FBI recording made at Miami Beach’s Dolce Vita restaurant on April 20, 2016, that captured Magbanua and Charlie Adelson discussing the investigation after an undercover agent approached Donna Adelson on the street. Audio forensics expert James Keith McElveen cleaned up the recording in 2022, allowing jurors to hear Adelson’s statements for the first time.12WLRN. An Enhanced Audio Recording Led to the Arrest of Charlie Adelson The jury convicted Magbanua on all three counts: first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder.5WLRN. Magbanua Is Sentenced to Life as Adelson Seeks Freedom Before His Trial

Her Sentence

On July 29, 2022, Judge Robert Wheeler sentenced the then-37-year-old Magbanua to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, plus two consecutive 30-year sentences for conspiracy and solicitation. The total is life plus 60 years.2WTXL. Katherine Magbanua Sentenced to Life in Prison

Her defense attorney Tara Kawass told the court that Magbanua “does think about Dan Markel every single day” and “wants each and every person who had a hand in this to be brought to justice.”13WCTV. Magbanua Sentencing Hearing Markel’s parents, Ruth and Phil Markel, called the sentencing “another important step toward accountability and justice.”2WTXL. Katherine Magbanua Sentenced to Life in Prison

Appeal and Current Status

Magbanua appealed on three grounds, all tied to the trial court’s handling of Wendi Adelson’s Fifth Amendment invocation. On July 2, 2025, a three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed her convictions. Judge L. Clayton Roberts wrote the opinion, joined by Judges Ross L. Bilbrey and M. Kemmerly Thomas, concluding that Magbanua “has not demonstrated prejudicial error.” The mandate issued on July 30, 2025.6Tallahassee Democrat. Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Katie Magbanua in Dan Markel Murder14Florida Courts ACIS Portal. Case Number 1D2022-2733

In August 2025, Magbanua was moved from state prison to the Leon County Jail to testify at Donna Adelson’s trial. On August 26, 2025, she took the stand and called herself the “liaison for the shooters.”7WCTV. Legal Analyst Explains Importance of Katherine Magbanua Testimony in Donna Adelson Murder Trial On cross-examination she acknowledged that she had lied under oath in previous proceedings connected to Markel’s death.15Court TV. Katherine Magbanua Donna Adelson was convicted on September 4, 2025, and sentenced on October 13, 2025, to life plus 30 years.16WCTV. Donna Adelson Sentenced to Life in Prison for Dan Markel’s Murder