A Toronto-raised law professor who was shot dead in his Florida home late last week was targeted by his killers, police said Monday.
Police were called to the Tallahassee home of Dan Markel, a law professor at Florida State University, at around 11:00 a.m. Friday for reports of a shooting. They found Markel suffering from a gunshot wound and rushed him to hospital, where he later died.
Tallahassee Police said Monday that their investigation so far “has provided no indication that this case is connected to a burglary or robbery and investigators are assuring residents there is no evidence this was a random act.”
While police are warning residents to be vigilant while out in the neighbourhood, they said that it appears that Markel “was the intended victim in this incident.”
Police have yet to identify suspects.
The Tallahassee PD violent crimes unit has set up a tip line dedicated solely to the investigation into Markel’s death in an attempt to locate more witnesses. Meanwhile, investigators are canvassing the neighbourhood around Markel’s Trescott Dr. home.
“TPD will work tirelessly to follow up on all leads and evidence in this case and our thoughts and prayers are with the Markel family as they endure this terrible tragedy,” Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo said in a statement.
“My investigators will do everything they can to see those responsible for this murder are brought to justice.”
Markel, a 42-year-old father of two young children, was raised in Toronto and earned degrees from Harvard College and the University of Cambridge before graduating from Harvard Law School in 2001. He began teaching criminal law at FSU in 2005.
Markel was a well-liked and well-respected legal mind, and his writings on legal issues appeared in a variety of publications, including the New York Times, the Atlantic, Slate and the Jerusalem Post.
On Sunday, Markel’s friend Orly Lobel described him as a dedicated family man who loved being a father.
"He would give up any minute to be with them and when he was travelling to a conference, he made sure to always Skype with them,” Lobel told CTV Toronto. “I'm just devastated to think about them right now."
According to a report in the Tallahassee Democrat, Markel and his wife, fellow LSU professor Wendi Adelson, were in the process of divorcing when he died.
Markel’s colleagues that contribute to his popular legal blog, PrawfsBlawg, posted a note to the site lamenting the “terrible, senseless nature of his loss.”
“His boundless energy was at the center of this community; it made it run, it gave it life,” the post went on. “We are stunned and bereaved by his loss, and our thoughts go to his two little boys, who were precious to him, and to his family. Many, many people loved him and are grieving today.”
A memorial service was held Sunday in Tallahassee. Markel’s family members in Toronto are expected to be making funeral arrangements for later this week.
Meanwhile, Tallahassee police ask anyone who was in the area near Markel’s home in the 2100 block of Trescott Drive between 10 a.m. and noon last Friday -- including pedestrians, delivery truck drivers or other visitors to the neighbourhood -- to contact investigators. Information leading to an arrest could net tipsters a reward of up to US$1,000.
