Alleged Craigslist Killer Philip Markoff Charged in Julissa Brisman Murder

Murder has gone high-tech. So has catching the murderers. Such is the case of the Craigslist Killer.

Boston authorities announced Monday that they had in custody an individual that they believed was the Craigslist killer, a man that had been linked to a murder and possibly two robberies by his predilection for choosing his victims on Craigslist.org. Police traced computer evidence to a 26-year-old Boston University medical student named Philip Markoff.

NECN.com reported that on Tuesday, Philip Markoff was charged with the April 14th murder of Julissa Brisman, 26, of New York City. He was charged with kidnapping and armed robbery in a different but connected investigation.

According to Boston District Attorney Dan Conley, investigators traced Philip Markoff through his Internet Service Provider (ISP) address. Conley said that the day after Markoff opened his account (April 13), he allegedly contracted the services of masseuse Julissa Brisman. After meeting her, Markoff allegedly murdered her, hitting her in the head, then shooting her three times.

When the police arrived at the home address listed to the ISP, they found Markoff, a pistol, ammunition, restraints, and duct tape. Using the evidence on hand and the computer evidence, plus the fact that Philip Markoff looks like the person in the surveillance films, a subsequent arrest was made.

Markoff is also believed to have robbed a masseuse in Boston on April 10 and a stripper in Warwick, Rhode Island, on April 16. He had bound and gagged the stripper but fled when the stripper's boyfriend entered the hotel room where the rendezvous happened.

Police believe that the robberies and the murder are connected because of the likenesses in the surveillance footage of the three hotels and because the suspect used Craigslist to set up meetings with the victims. They also believe that all originally began as robberies. They are not speculating on what led to the murder of Julissa Brisman, only that something went awry in the suspect's plans and when Brisman put up a fight, he killed her. The media dubbed the suspect the "Craigslist Killer" shortly after the murder of Julissa Brisman.

The father of the murder victim, Herman Brisman, was present in the courtroom when the judge ordered Markoff held without bail.

The victims in this case were found on Craigslist. The online advertising community has long been suspected of being a middleman for prostitutes and other illegal activities. Craigslist began charging a $5 fee for erotic listings in 2008 in hopes of deterring prostitutes and "escorts" from using the service, but there has been no noticeable decrease in traffic.

The use of the website is so prevalent, Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff Thomas Dart is suing Craigslist to hopefully regain county money expended in man-hours on prostitution busts and stings that his department has engaged in in the past year. Legal experts believe, however, that the case has little chance of success.

Philip Markoff pleaded not guilty to the charges. His girlfriend, Megan McAllister, says that her fiance is innocent and that she will stand by him through his ordeal.

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Sources:

NECN.com

EricGoldman.org