Philip Haynes Markoff (February 12, 1986 – August 15, 2010)
was an American
medical student who was charged with the armed robbery and murder of Julissa Brisman in a
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
hotel on April 14, 2009, and two other armed robberies.
Markoff maintained his innocence of all charges and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. A grand jury
indicted Markoff for
first-degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
, armed robbery, and other charges.
On August 15, 2010, Markoff died by suicide in Boston's
Nashua Street Jail, where he was awaiting trial.
Markoff was one of several criminals described by media outlets as the "Craigslist Killer
Internet homicide refers to killing in which victim and perpetrator met online, in some cases having known each other previously only through the Internet.http://www.napavalley.edu/Projects/189/Chapter_022_4th_ed__handout.pdf Napa Valley College ...
", because the killer was alleged to have met his victims through ads placed on the internet site Craigslist. Two of Markoff's alleged victims were offering erotic services on Craigslist.
Background
Philip Markoff was the son of Susan (née Haynes) and Richard Markoff, a dentist in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. He had an older brother, Jonathan Markoff, and a half-sister (whose father was Susan's second husband, Gary Carroll, a banker). He graduated in 2004 from Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School, commonly referred to as VVS, is a public high school in Verona, New York. Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School offers a comprehensive curriculum for grades 9-12 and is part of the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central S ...
, where he was a member of the National Honor Society
The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...
, the History Club, the Youth Court, and the school bowling and golf teams.
After high school, Markoff attended SUNY Albany where he was a pre-med student. He graduated from SUNY Albany in 2007, and applied for medical schools after taking the MCAT. He was a second-year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine
The Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, formerly the Boston University School of Medicine, is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world ...
at the time of the crimes. He was suspended from the school after the criminal charges filed against him.
Markoff met Megan McAllister, a native of New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, in 2005, while they were both volunteers at the Albany Medical Center Hospital
Albany Medical Center (AMC) is the name of the umbrella organization over the Albany Medical Center Hospital and Albany Medical College in Albany, New York. Though the name Albany Medical Center referring to the two institutions on their shared ca ...
emergency room. They were engaged to be married, with their wedding planned for August 14, 2009. McAllister was to have begun medical school in the fall of 2009.
Robberies and murder
Markoff was suspected in three robberies, one of which included a murder.
* Trisha Leffler (an escort) was bound, gagged, and robbed
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
at gunpoint on April 10, 2009, at the Westin Copley Place
Copley Place is an enclosed shopping mall within the mixed-use Copley Square in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It features direct indoor connections to several nearby destinations including four office towers, and the Bosto ...
Hotel in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
* Julissa Brisman (who had posted an advertisement online offering massage services) was found dead on April 14, 2009, at the Copley Marriott
Marriott may refer to:
People
*Marriott (surname)
Corporations
* Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993
* Marriott International, international hotel ...
, also in Boston.
* Cynthia Melton (an exotic dancer offering lap dance services) was the victim of an attempted robbery on April 16, 2009, at a Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...
.
Police suspected that the three crimesclose in time and similar in many wayswere committed by the same person. Security camera footage, cell phone activity, and email evidence led police to suspect Markoff in the April 10 and April 14 incidents, and he was arrested April 20 in Walpole, Massachusetts
Walpole is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Walpole Town, as the Census refers to it, is located about south of downtown Boston and north of Providence, Rhode Island. The population of Walpole was 26,383 at the 2020 censu ...
while he and his fiancée were en route to Foxwoods Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more t ...
in Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
.
On April 21, he was arraign
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisdi ...
ed in Brisman's death; the prosecutor stated that a semi-automatic handgun
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
, wrist restraints, and duct tape had been found in Markoff's apartment. Markoff pleaded not guilty.
On May 4, Rhode Island officials issued a warrant for Markoff's arrest in the April 16 incident, though the state's Attorney General said that their prosecution would not go forward until the Boston charges were resolved.
Markoff's trial was originally expected to begin in July 2010 but was later delayed to March 2011.
Markoff's fiancée initially affirmed her belief in his innocence, calling him "beautiful inside and out",
but on April 29 she visited Markoff in jail to call off their wedding. On June 11, she visited Markoff a second time and told him she did not plan to see him again for "a long period of time, if ever".
Suicide
Markoff made several suicide attempts while at the Nashua Street Jail; one attempt was made three days after his arrest, an additional attempt after his fiancée broke up with him, and another attempt on the day his wedding was to have taken place. At various times he was on suicide watch
Suicide watch (sometimes shortened to SW) is an intensive monitoring process used to ensure that any person cannot attempt suicide. Usually the term is used in reference to inmates or patients in a prison, hospital, psychiatric hospital or milit ...
or in the jail's psychiatric unit.
On August 15, 2010, one year and one day after his wedding was to have taken place, Markoff was found dead in his cell.[ He had used a knife, made from a pen and a piece of metal, to cut arteries in his ankles, legs, and neck. He had also swallowed toilet paper and tightened a plastic bag over his head with gauze.
Additionally, he had written his former fiancée's name and their pet names for each other in blood on the cell wall, and photographs of the two of them were scattered about.]
Media adaptations
*''Seven Days of Rage, the Deadly Crime Spree of the Craigslist Killer'' by Paul La Rosa, was published in 2009 by Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
.
*The April 25, 2009 episode of the CBS News television series ''48 Hours Mystery'', titled "The Craigslist Killing: Case Overview", was devoted to the case.
*''A Date with Death: The Secret Life of the Accused "Craigslist Killer"'' written by Michele McPhee, was published by St. Martin's True Crime Library on May 25, 2010.
*A television movie, ''The Craigslist Killer
Philip Haynes Markoff (February 12, 1986 – August 15, 2010) was an American medical student who was charged with the armed robbery and murder of Julissa Brisman in a Boston hotel on April 14, 2009, and two other armed robberies.
Markoff main ...
'', which premiered on Lifetime Network on January 3, 2011, is based on McPhee's book.
*The Season 3 premiere of ''Murder Made Me Famous'', which aired on April 8, 2017, chronicled the case.
*The fourth episode of Season 5 (2019) of Investigation Discovery show ''See No Evil'' covered Julissa Brisman's murder and the search for her killer.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markoff, Philip
1986 births
2010 suicides
American people who died in prison custody
College Republicans
College students who committed suicide
People from Vernon, New York
People who committed suicide in prison custody
Prisoners who died in Massachusetts detention
University at Albany, SUNY alumni
Suicides by asphyxiation
Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States
Suicides in Massachusetts
American murderers