Mother of alleged 'Craigslist killer' victim says family has been devastated

April 24, 2009 02:10 PM Email| Comments (13)| Text size – +

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Julissa Brisman's mother said today that her family has been devastated by the slaying of her daughter, but she feels relieved that an arrest has been made in the case.

“I feel very much relieved that the man who did this is in custody and will not be able to do this horrible thing to another family," Carmen Guzman said in a statement released by the Suffolk district attorney's office.

Brisman, a masseuse from New York, was shot to death April 14 on the 20th floor of the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel. Philip Markoff, a 23-year-old Boston University medical student, has been charged with murder in her death. He also faces charges of armed robbery and kidnapping in an attack on a prostitute at the Westin Copley Place hotel on April 10.

“Our family has been devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Julissa. We are a close family, and Julissa called us every day. We won’t be getting those calls anymore," Guzman said, noting that today would have been Brisman's 26th birthday.

Guzman said her daughter was studying to be a counselor "and helped many people in our community."

"Over the past few days, people have told us the many ways in which Julissa helped them. Her friends say Julissa was like a bright light, full of energy and optimism, always ready to help other people. These words mean so much to us," the statement said, thanking people for their support and prayers.

“The feeling of losing my daughter in this way and the pain she must have felt will haunt me for the rest of my life. She won’t live to see her dreams. We will hold Julissa in our hearts every day," the statement said.

Law enforcement officials said in today's Globe that a preliminary match has been made between the handgun found in Markoff's apartment and the weapon used to fire three shots at Brisman at the Marriott Copley, including the fatal shot to her heart. Officials also revealed that Markoff had been placed on suicide watch at Boston's Nashua Street Jail after a correction officer saw marks on his neck that suggested he had tried to use shoelaces to hang himself.

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13 comments so far...

He robbed, attacked and murdered women, not prostitutes!!!!!!

Posted by sol April 24, 09 06:03 PM

I can not believe you just called her " a masseuse from new york". She was giving erotic massages!!! She was a prostitute. It is horribly unfortunate, but she put herself in a position of high risk. I'm not saying it's her fault she is dead, but it's not like she was just walking down the hallway and got shot. The media has butchered this case through unprofessional sensationalism.

Posted by t-dog April 24, 09 06:42 PM

God bless you dear. May you find the strength to carry on in her memory.

Posted by ramona126 April 24, 09 06:51 PM

Come on folks! She was a hooker - plain and simple. Along with 99% of the girls advertising in the erotic section of craigslist. It is a shame she is gone, but let's not glorify her, she was living in the gutter... most of these girls are crack / heroin addicts feeding their needs. Sorry, but its the truth.

Posted by jojo feight April 24, 09 08:24 PM

To the closed minded bigots that post here all to often:

Stop blaming the victim.

This killer could have targeted people willing to give him cash for automobiles, lawnmowers or stereo equipment, and who knows HOW many women that he has robbed, raped and or killed.

His fiance is probably in on it too.

Prostitution should be legalized, you don't see crimes like this happening in Amsterdam. Take your Puritanical "values" and punt.

My prayers go out to the families of this killers victims.

Posted by FrankD! April 24, 09 08:39 PM

Wow, the compassion here is overwhelming---not. She was a human being, someone's daughter, and had as much right to live as the next person. To the idiots that say say she put herself in that position, you might want to rethink that statement. Walking to your car in the dark at Stop and Shop or the mall is dangerous too...yet I bet you "put yourself in that position" at times. My heart breaks for her family.

Posted by L. April 24, 09 09:31 PM

I can't believe how ignorant some of these comments are. It doesn't matter if she was a prostitute, a waitress, a secretary, or a lawyer...she didn't deserve to be murdered. Stop giving these murders excuses for doing what they do.

Posted by TJ April 24, 09 10:02 PM

So what if she was a prostitute #4? You are talking like she deserved it. Shame on you. She did not deserve to be terrorized and killed, and no, not all prostitutes are feeding a drug addiction. Even IF she had an addiction problem, there are many reasons for substance abuse and it often involves a great deal of physical or emotional pain. Do you think any little girl says, "I want to be a prostitute or a drug addict when I'm older"? No. Life is complicated and we all end up in unfortunate situations and make bad decisions at some point in our lives. Who are you to judge? She was loved, and had plans to help people. She deserves to have her story told and her memory honored regardless of how she made ends meet.

Posted by ryan April 24, 09 10:39 PM

She's not a "Craigslist Victim", she is a "Markoff Victim."

Posted by Steve D. April 24, 09 10:40 PM

This is a true tragedy for the victim's family. However, the victim was in an extremely dangerous profession. How many times have we seen prostitutes targeted? And yet these young people continue to take chances.

Posted by procter3 April 27, 09 11:45 AM

The second tragedy in all of this are the bigoted and hateful remarks about a young woman. It's not her fault. If he is found guilty, it is because he robbed and murdered one or more women. They were victims of a very sick individual. This is not about prostitution. It doesn't matter what business transaction was taking place or whether it was a hookup for a date. The person in question planned to set them up for at the very least robbery, not to mention assault & murder.

Posted by Lonnie April 27, 09 04:41 PM

This is also about choices! In this case a bad choice made by a beautiful young woman who placed herself in the most dangerous of situations a woman can place herself. This is what we as mothers "preach" to our daughters every single day. Be careful. Use your head. If you play with fire you'll eventually get burned. This lifestyle is always a tragedy waiting to happen.

Posted by Diane Mariani May 26, 09 09:03 AM

Well, #10, how often do we see women, in general, targeted? To say this woman was a prostitute, on a sub-standard tier of society, is to simply justify this crime as meaningless. I believe that was the mindset of this killer, that his victims were not as worthy as he was. What makes one person worth more than another? We are all guilty of questionable choices in life, but that's what makes us ALL human.

Posted by J. O'Gara June 1, 09 09:01 PM