Lawyer for hitman convicted of murdering FSU criminal law professor in 'murder-for-hire' plot slams his co-conspirator as a 'lying snitch' who lied to the court to save his own skin

The lawyer for the hitman convicted of murdering Florida law professor Dan Markel in 2014 is pointing the finger at one of his co-conspirators, slamming him as a 'lying snitch' who lied in court to save his own skin. 

Markel, a prominent criminal justice scholar at Florida State University, was shot twice in the head in his Tallahassee garage on July 18, 2014 in a shocking murder-for-hire plot.

Prosecutors have implied that his murder was coordinated on behalf of relatives of Markel's ex-wife, Wendi Adelson — though no charges were ever brought against the family. 

In the twisted contract killing Sigfredo Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in November 2019 for shooting Markel.

His childhood friend Luis Rivera testified that he and Garcia were hired for the kill job and drove from South Florida to shoot Markel with Garcia behind the trigger. 

Rivera pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 19-year sentence to run concurrently with a sentence on an unrelated case thanks to his cooperation with prosecutors.   

But Garcia's lawyer Saam Zangeneh argues that Rivera is lying in the case.  

The lawyer for the shooter convicted of murdering a Florida law professor Dan Markel in 2014 says his co-conspirator was behind the brutal killing, but lied in court to land a plea deal

In the twisted contract killing Sigfredo Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in November 2019 for shooting Markel. His childhood friend Luis Rivera testified that he and Garcia were hired for the kill job and drove from South Florida to shoot Markel with Garcia behind the trigger

'Rivera’s story doesn’t add up to me. He rented the car, it was his firearm used to kill Dan Markel,' Zangeneh says in a new Dateline special entitled Tallahassee Trap that will air Thursday

'Rivera’s story doesn’t add up to me. He rented the car, it was his firearm used to kill Dan Markel,' Zangeneh says in an exclusive clip shared with DailyMail.com from a new Dateline special entitled Tallahassee Trap that will air Thursday.  

Zangeneh says Rivera is the only person who told the court that the gun was in Garcia's hand.

Host Dennis Murphy says in the special, 'That’s a bad story to hear in court.'

'Well, it’s a bad person telling a bad story,' Zangeneh replies.

Zangeneh told jurors that Rivera lied to the court to save himself and threw Garcia under the bus.

'The only person who can tell you that Sigfredo Garcia got out of the car and reportedly shot Dan Markel is who? The guy who got the deal of a lifetime,' he said in court, adding that Rivera made up the story to cut down his jail time. 

Zangeneh slammed Rivera as a 'lying snitch' and said he was the sole person who testified that Garcia was the one to fired the deadly shots

Rivera pictured in court. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 19-year sentence to run concurrently with a sentence on an unrelated case thanks to his cooperation with prosecutors

Markel was shot to death after returning home from the gym and dropping off his two young children at day care in the morning.

A witness reported seeing a light colored Prius speed away from the scene and later discovered Markel bleeding, barely alive in his garage. 

The car was later traced to Rivera through a rental agreement. Further investigation led authorities to Garcia and Magbanua. 

Prosecutors argued that Charlie Adelson, Wendi's brother, arranged to pay Magbanua, Garcia and Rivera $100,000 to kill Markel so his sister Wendi could get full custody of her two children. 

Police say the shocking murder-for-hire plot stemmed from Wendi and Markel's bitter divorce. Wendi pictured with their two kids

Markel was shot to death after returning home from the gym and dropping off his two young children at day care in the morning. A witness reported seeing a light colored Prius speed away from the scene and later discovered Markel bleeding, barely alive in his garage

In the case no charges were filed against Markel’s ex-wife or her family, despite a petition demanding they be called to justice. 

Wendi Adelson was not charged in the case, but her brother Charlie and mother Donna were named as 'unindicted conspirators'.

The family has repeatedly denied any connection to the shooting through their lawyers.  

Markel and Wendi went through a bitter divorce in 2013 and she was barred from moving to Miami with their two children so they could maintain 50/50 custody of their kids. 

Katherine Magbanua is accused of being the mediator between the Adelson family and the killers. She is awaiting retrial on murder charges following a mistrial last year

Magbanua was friends with Wendi and dated her brother Charlie Adelson. Magbanua pictured left with Adelson center

A chart prepared by prosecutors shows the web of relationships the murder suspects have with family members of Markel's ex-wife, whom he was engaged in a custody battle with

Wendi moved her kids to her parents’ home in Coral Springs after she filed for divorce in 2012 and Markel took the issue to court. In June 2013 a judge denied Adelson’s motion for the relocation of her children.

Prosecutors say there is e-mail evidence that Donna Adelson suggested her daughter do things to threaten or bully him into letting Wendi and the kids move away including converting the kids to Catholicism despite being Jewish, but it's unclear if she actually did.

Katherine Magbanua is accused of being the mediator between the family and the killers.

She was friends with Wendi and dated her brother Charlie Adelson.

She was also was Garcia’s on and off girlfriend and they share two children together. 

Magbanua is now awaiting retrial on murder charges following an October 2019 mistrial in her original case, which isn’t likely until 2021.   

Dateline’s Tallahassee Trap Airs Thursday, October 1 at 9pm/8pm CT on NBC.