Man Arrested in Connection With 2014 Murder of Beloved FSU Law Professor
The probable cause has been sealed, Tallahassee police say.
— -- A man has been arrested for the 2014 murder of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel, the Tallahassee Police Department said today, but the probable cause for the case has been sealed.
On July 18, 2014, Markel died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to a statement by police.
On Wednesday, more than a year and a half after the murder, Tallahassee police arrested Sigfredo Garcia, 34, in connection with the case. Garcia was taken into custody by the Hallandale Beach Police Department in Broward County, Florida, Tallahassee police said.
"The murder of Professor Markel struck a deep chord within this community that resonated around the country," Police Chief Michael DeLeo said during a news conference today.
DeLeo added that the investigation is ongoing and the probable cause for this case has been sealed by a judge, and that the police department was not able to provide any more details on the case at this time.
Police declined to answer questions about whether Garcia knew Markel, whether more arrests would be made, or what the possible motive for the murder could have been. He was arrested on a homicide warrant but it was unclear what the charges are against him.
Garcia appeared in court this morning and declined a public defender, according to local ABC affiliate WTXL, saying he had a lawyer but could not remember the name, and that he had the lawyer's business card in his wallet, which was confiscated. It was unclear if Garcia entered a plea.
Markel, a Harvard grad, was a beloved law professor at Florida State University and father to two young sons, according to a memoriam posted by the university.
"Professor Markel’s contributions to the law and broader community were pervasive and lasting. He will be deeply missed but his memory will live on in the College of Law community," the memoriam reads.
The mystery of the professor’s death has baffled the Tallahassee community for almost two years. According to a report of the 911 call released by the Tallahassee Police Department, Markel was found by a neighbor in his garage, in his vehicle with the driver's side window bashed open. The neighbor said he heard a loud bang and that Markel was bleeding but still moving.