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(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio State University said police are investigating two antisemitic incidents that occurred within 24 hours against its students, including an alleged hate crime assault.
The alleged assault occurred off-campus early Friday, around 1:30 a.m., against two Ohio State students, according to an OSU public safety notice.
The victims were leaving a bar when they got into a verbal altercation with two unknown male suspects, Columbus police said.
“According to reports, the suspects yelled a derogatory term and assaulted two students while asking if they were Jewish,” OSU’s public safety notice stated.
Columbus police said both victims “believe this to be a hate crime” due to hearing an antisemitic slur and the suspects asking them their religion.
One victim reported being punched in the face, “causing redness and swelling to the left side of his face,” and the other reported being punched in the face, “causing a possible fractured nose, as well as redness and swelling,” Columbus police said.
One of the victims was treated at the university’s medical center and released, OSU said.
The Columbus Division of Police is leading the investigation with assistance from OSU’s police division. School officials said the incident is “classified by Ohio law as assault but classified by the [federal] Clery Act as a hate crime motivated by bias against the Jewish community.”
Columbus police are also investigating an incident of vandalism reported at the OSU Hillel Wexner Jewish Student Center on Thursday, school officials said.
OSU Hillel said in a social media post that two people vandalized Israeli flags in the lobby and were “shouting anti-Israel statements and threats.”
Two female suspects told the front desk they wanted to look around and once inside, one of them began taking small Israeli flags, according to Columbus police. When confronted by staff, she ran out the door yelling, “F— you,” “You support genocide” and “Free Palestine,” then dropped the flags and left in an awaiting car with the other suspect, police said.
Security cameras captured the suspects entering the building and the footage has been shared with law enforcement, OSU Hillel said.
OSU acting President Peter Mohler said in a statement that the university has “offered every resource” to assist police in the two “horrible” incidents, noting that there is a “significant number” of cameras and license plate readers in the areas where they occurred.
It is unclear at this time if Ohio State students are responsible for either incident, Mohler said, adding, “When the perpetrators are identified, Ohio State will take every measure available under the law and university policy.”
The incidents come amid heightened tensions on college campuses during the Israel-Hamas war. There have been increased reports of bias incidents against Jews and Muslims in the U.S. since the conflict started, data shows.
Hamas launched a surprise terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed at least 1,400, according to Israeli officials. Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Gaza have killed more than 11,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Those numbers have not been independently verified.
Mohler said he understands “people are hurting” at this time but reiterated that “Ohio State will not tolerate violations of the law or university policy” — including antisemitism, bigotry, Islamophobia, racism, sexism and violence.
OSU is increasing its security presence on campus and working with police and other law enforcement partners to increase security presence off-campus, Mohler said.
“I want to be direct and clear — the university has no tolerance for acts of hatred or violence,” Mohler said. “Antisemitism is despicable and has no place in our community. The university will pursue all action possible against anyone committing hate crimes on or near our campus.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday he has instructed the Ohio State Highway Patrol to immediately provide extra patrols around the campus.
“We will not tolerate hate and violence on our college campuses or anywhere in Ohio,” DeWine said in a statement. “These are despicable acts, and as Governor, I will ensure that the State continues our efforts to protect all Ohio students.”
He continued, “This includes but is not limited to antisemitism, bigotry, Islamophobia, racism, sexism and violence. We have not and will not tolerate hatred, intimidation or harassment of anyone based on their religious beliefs, nationality or identity.”
ABC News’ Jason Volack, Matt Foster and Brian Hartman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The FBI seized the electronic devices of New York City Mayor Eric Adams as part of a federal investigation that previously brought the FBI to the home of his top fundraiser, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The FBI declined to comment to ABC News.
The mayor’s office confirmed that the seizure took place on Monday. The mayor has denied any wrongdoing.
“As a former member of law enforcement, I expect all members of my staff to follow the law and fully cooperate with any sort of investigation—and I will continue to do exactly that. I have nothing to hide,” Adams said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
The FBI previously searched the home of Brianna Suggs, Adams’ main fundraiser. The investigation seeks to determine whether the mayor’s campaign receives illegal foreign donations from Turkey with a Brooklyn construction company as a conduit sources told ABC News.
Boyd Johnson, a campaign attorney for Adams, said that it was discovered an individual recently acted improperly and they acted on that information.
“In the spirit of transparency and cooperation, this behavior was immediately and proactively reported to investigators. The Mayor has been and remains committed to cooperating in this matter. On Monday night, the FBI approached the mayor after an event. The Mayor immediately complied with the FBI’s request and provided them with electronic devices. The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation,” Johnson said in a statement.
Investigators came to Adams after an event Monday evening to ask for all devices he had on his person, including an iPad and a phone, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Later, the mayor’s office turned over more devices.
Most of the devices have been returned, according to the source.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LOS ANGELES) — A Southern California man whose wife and in-laws are missing is in custody on suspicion of murder in connection with a dismembered female torso discovered several miles from his Los Angeles home, authorities said.
The unidentified human remains were found in a black plastic bag near a dumpster in Encino Wednesday morning, according to the Los Angeles Police Det. Efren Gutierrez. A man searching for recyclables discovered what he suspected were human remains and called 911, Gutierrez said.
Video evidence from the scene and vehicle information led investigators to a house in nearby Tarzana, about 6 miles from the dumpster, police said.
Once officers made entry into the home, they discovered “evidence of a crime, including some blood evidence,” Gutierrez said.
A man who lives at the residence — identified as 35-year-old Samuel Haskell — was booked Wednesday evening on one count of suspicion of murder, police said. He had been tracked to and arrested at the Topanga Mall, Gutierrez said.
The identification of the human remains is ongoing, police said Thursday.
Detectives learned that the evening before the gruesome discovery at the dumpster in Encino, a “suspicious” bag was reported outside Haskell’s home. People working at the house called 911 to report a plastic bag possibly containing human remains, Gutierrez said. Upon arriving at the home, responding officers found no evidence, Gutierrez said.
Amid the investigation, detectives also learned that Haskell’s wife — 37-year-old Mei Li Haskell — and her parents — 71-year-old Gaoshan Li and 64-year-old Yanxiang Wang — are currently missing, police said. They also live at the residence, Gutierrez said.
Police have been unable to reach any of the missing family members by phone, Gutierrez said. Mei Li Haskell’s car was found at the home, though two other vehicles associated with the residence are missing, he said. LAPD said detectives are looking for a white VW Tiguan (license 9ANC890) and a white 2014 Nissan Pathfinder (license 7FRM190).
Samuel and Mei Haskell have three elementary-aged children who were located at their schools on Wednesday and are now with family, police said.
The suspect is the son of a once-prominent Hollywood agent, Samuel Haskell Sr., who founded Magnolia Hill Productions and was the CEO of the Miss America Organization before he resigned amid the 2017 email scandal, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
Haskell is currently being held on $2 million bail. He is due in court on Nov. 13, online jail records show. It is unclear if he has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
(NEW YORK) — Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy paid over $138,000 in proceeds to former NFL star Michael Oher for the 2006 book “The Blind Side” and the 2009 film of the same name, according to court documents filed Wednesday in the Shelby County Probate Court in Tennessee.
“The Blind Side” book by Michael Lewis and the film, which was based on the book and starred Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Tim McGraw and Lily Collins, were based on Oher’s life story. Earlier this year, Oher alleged that the Tuohys had been profiting off him and his story for years.
According to one of the court documents filed this week, the Tuohy family — Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy as well as their children SJ and Collins — along with Michael Oher agreed that “the book and movie proceeds received were to be split five ways.”
The total sum of $138,311.01 was paid in multiple check payments between June 2007 and April 2023, although the few checks from 2021 and 2022 did not clear Oher’s bank account, according to court documents.
The Tuohys also claimed that they “never received any money as conservators on behalf of Michael Oher” and didn’t control any money or “dealings on behalf of Oher” during his conservatorship, and that they instead spent “tens of thousands of their own money to support” Oher, now 37, when he was in high school and college.
Shelby County Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes said in September she was terminating the conservatorship agreement, which was initially signed when Oher was 18 and receiving college football recruitment offers, following a petition from Oher.
Oher first filed a petition against the Tuohys on Aug. 14, alleging that Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy tricked him into signing conservatorship papers in 2004. He claimed that they told him it was, “for all intents and purposes, an adoption,” but would be called a conservatorship since he was over the age of 18.
In his petition, Oher claimed he discovered in February that the Tuohys had been profiting off his life story and career, and that the conservatorship “to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship” with them.
Oher also alleged in the petition that he wasn’t paid for the film “The Blind Side,” which is based on his life, but that all four members of the Tuohy family — Sean and Leigh Ann as well as their two children — did. He claimed he received “nothing for his rights to a … story that would not have existed without him.”
Oher’s petition asked for the Tuohys to put together “accounting for all sums of money belonging to their said ward … and to pay over such sums received by them … plus interest from the time of receipt of such sums of money. He also asked for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as for the Tuohys to pay all his costs and attorney fees he incurs during the process “for their misconduct.”
In their response filing, Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy claimed that earnings from “The Blind Side” were split equally between them, their two biological children and Oher, with each person receiving 20%.
The Tuohys also said they “vehemently deny that they told [Oher] that they intended to legally adopt him.” The couple added that they “occasionally referred to [him] as a son” but only “in the colloquial sense and they have never intended that reference to be viewed with legal implication.”
The conservatorship, they claimed, “only began as a result of [Oher’s] opportunity to play college football.” They said in the filing there was “never” an intent to adopt him.
The Tuohys said in their filing they had no objection to the conservatorship ending, noting that they “stand ready, willing, and able to terminate the conservatorship at any time.” They also asked for the judge to “deny all the relief sought by [Oher].”
ABC News has reached out to Oher’s representatives for comment on the latest court filings.
(NEW YORK) — Hotel and restaurant workers in Las Vegas reached a tentative agreement with Wynn Resorts on Friday just hours before a deadline, averting a strike against casino owners that could have disrupted the tourist industry ahead of a Formula 1 race next week that’s expected to attract thousands of visitors, the union said.
The tentative deal sets working conditions for 5,000 employees at two Wynn Resorts locations, and comes on the heels of similar agreements with Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International that covered roughly 35,500 workers.
The Culinary Workers Union said in a statement Friday that the five-year contract includes the largest wage increases ever negotiated in its 88-year history, as well as increased safety protections, workload reductions for some workers, and expanded use of technology.
The tentative agreement, which must be ratified by a majority vote of the union members, ends seven months of negotiations with Wynn, according to a statement from Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union.
“With this new union contract, hospitality workers will be able to provide for their families and thrive in Las Vegas,” Pappageorge said.
Similarly, Wynn Las Vegas applauded the tentative deal in a statement.
“We look forward to ratification of our agreement soon, and to providing the legendary service for which our employees are known to the thousands of race fans about to join us,” said Michael Weaver, a spokesperson for Wynn Las Vegas.
The union said that contract negotiations remain ongoing with 24 smaller hotels and casinos where a total of roughly 18,000 union members work.
The tentative agreement with Wynn Resorts comes amid a flurry of labor deals nationwide in recent weeks that have ended prolonged workplace disputes.
SAG-AFTRA, the union representing approximately 160,000 actors, voice talents and announcers, reached a tentative deal on Wednesday with major TV and movie studios that suspends a strike launched more than three months ago.
Additionally, the ‘Big Three’ U.S. automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which owns Jeep and Chrysler — struck tentative agreements with the United Auto Workers last month to end a roughly six-week strike.
Addressing UAW members at a car plant in Illinois on Thursday, President Joe Biden celebrated the recent wave of labor organizing.
“Wall Street didn’t build America,” Biden said. “The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class.”
“I worked hard in negotiations to represent my co-workers and to win a better life for my family,” Araceli Villa Lobos, a kitchen employee at Wynn and a union member for 16 years, said in a statement.
The Culinary Workers Union represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, and is “Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization,” the union said, with the majority of its members Latinx.
(NEW YORK) — Popular influencer-turned-businessman Logan Paul is responding to accusations his Prime energy drink is unsafe for children to consume.
Prime offers both caffeine-free drinks — their Hydration line — and caffeinated beverages — their Energy line. Prime’s energy drinks — marketed “for ages 18+” and available in multiple flavors such as tropical punch and strawberry watermelon — have zero added sugar but also contain 200 mg of caffeine, an amount that has drawn criticism from politicians like New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who called for the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the caffeine content in the drinks and criticized Prime in July for marketing to Paul’s young fans.
When asked if he and his company are targeting children in their marketing efforts, Paul pushed back on the claim.
“That’s such a heavy claim. But I want to dive into it. You know, we are a social media-first company,” the 28-year-old told ABC News’ Eva Pilgrim. “The good thing about social media is there’s data, right? There’s analytics. 90% of my audience is above the age of 18. 93% of Prime’s audience is above the age of 18, according to Instagram’s analytics.”
“Good Morning America” reached out to Instagram to confirm Paul’s statistics and analytics but has not heard back so far.
Still, there’s a public concern over kids’ exposure to energy drinks. One report from the American Academy of Pediatrics said “caffeine and other stimulant substances contained in energy drinks have no place in the diet of children and adolescents.”
The FDA says that 400 mg of caffeine — roughly four to five cups of coffee — should be the maximum amount consumed per day for a healthy adult, but even adults have a wide range of what’s considered healthy.
Paul said his message to parents or children is to “be smart” about what they’re drinking.
“Caffeine consumption isn’t recommended for kids or anyone under the age of 18. That’s an industry standard thing, not a Prime-specific one,” Paul said. “People need to be smart about what they’re putting in their bodies.”
Paul rose to fame on social media and was one of the first to help create the world of social media influencers. Now, he has over 91 million followers combined across his social media platforms.
But Paul has also expanded his résumé over the years and in addition to being a YouTube content creator, he has also become a boxer, WWE U.S. champion and an entrepreneur.
Prime recently celebrated selling its 1 billionth bottle and reached $1.2 billion in sales.
“The hydration category was a bit archaic. A lot of the leading companies in the vertical are really high sugar and have really old formulas. We saw an opportunity to make a great product that was a better for you product,” Paul said of his motivation to start Prime.
Paul said he has also grown up a lot since his early days on social media and encourages others to not spend too much time online.
“Like social media is not real. For those of you watching this, put your phone down. Get away from social media, go outside, take a breath of fresh air,” Paul said in his interview with Pilgrim.
Paul also said he plans on having children of his own someday. He announced his engagement to model Nina Agdal back in July.
“Honestly, I just want to be a good dad,” Paul said. “It’s cool to make your own legacy. I think it’s much cooler to create someone who has the potential to make a legacy of their own.”
(NEW YORK) — A suspect has been arrested on an assault charge after former Arizona Sen. Martha McSally said she was attacked while on a run in Iowa this week.
McSally was running along the Missouri River in Council Bluffs on Wednesday when a man “came up behind me and he engulfed me in a bear hug,” she said in a video posted on Instagram.
“He molested and fondled me until I fought him off,” she said.
McSally said she then chased her assailant and called 911 as he hid in a brush but he managed to flee.
Authorities identified a suspect in the incident as 25-year-old Dominic Henton, of Papillion, Nebraska, in part based on surveillance video, the Council Bluffs Police Department said. An arrest warrant was issued Thursday charging him with one count of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, police said.
Henton was taken into custody by the Omaha Police Department around 3:20 a.m. local time on Friday, Council Bluffs police said.
Omaha police initially responded to his home on Thursday after Henton made a welfare call, according to Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Ted Roberts. Omaha officers were unaware of the arrest warrant in Council Bluffs at the time, since it had not been fully processed, and took Henton to the hospital, he said.
Henton was later released from the hospital and called Omaha police again, by which time officers had the arrest warrant and took him to jail, Roberts said.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Federal authorities are investigating suspicious letters sent to election offices in five states – Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Georgia.
The FBI said that “in at least four instances, preliminary tests … indicated the presence of fentanyl,” according to a bulletin disseminated to state and local law enforcement and obtained by ABC News.
An image of one of the letters obtained by ABC News indicates the intent was to “end elections now.”
“We are in charge now and there is no more need for them,” the letter reads.
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement Thursday that envelopes containing “unknown powdery substances” were discovered Wednesday by election workers in several counties, prompting evacuations of those offices.
An initial test of a white powdery substance in one envelope that was sent to the county elections office tested positive for fentanyl, the Spokane Police Department said.
Another letter sent to an election office in Washington state had a substance that tested positive for baking soda, not fentanyl, Officer Shelbie Boyd of the Tacoma Police Department told ABC News. The state will take it to a lab for additional testing.
Chris Loftis, the director of communications for Washington State Patrol, said a state bomb squad that responded to an election office in Pierce County on Wednesday found a message advising that the intent of the letter was to “stop the election.”
In Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed that election workers in Fulton County were sent a suspicious letter and that no other counties in the state appear to have been targeted.
The letter was intercepted before it arrived at the election office, Raffensperger said at a press conference. No motive has been determined, he said.
“We’re working with our state and federal partners to determine if any additional Georgia officials are being targeted,” Raffensperger said in a statement earlier. “Domestic terrorists will not trample on our right to free and fair elections.”
A Fulton County spokesperson said no additional information was immediately available.
In Lane County, Oregon, officials also temporarily closed an election office on Wednesday after a suspicious piece of mail arrived, a county spokeswoman told ABC News.
“Certainly it’s somber today,” county spokeswoman Devon Ashbridge told ABC News. “I can’t imagine coming to work and realizing that someone at minimum wanted to terrorize you and potentially harm you. We’re doing what we can to support our staff.”
While the incident in Oregon did not impact any election deadlines, Ashbridge said the office closure did delay ballot counting. The office expects to be caught up by the end of the day.
Officials in California also confirmed Thursday to ABC News that the Postal Service “intercepted two suspicious envelopes headed to local election facilities,” but have not yet determined the contents of that mail.
Additionally, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI are investigating a letter containing an unknown substance that was sent to the Attorney General of Texas’ office, according to law enforcement. Initial tests on the substance came back negative, officials said Thursday.
Authorities did not say if the letter sent to the Texas AG is connected to the ones from other states.
Threats to election workers have become more frequent in recent years, prompting a troubling exodus from their ranks in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
A DOJ spokesperson said in a statement Thursday, “We are aware of the reports and the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter. We have no further comment at this time.”
FBI offices in Atlanta and Spokane confirmed that they were collaborating with local law enforcement to investigate the incidents.
“FBI Seattle, along with our law enforcement partners, responded to multiple incidents involving suspicious letters sent to ballot counting centers in Washington state,” the office said. “As this is an ongoing matter, we do not have any further comment but the public can be assured that law enforcement will continue to keep the public’s safety as its top priority.”
The agency’s main office said it is also investigating the incidents but didn’t comment further citing the ongoing investigation.
“The public can be assured that law enforcement will continue to keep the public’s safety as its top priority,” the FBI said in a statement. “The FBI would also like to remind everyone to exercise care in handling mail, especially from unrecognized senders. If you see something suspicious, please contact law enforcement immediately.”
ABC News’ Jack V. Date, Luke Barr, Olivia Rubin, Laura Romero, Quinn A. Owen, John Santucci and Elizabeth Landers contributed to this report.
(ORLANDO) — Nearly a decade after a Florida State University Law School professor was shot to death at his home while sitting in his car, his family said they are relieved.
On Monday, a Florida jury found Charlie Adelson guilty of concocting a plot with a former girlfriend and hiring two men to kill his former brother-in-law Dan Markel in 2014.
Markel’s family had long suspected the Adelson family of being involved in the shooting, which took place while Markel and his ex-wife Wendi Adelson were in a bitter dispute.
“It’s sort of tinged with this feeling of relief. It’s really been a long time coming,” Shelly Markel, the victim’s sister, told reporters after the verdict.
A “20/20” episode airing Friday, Nov. 10, and airing on Hulu the next day, takes a look at the journey that investigators and prosecutors took to get to this week’s conviction with exclusive interviews, and footage from the courtroom as the drama unfolded.
Markel had finalized his divorce from Wendi Adelson in 2013, but they were still in a dispute over personal property, finances and allegations from Markel that his former mother-in-law, Donna Adelson, was disparaging him during her visits with the couple’s two young sons.
On July 18, 2014, Markel was found shot in the head inside his car outside his Tallahassee home and died less than 24 hours later in the hospital.
Tallahassee police interviewed Wendi Adelson, who told them about the divorce issues but denied that she was involved in the shooting. She allowed investigators to view her phone, swab her for fingerprints and photograph her.
As investigators searched for clues, they interviewed Wendi Adelson’s former boyfriend Jeffrey Lacasse, who told them they should look into Wendi Adelson’s brother, Charlie.
“[Wendi] told me that Charlie had looked into having Danny killed in the summer of 2013,” Lacasse told police in a filmed interview. “She meant it dead serious. He said it would cost about $15,000.”
Wendi Adelson told officers during her initial interview that her brother made a lot of jokes, including one about hiring a hitman. As the investigation continued, more evidence mounted that would implicate him.
Investigators began to probe the Adelson family and in April 2016, they staked out Donna Adelson as part of an undercover operation. During the sting, an undercover FBI agent wearing a recording device approached her claiming to be the brother of one of the suspects and demanded $5,000.
“He helped your family with this problem you guys had up north,” the agent is heard saying to Adelson. “He’s going through some rough times and I want to make sure that you take care of what he’s going through the way you’re taking care of Katie and Tuto.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Donna Adelson insisted.
The agent then handed her a press release of Markel’s murder with a phone number to call.
Adelson then called her son, Charlie, in a conversation that was secretly recorded by authorities.
“Does it involve me or other people?” Charlie Adelson asked.
“Well, probably the both of us,” his mother replied. “You probably have a general idea what I’m talking about. So let’s just find some time to talk to each other.”
In another undercover phone recording, Charlie is heard calling Magbanua, demanding to “find out who… it is and tell them to stop playing their games… I don’t know who you have to talk to, but it needs to be nipped in the bud.”
Though police thought the conversations were suspicious, it was not a confession
At the same time, investigators followed up on their only clue a neighbor’s account of seeing a car that looked like a Prius speeding away right after the murder.
The police got a big break from surveillance footage from Markel’s gym, a city bus and street cameras from the day he died that showed a green Toyota Prius following him as he made his way home.
Toll records for the car led investigators to a car rental agency in Miami. The rental agreement for the car showed that it was rented by a man named Luis Rivera.
Police said Rivera was a leader in the North Miami branch of the Latin Kings gang.
A second telephone number was also written on the rental contract with the word “Brother” written beside the number. That cellphone number tracked back to Sigfredo “Tuto” Garcia of North Miami, a childhood friend of Rivera who had a long criminal record.
Using cellphone data, surveillance video from buses, and GPS info, police said they were able to determine that the two men had been in the vicinity of Markel’s home at the time of the murder.
In May 2016, police announced first-degree murder charges against Rivera and Garcia. Both entered not guilty pleas.
Investigators would then discover a personal connection between one of the suspects and Charlie Adelson.
Police looked into Katie Magbanua, who has two children with Garcia and who dated Charlie Adelson between 2013 and 2015.
Investigators found Magbanua collected regular paychecks from the Adelsons’ family dental practice, Adelson Institute, signed by Donna Adelson.
According to investigators, there was no record of any work schedule or job title for Magbanua in paperwork subpoenaed from the dentistry business.
While the Adelsons carried on with life in Miami, Rivera was in prison on another charge when he approached prosecutors and offered information.
They came up with a plea deal: If he would describe his role in the murder of Dan Markel, and testify against his alleged co-conspirators, he could plead guilty and receive a significantly reduced sentence.
In October 2016, Rivera gave a statement to law enforcement claiming Garcia asked him to come along with him to carry out a hit and showed him a photo of Dan Markel.
“I asked him, who’s —– hiring me? He’s like, ‘Katie [Magbanua] told me this lady’s going to hire me, but I want you to go with me. I’ll give you $35,000.’ I said, ‘All right, for the drive? All right.’ … Katie’s the one in the middle doing everything. [Garcia] put it like that,” Rivera told prosecutors.
“I asked him, ‘Why are you going to kill this guy?’ … [Garcia said] ‘Because the lady wants her two kids back. She wants full custody of them kids,'” Rivera continued.
Rivera told prosecutors that in the summer of 2014, the two found Markel and trailed him for a few days. He said at one point, they followed him home and Garcia was the one who fatally shot Markel..Rivera also told prosecutors the first person Garcia spoke with after the murder was Magbanua.
Magbanua was charged with first-degree murder and Rivera testified in her and Garcia’s trials.
Garcia was convicted on Oct. 11, 2019, of first-degree murder and later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The same jury that convicted Garcia couldn’t agree on a verdict for Magbanua, resulting in a mistrial.
After years of pandemic-related delays, Magbanua was retried and convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation to commit murder in May 2022. She was sentenced to life in prison and two additional 30-year sentences, to be served concurrently.
Investigators, however, continued to pursue leads into Charlie Adelson, and got a break when a 2016 secret recording between him and Magbanua was enhanced in 2022 by the FBI and produced more clear dialogue.
“If you’re going to charge me, charge me,” Adelson said in the recording. “They didn’t mention my name, which makes me think – these people only know part of the story…or they think they know part of the story.”
“If they had any evidence, we would have already gone to the airport,” he added.
A Florida grand jury indicted Charlie Adelson on first-degree murder changes on April 20, 2022, and he was arrested the next day. He pleaded not guilty.
“I was shocked,” Ruth Markel, Dan Markel’s mother, told “20/20.”
“It was unbelievable to hear. It was a relief because it’s taken so long,” Phil Markel, Dan Markel’s father, told “20/20.”
Adelson’s criminal trial began last month and his defense attorney Daniel Rashbaum contended his client wasn’t the mastermind, but instead was being extorted by Dan Markel’s convicted killers.
Prosecutors brought back Rivera to the stand and he denied the allegations made by Rashbaum.
Magbanua also testified as a prosecution witness and, for the first time under oath, testified that Adelson orchestrated the plot and that she was involved with paying off the two men.
“So you knew that the person that was going to be initially harmed was Wendi’s husband?” Florida Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Magbanua replied. “[Garcia] painted this picture that this was a terrible man and making his family go through a lot custody-wise with his sister.”
During cross-examination, Rashbaum questioned why Magbanua didn’t come clean earlier and take a deal with prosecutors when they asked. She responded that she didn’t want to give up the father of her children and denied any allegations that she blackmailed Charlie Adelson.
Charlie Adelson took the stand in his own defense and told the jury the prosecution’s theory of the case was inaccurate.
“The state got it wrong,” Adelson testified.
He testified that Magbanua came to him the night of Markel’s murder claiming that a friend of hers killed the professor and was demanding Charlie pay a third of a million dollars within 48 hours or he, or another family member, would be killed next.
Charlie Adelson testified she wouldn’t tell him who did it until months later when she claimed it was Garcia and Rivera.
“And I’m like, ‘Katie, I’m not going be part of this s—. Like, I’m not going be part of paying for a murder. This is insane,” Adelson testified.
Ultimately the defendant testified that he gave Magbanua $138,000 from his safe and paid her thousands of dollars more over the next couple of months claiming he asked his mother to put Magbanua on the payroll of the family dental practice.
During cross-examination, prosecutors questioned Charlie Adelson why he never went to the police with the information. He testified he was afraid for his life.
Cappleman also questioned Charlie Adelson on why he didn’t testify at Magbanua’s criminal trial.
“I thought the truth was going to come out,” he said.
It took the jury three hours before they reached their verdict against Charlie Adelson.
A pre-sentencing hearing is scheduled for December. Adelson’s attorneys have not immediately commented on any future appeals.
When asked if this was the last prosecution for Markel’s murder, Cappleman told reporters after the verdict, “Stay tuned.”
In the meantime, Markel’s parents have lost years of time with their two grandsons, whom they rarely saw after investigators started probing the Adelsons in 2016.
“The first visit was incredible,” Phil Markel said. “And we were shocked. The kids were smiling, they were warm.”
“And I said, ‘Can we give you a hug?’ Ruth Markel said. “And they really responded.”
“It’s a spark of hope that something was going to happen, that we might have more communication with them,” Phil Markel said.
(NEW YORK) — Gregory Yetman, the Jan. 6 suspect who was the subject of a manhunt in New Jersey, has turned himself in to authorities without incident, according to the FBI.
Yetman turned himself into Monroe Township police Friday morning, officials said.
Yetman, 47, is charged with several offenses, some felonies, stemming from the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, including assaulting officers; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
He is likely to make an initial court appearance in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Yetman on Nov. 6, and officials were looking for him in the area of Helmetta, a borough in Middlesex County, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
At the time of the Capitol attack, Yetman was a military police sergeant in the New Jersey Army National Guard, a spokesperson for the New Jersey National Guard confirmed to ABC News. He served in the New Jersey Army National Guard for approximately 12 years and was honorably discharged in March 2022, according to the spokesperson.
Authorities announced a $10,000 reward was being offered for his capture on Thursday.
More than 1,202 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack in the 34 months since it took place, according to the Department of Justice.
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
