In this June 22, 2009, former Boston University medical student Philip Markoff stands during his arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, on charges he killed a masseuse at a Boston hotel that he met through Craigslist. Officials confirmed that Markoff was found dead of apparent suicide in his jail cell Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010 in Boston. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye)
The alleged Craigslist Killer, Philip Markoff, was found dead in his Boston jail cell after committing suicide on Sunday, authorities say.
He was found in his Nashua Street Jail cell with a plastic bag over his head and a sliced artery in his leg. Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy is reviewing the incident to understand how Markoff was able to kill himself behind bars.
In April 2009, Markoff responded to an ad on Craigslist posted by 25-year-old Julissa Brisman. According to police, Brisman who was a model, advertised as a masseuse on the classified website. Markoff was being accused of taking Brisman to Boston’s Copley Marriott Hotel where he shot and killed her.
A handgun was later seized during a search of Markoff’s apartment. The Boston Police Department crime lab was able to identify two blood stains found on the handgun, which prosecutors believed was the weapon Markoff used to shoot Brisman with.
He was a former Boston University medical student who also pleaded not guilty to an armed robbery of a Las Vegas woman. He was also charged with attacking a stripper by Rhode Island prosecutors. Each conviction occurred in the span of one week in April 2009.
The trial was scheduled for March 2011, however the state is unable to prosecute a dead man. Brisman’s family will never have the chance to face her killer in court. Since Markoff is dead, the case is dead.
