Markel was murdered in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2014. Investigators believe that he was killed as part of a murder for hire motivated by Markel's divorce from Wendi Adelson, a clinical law professor and child advocate also employed at Florida State University. Adelson was not charged, while her brother and mother were named as "unindicted conspirators." Three individuals have been prosecuted for the killing: Luis Rivera pled guilty to murder, Sigfredo Garcia was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, and Katherine Magbanua awaits retrial on murder charges following a mistrial in her original case.