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One of the two suspects accused of carrying out a hit on a beloved FSU professor was back in court this morning. As Matt Galka tells us, it coincides with the somber anniversary of the professor’s death.

“What’s going on with him?”

“I don’t know. The driver side window is all bashed in, and he’s got blood all over his head.”

That was part of a 9-1-1 call form July 18^th, 2014.  A neighbor found Florida State law professor Dan Markell in his garage. He was shot twice in the head.  It was a murder mystery with minimal information for 22 months before two men were arrested and charged with killing Markel.

On the two year anniversary of when Markel was shot and killed here at his house, one of the prime suspects in his murder appeared in court. Sigfredo Garcia’s case management hearing Monday morning lasted less than five minutes.  His attorneys requested a speedy trial.

“Our primary objective at this time is to familiarize ourselves with the state’s discovery, and so that’s what we are going to do, we are going to let our actions in the courtroom speak for themselves and focus on the case and that’s all I can say at this point because we literally just got the evidence yesterday,” said Saam Zangeneh

The request was granted. Garcia’s trial begins November 14^th.

“That’s a strategic move that we made,” he said.

Police believe Garcia and another man, Luis Rivera, were hired to kill Markel two years ago.  Documents show a suspected connection between the family of Markel’s ex-wife and the accused killers, but other arrests have yet to be made. The other man accused in the murder for hire plot is already serving time on unrelated racketeering charges. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 1^st.