Ruth Markel wins Victim/Survivor of the Year Award, for ‘kind,’ firm’ advocacy, passage of Markel Act & more

Nearly nine years after FSU law professor Dan Markel was murdered in his home by hitmen allegedly hired by his ex-wife and her family, Dan’s mother was recognized for her advocacy and actions since that terrible day.

On Monday, Ruth Markel was presented with the 2023 Agnes Furey Victim/Survivor of the Year Award, nominated by Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman, and Helene Potlock, the Victim Assistance Program Director for this judicial circuit.

The award’s namesake, Agnes Furey, was a victim of domestic violence and had also lost a child to murder — her daughter and grandson were killed in 1998 by her daughter’s boyfriend. The Big Bend Victim Assistance Coalition created the award to honor Furey’s efforts in the community, particularly relating to criminal justice.

Furey’s advocacy for “restorative justice” may be a topic familiar to the Markel family — Dan’s legal scholarship had focused deeply on this concept in addition to his formative research on retributive justice.

Both Furey and Ruth Markel found ways to use their personal tragedies to help others. And in Ruth’s case, the challenge of lengthy waits between arrests and trials has contributed to her resolve.

“Ruth epitomizes the idea that we must find a way to generate something positive out of enormous personal tragedy,” said Cappleman, “Ruth’s fierce advocacy for access to her beloved grandsons and her sheer determination to see all her son’s killers held accountable is an inspiration to us all.”

Indeed, some of those responsible for Dan’s murder have yet to be brought to justice.

“The community was shocked and outraged at the brazenness of this terrible crime. And the investigation into the players behind Dan Markel’s murder continues to this day. It was immediately apparent to investigators that Dan’s ex-wife and former in-laws had a strong motive to want him dead,” read Cappleman and Potlocks’s nomination. “However, two long years passed before any arrests were made in this case. During that time, Ruth was in constant communication with the law enforcement officers assigned to the case offering information, ideas and applying pressure to make sure that they were leaving no stone unturned in the search for her son’s killers.”

The “strong motive” to want Dan out of the picture related at least in part to his ex-wife Wendi Adelson’s desire to move from Tallahassee to Miami with their two young sons, Benjamin and Lincoln — a move opposed by Dan and decisively denied by the court.

Other financial motives notwithstanding, it was a relocation that Wendi and her family sought. But fatherhood was Dan’s life’s calling and he wouldn’t agree to be separated by distance from his children.

That very experience of separation, however, became the Markel family’s next heartbreak. Immediately after the first set of arrests were made in 2016 and Wendi’s family was publicly implicated in the crime, Wendi cut ties between the Markels and their grandsons.

“The tragedy for the Markels was compounded when Dan’s ex-wife suddenly cut off all contact between Dan’s two sons and the Markel family, and Ruth suddenly found herself not only the mother of a murdered child, but now without access to phone calls, visits or video chats with her beloved grandchildren. And there was nothing that she could do about it,” the nomination explained. “Ruth tried to appeal to her former daughter-in-law directly, and through attorneys, with no success. Friends of Dan’s, in a loosely knit community called Justice for Dan, initiated a public petition, imploring the boys’ mother to allow the Markels back in, but that didn’t work either. Ruth carefully collected all the information she could about Florida law and set out to find people who could help her change it.”

One of those people was Karen Cyphers, a friend of Dan’s with experience in Florida’s political process. She connected Ruth with lobbyists Jeff Johnston and Amanda Stewart, family law experts including Diana Cohn, and others representing allied organizations, and together they set out to change how Florida law treats grandparents in profoundly troubling cases such as these.

It took three years, and multiple iterations of bill drafts, but the “Markel Act” as it became known, won the support of former House Speaker Chris Sprowls in 2022, and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that year.

“The bill opened up access to courts for Florida grandparents, providing new opportunities for them to petition for visitation. Specifically, grandparents are now allowed to petition courts if the child’s living parent had been found responsible for the deceased parent’s death by a criminal or a civil court,” Cappleman and Potlock wrote in the nomination. “While this provision doesn’t apply to Ruth’s situation exactly, it creates a strong disincentive for a parent to withhold contact between children and grandparents unless they want to invite civil action. In fact, just hours after the Florida Senate passed the Markel Act, Ruth received an invitation to a visit with her grandchildren. It would be the first visit in six years, with more visits to follow.”

But the impact of the law extends well past this one family, and the nomination submission continued:

“The Markel Act has touched numerous others, opening doors for grieving families who want nothing more than to remain connected to one another. It took Ruth’s leadership, courage, networking and grit to transform her tragedy into something meaningful and helpful to others. Ruth Markel is the ultimate example of the purpose for which this award was created.”

To date, four conspirators have been arrested for their role in Dan’s murder. The three who were hired to carry out the act have all been convicted — two now cooperating with authorities, and Wendi’s brother Charlie Adelson was arrested one year ago, nearly to the day, and awaits trial.

Charlie had been the subject of extensive wiretapping, with some recordings suggesting mounting tensions but also extraordinary closeness between members of his family, including Wendi, who was named with her mother Donna as co-conspirators to the killing.

Ruth’s work as an advocate also relates to educating others about how to navigate life as a “victim/survivor.” She authored a book in 2022, “The Unveiling: A Mother’s Reflection on Murder, Grief, and Trial Life” — sharing her story and offering a framework for others to understand the challenges of patience and reward as the wheels of justice grind, slowly but effectively.

“This is a great honor, and it is not mine alone. I share it with our network of allies who have put so much heart and energy into supporting this pursuit of justice. The award was granted as a recognition of our collective efforts, including our communications with law enforcement, petition drives and legislative advocacy which resulted in the passage of the Markel Act on grandparent visitation,” Ruth shared. “My family and I are grateful to all who have joined us along the way, with a special thanks to Georgia Cappleman and Helene Potlock in the State Attorney’s Office for the nomination and their unwavering support.”