Judge says DNA can be taken from accused Craigslist killer Philip Markoff

BOSTON — Prosecutors can obtain a DNA sample from the former Boston University medical student charged with killing a masseuse he met on Craigslist, a Massachusetts judge ruled Monday.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney, said Superior Court Judge Frank Gaziano granted a motion to take DNA from an oral swab of Philip Markoff, who is being held without bail. The judge said the sample could only be compared with biological evidence seized by investigators in the case.

Markoff has pleaded not guilty in the April 14 shooting death of Julissa Brisman, of New York City, and the armed robbery four days later of a Las Vegas woman, both at upscale Boston hotels. He has also been charged in an alleged attack on a stripper in Warwick, R.I.

Markoff met the women through advertisements for erotic services posted on Craigslist, a classified advertising Web site, prosecutors said.

"Investigators have recovered biological evidence in several locations in this case and one more DNA profile to compare that biological evidence against (Markoff) can only make that case stronger," Wark said.

A call to Markoff’s attorney, John Salsberg, was not immediately returned.

Gaziano ruled on a motion originally made by the district attorney’s office in October.

According to the motion, criminalists from 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 allege 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.

"A comparison of any DNA profiles generated from the items of evidence can be compared to the DNA profile of the defendant and the three victims to either include or exclude those individuals as possible donors of said profiles," the motion read.

The next court date in the case is March 29, Wark said. A trial date has not been set.

Markoff was engaged to Megan McAllister at the time of his arrest.

McAllister ended the relationship with Markoff after visiting him in jail in June, and their wedding scheduled for August was subsequently canceled.

Murder Indictment in Craigslist Case

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A Massachusetts grand jury late last week indicted a 23-year-old medical student on seven counts, including first-degree murder, in the fatal shooting of one woman and the robbery of another in Boston hotels.

Philip Markoff is charged with the April 14 fatal shooting and attempted robbery of Julissa Brisman, 25, and the armed robbery of a 29-year-old Las Vegas woman on April 10. Investigators have linked both incidents to advertisements on the Craigslist classified ad Web site.

Markoff also is charged with "the armed and forcible confinement" of the two women, as well as two counts of unlawful firearm possession, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Sunday.

The grand jury returned the seven-count indictment late Thursday, and it moves the case from Boston Municipal Court to Suffolk Superior Court, where Markoff is expected to appear for a Monday morning arraignment. He previously pleaded not guilty in the city court and is being held without bail.

Markoff's attorney, John Salzberg, had no comment on the new indictment.

Prosecutors said Brisman, a model from New York who advertised as a masseuse on Craigslist, was shot three times at close range and suffered blunt head trauma at the Marriott Copley Place hotel.

The Las Vegas woman was robbed of $800 in cash and $250 in American Express gift cards at the Westin Copley Place hotel, police reports said.

Markoff, a second-year medical student at Boston University's School of Medicine, also has been charged in a nonfatal hotel assault in Rhode Island.

He has been charged with assault with the intent to rob, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a handgun and use of a firearm while committing a crime of violence, stemming from an April 16 robbery attempt at a Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, Rhode Island.

Craigslist Killer Wedding Off (Ah-DUH..)

News was reporting rumors that the wedding was off, and it was confirmed yesterday by her attorney on the CBS early show.

"The wedding that's been planned is obviously off," Robert Honecker said Thursday. "There's no plans to reschedule any wedding. It's being dismantled."

Check out the photo of Megan leaving the jail house after her face to face meeting with Philip Markoff (*sans engagement ring).

Craigslist Killer's Fiance: "I Still Love Him"

Craigslist fiancee in denial? 3:37

HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell has the latest on the Philip Markoff case.

Markoff's Family Visit Craigslist Suspect In Jail

BOSTON -- The parents, brother and sister-in-law of Philip Markoff visited the accused killer in the Boston jail for the first time Friday since his arraignment this week on murder, kidnapping and robbery charges.

Dr. Richard Markoff and Susan Haynes arrived early in the afternoon at the Nashua Street Jail to see their son, who has been charged in connection with the April 14 death in a Boston hotel of a woman offering erotic massages, and the robbery of a Las Vegas prostitute the week before that. Both offered their services on Craigslist.

Markoff's parents stayed at the jail for about two hours and left without making any comments to media gathered outside. Markoff's brother and sister-in-law also visited him on Friday. It was unclear when or if Markoff's fiancee, Megan MicAllister, would visit.

Markoff was arraigned on the charges Tuesday, but his attorney John Salsberg said he was under the impression Markoff's parents were not allowed to see their son right away.

"What I was told was that he couldn't have any visitors until he was classified, that that's the rule of the jail, and so my understanding was that the first day they could come was going to be today and so I asked them to wait until today," Salsberg said.

"This is difficult for them, they would really request that they have some privacy ... They love their son very much. They are supportive of him, that's what they would say if they were speaking themselves," Salsberg added.

Authorities were so concerned about Markoff's mental state that he was moved to an isolation cell on Thursday after a possible suicide attempt.

Markoff was separated from the other inmates at the jail and was wearing a special restraining suit to keep him from harming himself, the Boston Herald reported.

Law enforcement sources said Thursday that shoelace marks were found on Markoff's neck, consistent with a suicide attempt.

There was a preliminary match between a gun found in Markoff's Quincy apartment and the bullets used to kill JuLissa Brisman, 26, the erotic masseuse who was shot to death in Boston's Marriott Copley Square hotel April 14.

Markoff's fingerprints were also found on duct tape at one of the hotel crime scenes and on plastic restraints used in one of the attacks, ABC News reported.

Markoff, 23, a Boston University medical student, was charged with murder in connection with Brisman's death and was also charged with robbery and kidnapping in connection with an attack on a Las Vegas prostitute in Boston's Westin Hotel the week before Brisman died. Both women had advertised erotic services on Craigslist.

Markoff's attorney has maintained Markoff's innocence, as has his New Jersey fiancee Megan McAllister, whose father said she remains "confident in Phil."

Salsberg would not confirm the suicide attempt but said his client is having a "tough time" adjusting to being in jail.

“It's difficult for anybody to make the transition from a life of freedom to being incarcerated or detained, particularly the first few days,” said Salsberg. “However, I have a tremendous amount of confidence that the Sheriff's Department of Suffolk County is going to make sure that he’s well taken care of and looked after.”

Prosecutors who used computer forensics to trace Markoff are now turning to Craigslist to search for other possible victims in the case.

Markoff is also suspected in an attempted robbery in Warwick, R.I., of a woman who had posted a Craigslist ad as a stripper.

Investigators are looking into whether Markoff had developed a gambling habit.

"As we explore various motives for the robberies, gambling is certainly a motive that we will look at," Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said Tuesday.

Markoff opened a line of credit at Connecticut's Foxwoods Casino in 2008. His visits there increased in March and April of 2009, ABC News reported.

Two days after the attack on the prostitute in Westin Hotel that netted $800, Markoff was at the casino on April 12. Two days later, on April 14, Brisman was killed at the Marriott Hotel. Two days after that, Markoff was back at Foxwoods, collecting winnings of $5,300.

Craigslist Killer N Me

You never know.. Your med student prince charming sweetheart could be a prostitute robber and killer! What a world.

Med Student Held Without Bail In Possible Craigslist Killing

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A 22-year-old medical student suspected of killing a woman he may have met through a Craigslist online ad was arraigned Tuesday and will be held without bail.

Philip Markoff, a second-year student at Boston University's School of Medicine, listened intently but did not speak during the hearing in Boston Municipal Court. Dressed in a blue-striped shirt and slacks, Markoff was handcuffed and wearing leg irons.

His attorney, John Salsberg, told reporters after the hearing that Markoff is "not guilty of the charges. He has his family's support. I have not received any document or report or piece of evidence other than what I heard in the courtroom. All I have at the moment are words -- no proof of anything."

A woman identifying herself as Markoff's fiancee also maintained his innocence in an e-mail sent to ABC News. Megan McAllister said Markoff "is the wrong man" and "was set up."

"Unfortunately, you were given wrong information as was the public," McAllister wrote. "All I have to say to you is Philip is a beautiful person inside and out and could not hurt a fly!"

She accused Boston police of "trying to make big bucks by selling this false story to the TV stations. What else is new??"

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley told reporters, "This was a brutal, vicious crime -- savage. And it shows that Philip Markoff is a man who's willing to take advantage of women -- to hurt them, to beat them, to rob them."

A procedural not-guilty plea was entered on Markoff's behalf, Conley said.

A Boston University spokeswoman said the school suspended Markoff, who has no criminal record, when it learned of the charges on Monday.

Markoff is charged with killing 26-year-old Julissa Brisman of New York on April 14 at Boston's Copley Marriott Hotel. Evidence from the scene suggests that Brisman "put up a fight," prosecutor Jennifer Hickman said during the hearing Tuesday. Police said Brisman, a model, advertised as a masseuse on Craigslist, a popular online classifieds service.

She sustained blunt head trauma, Hickman said, and was shot three times at close range. One of those bullets passed through her heart, killing her, she said.

Markoff is also charged in connection with the robbery four days earlier of a woman at a Westin Hotel. In that case, the woman made arrangements to meet a man through Craigslist for a massage at the hotel, but was held at gunpoint and bound, Hickman said. She was robbed of $800 and personal items, and left tied to a door handle with duct tape over her mouth, Hickman said in court Tuesday. Police said earlier the Westin victim was 29. She was not identified.

Authorities believe the motive in Brisman's death was robbery, Conley told reporters, and she was killed during a struggle. In executing a search warrant at Markoff's home, police found a firearm, along with restraints and duct tape, he said.

Surveillance videos from the hotel where Brisman was murdered showed a tall, clean-cut young blond man in a black windbreaker leaving the property, according to Boston police, who sought public assistance identifying the man.

Police traced the Internet communications with Brisman to an e-mail account opened the day before her death, Conley said. Using Internet provider information, they found the computer was at Markoff's residence in Quincy, Massachusetts, he said. Authorities put the home under surveillance, Conley said, and "the case just begins to build from there."

"This poor woman, Julissa Brisman, no matter what choices she made or decisions she made in life, she is a human being who's entitled to dignity and respect," Conley said.

There may be more victims that authorities are unaware of, he said, adding that the prosecutor's goal is to hold Markoff accountable, not to pursue women who may be advertising on Craigslist. "If you have been a victim like these victims have, please come forward," he said.

Markoff is "bearing up," according to attorney Salsberg.

"It's obviously a difficult time for anybody in these circumstances with the charges that have been brought against him. ... He's pleaded not guilty. He is not guilty," said Salsberg.

McAllister, in her e-mail to ABC, wrote, "Philip is an intelligent man who is just trying to live his life, so if you could leave us alone we would greatly appreciate it. We expect to marry in August and share a wonderful, meaningful life together."

The couple's wedding Web site had been taken down or was unavailable as of Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities in Boston are working with police in Warwick, Rhode Island, on what could be a related case. On April 16 at a Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, a man tied up and demanded money from a 26-year-old dancer who had posted a Craigslist advertisement, Warwick Police Chief Col. Stephen McCartney said.

The robbery was interrupted when the woman's husband entered the room. After pointing his gun at the husband, the suspect fled, McCartney said. He said no conclusions could be made yet, but allowed that the incident "may be related to similar crimes occurring in the Boston area."

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster told CNN the company is "horrified and deeply saddened that our community services have been associated in any way whatsoever with a crime of violence." He promised that Craigslist will evaluate the incident to see if additional measures could be introduced to protect users.