The Rise and Fall of Craigslist Killer Philip Markoff

Philip Markoff had a bright future ahead of him: a college degree, a beautiful fiancée and a spot at medical school at Boston University, one of the most prestigious universities in the country. 

But just as he was supposed to live happily ever after, Markoff was charged with armed robbery and murder.

Markoff, nicknamed the “Craigslist Killer,” was a young Boston University medical student who in 2009 was accused of using Craigslist ads to lure people offering erotic services, robbing them and murdering 25-year-old Julissa Brisman in a Boston hotel. His seemingly bright future—he was engaged as well as studying to be a doctor—made the crimes especially jarring. It was Markoff's reliance on Craigslist to attract his victims that ultimately helped investigators track him down.

One year before Markoff’s robbery spree was first reported to authorities, he sought out transgender people and men on Craigslist. In May 2008, he sent sexually explicit messages to them, and some X-rated photos were exchanged. No meetings between those he contacted during that time were documented. 

All the while, the 23-year-old was engaged to Megan McAllister, who was also trying to get into medical school at the time of the murder. Markoff was an avid gambler, and police said that he amassed an unspecified amount of gambling debt, a possible motive for the crimes he committed. The Central New York native could not afford a lawyer, as he reportedly had about $130,000 in student loan debt.

On April 10, 2009, Markoff responded to an ad posted by Trisha Leffler for an erotic massage service. She and Markoff met up at a hotel in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood and Leffler told 48 Hour Mystery she initially felt safe with Markoff. “He looked nice,” she said.

On the night of the theft, Leffler and Markoff walked to Leffler’s hotel room, where Markoff pulled a gun on the masseuse as they entered. He then tied her up and robbed her of her credit and debit cards and $800 in cash. Leffler was the first to report the robbery and assault to police.

Four days later, Markoff responded to another erotic massage ad, this time posted by Julissa Brisman, an aspiring model. In her hotel room, Markoff attacked her, restrained her with plastic zip ties, as he had with Leffler, and shot her at close range when she tried to defend herself. She eventually died in the same hospital where Markoff was studying to be a doctor.

The murder occurred on April 14—exactly four months before he and McAllister planned to tie the knot.

Two days after Brisman’s murder, Markoff arranged a meeting with a former Las Vegas stripper, Cynthia Melton, who advertised lap dance services. As with the other women, Markoff drew a gun, tied her up and asked her where she kept her wallet and credit cards. He allegedly told Melton he was not going to kill her as she gave him her money.

Luckily for Melton, the interaction was cut short when Melton’s husband came into the room, and Markoff fled the scene.

Markoff’s use of an online forum on his personal computer allowed investigators’ to track the IP address from which the messages were sent and that helped solve the case. People magazine reported that Brisman’s friend looked through her emails and found messages in which she spoke with Markoff. She forwarded the email to detectives.

The police were able to locate the messages coming from a device at an apartment building in Boston—Markoff’s residence.

Boston University Professor of Cybercrime Investigations Kyung-Shick Choi calls this case a textbook example of a cybercrime. He says that any case using IP addresses is easier to solve, since each device is registered under a unique address.

“Investigators can obtain Craigslist's cooperation and identify the IP,” Choi explains. “This is so clear. We have the evidence coming from Craigslist.”

Following the national coverage of the case, Craigslist faced backlash for keeping its erotic services page up and running. Craigslist then changed the service's name to “adult services.” Eventually, in 2010, the site took the page down altogether.

“Craigslist was kind of already facing criticism for a lot of sexual things going on [on the platform], especially the erotic services section,” Choi says. “They were under pressure to shut down.”

Police didn’t have to rely solely on the IP address, however, since Markoff had been caught on CCTV footage exiting the hotels with a baseball cap on to hide his identity. The police recognized Markoff as the man in the CCTV footage.

On April 20, 2008, police pulled Markoff and McAllister over while they were on their way to a casino in Connecticut. After his arrest, police found a handgun, bullets, plastic ties and women’s panties in his apartment. They also found a hard drive containing conversations he’d had with others on Craigslist.

At his arraignment on April 21, Markoff pleaded not guilty to the charges. Within the first two days of being imprisoned, Markoff was placed on suicide watch after guards noticed shoelace markings on his neck.

At first, McAllister defended her fiancé, telling news outlets, “He wouldn’t hurt a fly.” But a few weeks later, on May 1, 2009, she visited him in jail for 25 minutes, and her lawyer said they called off the wedding.

On August 15, 2010, which would have been his wedding day, Markoff slashed his major arteries in his ankles, legs and neck with an object shaved into a razor and wrote his ex-fiancée’s name on the wall with his blood. It was reported that there was a shrine with photos of McAllister in his cell. He also wrote what looked like the word “pocket” though its meaning was unclear.

Markoff’s death by suicide robbed the families of Brisman and the other victims of any sense of justice, as the case was closed, and Markoff could never be sentenced.

A lawyer for Brisman’s mother, Carmen Guzman, said to the Associated Press in 2010 that Brisman’s family told her they were angry they did not have a chance to confront Markoff.

“First, he took their daughter from them, then he denied that opportunity for them,” she said. “The criminal trial allows them to confront the suspect, hear the evidence and reach some resolution in the case.”