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Who is Sigfredo Garcia & Where is He Now? 2025 Update & Background

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Sigfredo Garcia was a Miami-area resident with a criminal background long before he became known nationally for his role in the 2014 killing of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. Known to authorities for gang-related ties and violent behavior, Garcia had fathered two children with Katherine Magbanua, the woman who would later serve as the middle link between the killers and the Adelson family.

Garcia had maintained a relationship — both personal and financial — with Magbanua even after their romantic involvement ended. Through her connection to Charles Adelson, Garcia was brought into a murder-for-hire scheme that prosecutors would later argue was designed to eliminate Markel as an obstacle in a bitter family custody battle.

The Murder of Dan Markel

On July 18, 2014, Dan Markel was shot twice in the head while sitting in his car in his Tallahassee driveway. Surveillance footage, phone records, and toll booth data showed Garcia and his longtime friend Luis Rivera had traveled from Miami to Tallahassee in a rented Toyota Prius. The two stayed in local motels and stalked Markel in the hours before the killing.

Garcia was believed to be the triggerman, pulling the trigger as Markel sat helplessly in his vehicle. After the murder, the two men returned to Miami. In the weeks that followed, financial records showed that Magbanua, who prosecutors said arranged the hit, received payment — portions of which were then passed along to Garcia and Rivera. It wasn’t until 2016 that investigators connected Garcia to the scene, aided in part by Rivera’s eventual cooperation.

Arrest, Trial, and Conviction

Sigfredo Garcia was arrested in May 2016, nearly two years after the murder. Evidence against him included cellphone data, toll records, surveillance footage, and GPS tracking — all of which placed Garcia and Rivera in Tallahassee at the time of the murder. An eyewitness even recalled seeing a vehicle matching their rental car near the scene.

In October 2019, Garcia stood trial alongside Magbanua. Prosecutors detailed the plot, asserting that Garcia had been recruited by Magbanua to carry out the murder in exchange for a large payment from the Adelson family. Garcia, in his defense, claimed Rivera had committed the shooting alone. The jury didn’t buy it.

On October 11, 2019, Garcia was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. A few days later, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, along with an additional 30 years for conspiracy.

Role in the Broader Conspiracy

Sigfredo Garcia’s conviction marked the first successful prosecution in the Dan Markel case. While he did not cooperate with authorities, his trial helped prosecutors secure more evidence against others. His financial ties to Magbanua, cellphone records, and role as the triggerman provided a foundation for future cases against Katherine Magbanua, Charles Adelson, and eventually Donna Adelson.

Although Garcia has never publicly spoken in detail about his motivations, court testimony revealed that the plan was orchestrated and financially driven, not personal. He had no connection to Markel himself — only to the people who wanted him gone.

Where He Is Now

As of 2025, Sigfredo Garcia is serving a life sentence in a Florida state prison. He is ineligible for parole. Though once a free man raising two children in South Florida, his life now consists of prison routines and confinement, with no further path to freedom.

Garcia’s story is that of a career criminal recruited into a sophisticated murder-for-hire plot — one whose involvement helped unravel a conspiracy that spanned social classes, professions, and cities. He was the executioner in a scheme orchestrated by a family determined to get their way, no matter the cost.

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Ryan Gill

Ryan is a passionate follower of true crime television programs, reporting on and providing in-depth investigations on mysteries in the criminal world.

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