Florida State law professor and leading blogger legal Dan Markel died on Friday from an apparent gunshot wound at his home. Markel, 41, was a popular professor at Florida State University College of Law and the founder of Prawfsblawg, a popular legal blog. All such deaths without witnesses (called “unattended incidents”) are investigated as possible homicides. UPDATE: The police are saying that Markel was “targeted’ and murdered.
Markel was found dead after a neighbor called police about hearing a “loud bang.” Markel left behind two young sons, ages 3 and 5, and was actively involved in his synagogue, Congregation Shomrei Torah. He was going through a divorce from his wife. He was known to be someone devoted to his children and to his academic work.
There have been a series of burglaries in the area and Markel’s own home was burglarized a few years ago. One blogger has stated that he believes that Markel that was the victim of a violent burglary but later withdrew that statement.
Markel had a brilliant career. He is the author of the book Privilege or Punish: Criminal Justice and the Challenge of Family Ties. He was raised in Toronto and graduated from Harvard College in 1995 and later received his masters from the University of Cambridge before graduating from Harvard Law School in 2001.
It is a terrible loss for family, the Florida State community, and academia. He was a prolific and brilliant academic who left his mark on this Earth with his writings and friendships. I did not know Dan but the testimonials about his life reveal a man with a wide network of friends and fans. He clearly lived his life to the fullest, albeit a life cut short on Friday.
Police made a statement. Merkel was hot in the back. It was not a random act or as the result of a burglary. They are calling it a “targeted murder.”
Not sure if Markel had a home security system, with cameras, especially after having his home burglarized. If this is a residential area,
other home owners may have security cameras pointing from door to street. And any mounted street traffic cameras would have got something.
I would expect folks working in the law business to have better than average security systems.
Way too sad.
An aside, related to an earlier comment @ 9:18
“SINGLE MOTHERS, FATHERS EQUALLY SUCCESSFUL AT RAISING CHILDREN:
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/singpar.htm
Excerpt:
Downey said family researchers need to distinguish between family characteristics that affect children’s development and those characteristics that do not.
“People have assumed that the sex of the parent has a major effect on children’s development, but we found that isn’t the case,” he said. “Researchers need to focus on other factors, such as family resources, which seem to have a real impact.”
I’m not interested in a “discussion” on this topic. The topic at hand is Professor Dan Markel’s murder.
Shot in the back? Not a suicide evidently.
“Markel died Saturday morning, a day after being discovered shot in the back…” -JTA
http://www.jta.org/2014/07/21/news-opinion/united-states/florida-state-u-law-professor-dan-markel-dies-after-being-shot-at-home
Excerpt:
(JTA) — Dan Markel, a law professor at Florida State University, died after being shot in his home.
Markel died Saturday morning, a day after being discovered shot in the back in his home and taken to the hospital, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. He was 41.
Again:
“My investigators will do everything they can to see those responsible for this murder are brought to justice.” -Chief Michael DeLeo
News Release: Tallahassee Police Department
July 21, 2014 – 11am
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/BREAKING-Police-Investigate-Shooting-on-Trescott-Dr-267684731.html
Chief Michael DeLeo said “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. My investigators will do everything they can to see those responsible for this murder are brought to justice.”
I hired a retired state homicide detective to work for my PI agency. His specialty was suicide. Death investigations consider ALL possibilities. Suicides have nuances but there is one primal consideration. The vast majority of people do not have the ability to overcome that inherent will to live w/o help. The help is in the form of drugs and/or alcohol. Over 90% of suicide toxicology show either or both in the system. If not, it is an automatic red flag. It means there is only a 10% chance it was suicide. That’s one of the first things a death investigator is looking for.
Tonya,
Police Departments have been known to screw up a death investigation. Just ask Rubin, the Hurricane, Carter!
“My investigators will do everything they can to see those responsible for this murder are brought to justice.” -Chief Michael DeLeo
News Release: Tallahassee Police Department
July 21, 2014 – 11am
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/BREAKING-Police-Investigate-Shooting-on-Trescott-Dr-267684731.html
Chief Michael DeLeo said “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. My investigators will do everything they can to see those responsible for this murder are brought to justice.”
Repeating:
“My investigators will do everything they can to see those responsible for this murder are brought to justice.” -Chief Michael DeLeo
RWL, a homicide investigation is underway, according to a police announcement this morning.
I think I will wait for more information before making a judgment. My heart goes out to his children.
Florida state law school is my daughter’s alma mater. So sorry to hear this, I let my daughter know.
9-11 victims jumped because what was behind them was worse than what was out front. Suicide, like murder itself, has always perplexed me, unable to understand how anyone can take life at all. I recall the suicide of a student, whose father badgered him with an iron fist, controlling every facet of his life including his major. He must have felt like a caged animal because his suicide note read: “I’ll show you.”
When it comes to spousal related suicide, I’m even more perplexed. When we suffer the loss of a loved one, such as a parent, for example, we do not contemplate suicide. Yet when someone looses a spouse through divorce, suicide seems all too common. I always wonder, would the victim commit suicide if s/he had lost the spouse not through divorce but through, say, a car accident? The different perhaps lies with the emotion of shame. Milan Kundera: “The basis of shame is not some personal mistake of ours, but that this humiliation is seen by everyone.” What is unusual about the marriage bond in spousal suicides? Does the bond have bases in something other than love, such as possession, status, codependency, attainment, or is the loss of true love itself felt as betrayal so painful, as with a burning building, that suicide is a rational option?
It was not a suicide.
Jody,
Yeah it was. According to the Rocky Mountain Family Council, http://www.rmfc.org, the suicide rate for divorced, white males are 4 times higher than their married counterpart.
Happens all the time!
Sounds like a suicide. What Nick said!
He wasn’t found dead at his home; he was found shot, and died at the hospital the next day. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/07/20/torontoraised_law_professor_shot_dead_in_florida.html
I pray the truth is found and that his loved ones can come to terms w/ the truth. Two boys w/o a dad. Male family and friends need to step up for these boys.
May his family, friends, colleagues and community find peace during this horrific tragedy. RIP Dan…