Dark Secrets of Tallahassee

Tallahassee’s Chilling True Crime

Photo by Campbell Jensen on Unsplash

Tallahassee has a history of chilling crime, from brutal murders to frightening mysteries. Florida’s capital, often known for its politics, history and universities, hides a darker side where true crime has left a mark on the city. The gruesome homicides committed by infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, the concealed murder of businessman Mike Williams and the mysterious assassination of Florida State University (FSU) professor Dan Markel are some of the most chilling true crime cases in Tallahassee’s memory.

1. Ted Bundy and the Chi Omega murders

In January 1978, one of history’s most vicious and notorious serial killers made a stop in Tallahassee. Ted Bundy stalked, kidnapped, tortured and raped dozens of young girls in multiple states during the 1970s, and confessed to killing 30. On the early morning of Jan. 15, 1978, Bundy entered the Chi Omega sorority house at FSU through a backdoor with a broken lock. He entered the room of student Margaret Bowman, beat her with a piece of wood and choked her with a stocking. He then entered Lisa Levy’s room, where he beat her unconscious and raped her. Both girls were killed. Afterwards, he attacked Kathy Kleiner, broke her jaw and lacerated her shoulder. He additionally attacked Karen Chandler, who experienced a concussion, missing teeth and a broken jaw. After this frenzy, he fled the sorority house and broke into the apartment of an FSU student, where he beat her, leaving her with disabilities. A month later, Bundy returned from Jacksonville to Tallahassee, where a police officer stopped him after discovering that his Volkswagen was a stolen vehicle. After a chase, Bundy was arrested. In 1979, Bundy was charged guilty of two counts of first degree murder, three counts of attempted first degree murder and two counts of burglary.

2. The murder of Mike Williams

In the early morning of Dec. 16, 2000, 31-year-old Mike Williams left for a duck hunting trip on Lake Seminole. However, Williams never returned. Authorities believed that he must have collided into a stump, fallen overboard and drowned. After 56 days, Williams was officially declared dead, and his missings person case was closed after authorities declared his body was eaten by alligators. However, his mother suspected his son was murdered, and the case was reopened by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2004. Later on in 2017, Williams’s body was found buried in mud 50 miles away from Lake Seminole. That year, Williams’s best friend Brian Winchester confessed to murdering him. Prior to the murder, Williams’s wife Denise Williams was having an affair with Brian Winchester. She wanted to marry Winchester but couldn’t divorce M. Williams because it was looked down upon by her family for religious purposes. So, along with Winchester, she conspired the murder of her husband to look like a boating accident. The initial plan for Winchester to drown M. Williams didn’t work, so Winchester shot him and buried the body. The two married in 2005, and in 2017, they were in the process of getting a divorce. Out of fear that D. Williams would confess, Winchester attempted to kidnap her. He was arrested and agreed to answer the police’s questions about M. William’s disappearance in exchange for immunity and a lighter sentence to his kidnapping charge. Winchester confessed, and D. Williams was charged with first degree murder, and in January 2019, was sentenced to a life in prison.

3. The assassination of Dan Markel

In July 2014, 41-year-old FSU law professor Dan Markel dropped his sons off at pre-school, went to the gym and made his way home. Within seconds of entering the garage, he was shot and died the next day in the hospital. Two years later, the Tallahassee Police and the FBI arrested two criminals, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, who had driven from Miami to Tallahassee to murder Markel. Using surveillance, interviews and cell phone records, investigators discovered the killing was a hired murder. The theory proved to be correct, as Markel’s death was a contract murder. The brother of Markel’s ex-wife Wendi Adelson, Charlie Adelson, used Katherine Magbanua to hire Garcia and Rivera. The motive for hiring these hit men was because W. Adelson was granted 50-50 custody of her children in her divorce from Markel, which prohibited her from moving to Miami with her family. The Adelson’s denied any involvement. However, C. Adelson, was convicted of first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Overall, Tallahassee’s history of true crime is a reminder that tragedy can happen anywhere. These cases have left a permanent mark on the city and continue to captivate the public’s attention.