TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - New charges have been filed against two suspects in the 2014 murder of FSU law professor Dan Markel.
The state attorney's office added two more charges against Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua: solicitation and conspiracy to commit murder.
Thursday morning, both appeared before a judge via a camera at the Leon County Detention Facility. Their attorneys weren't present so both defendants opted to delay their first appearances.
Prosecutors say the additional charges are for the conduct both before and after the crime as well as soliciting other parties to participate, including Luis Rivera, who was sentenced in October 2016 for his role in the murder.
"I think the testimony of Mr. Rivera fleshed a lot of that out for us, and it is something that we've been considering since we procured his testimony," said Georgia Cappleman, the assistant state attorney. "This is something that we've been discussing in my office. There's no significance to the timing of when the new charges have been filed."
We reached out to the attorneys for Garcia and Magbanua. They're both based in Miami.
Garcia's attorney tells us it's premature to make any statement about the new charges.
The state attorney's office requested $100,000 bonds for each charge. Prosecutors say at this point, the current trial dates for both defendants haven't been affected by the new charges.
Garcia and Magbanua were indicted in the murder of Markel, who was shot and killed in the driveway of his Tallahassee home in July 2014.
