‘Craigslist killing’ suspect dead, likely suicide
Aug 15th, 2010 by Bilal Ali
A former medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met through
Craigslist apparently killed himself inside a Boston jail, where he was
awaiting trial, authorities said Sunday.
Philip Markoff’s body was found Sunday morning in the
Nashua Street Jail after an apparent suicide, said Ed Geary, a
spokesman for the Suffolk County sheriff’s office. Geary said no
additional information was immediately available, and an investigation
had begun.
Saturday would have been Markoff’s first wedding anniversary, but his nuptials were canceled after his arrest.
Markoff, 24, a former Boston University student,
pleaded not guilty in fatal shooting of Julissa Brisman, of New York
City, and the armed robbery of a Las Vegas woman. Both crimes happened
at Boston hotels within the span of four days in April 2009. Rhode
Island prosecutors also accused him of attacking a stripper during the
same week.
His trial in the Massachusetts cases was expected in March.
Markoff’s lawyer, John Salsberg, said he was shocked and saddened about his client’s death. He would not comment further.
Markoff had met the women through advertisements for
erotic services posted on Craigslist, a classified advertising Web site,
prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the Boston Police Department crime
lab identified two blood stains taken from swabs on a handgun that was
seized during a search of Markoff’s apartment in Quincy, Mass.
Prosecutors alleged that Markoff used the weapon to bludgeon Brisman
before the victim was shot three times at close range.
Investigators also found several other items in the
apartment, including four pairs of women’s underwear wrapped inside of
socks and hidden in a box spring.
Markoff was engaged at the time of his arrest. His
fiancee, Megan McAllister, ended the relationship with Markoff after
visiting him in jail, and their wedding, scheduled for Aug. 14, 2009,
was subsequently canceled.