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In a loud voice, Markoff pleads 'not guilty'

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 22, 2009 11:46 AM

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff and Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

The medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met on Craigslist spoke in a clear, confident voice today at his arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court, saying he was "not guilty" of first-degree murder and six other charges.

Wearing a blue-striped, collared shirt, Philip Markoff stood expressionless as Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Edmond Zabin summarized the "brutal nature" of attacks on three women he allegedly met through Craigslist, noting the particular "brutality in the deadly assault against" 25-year-old Julissa Brisman on April 14.

In arguing that the defendant should continue to be held without bail, Zabin pointed to the "strength of the evidence at this point against Mr. Markoff, which at this point includes video and electronic and documentary evidence and forensic evidence linking him to all three of these crimes, the least of which is to the murder weapon."

Defense attorney John Salsberg did not offer a defense for his client in court or present an argument for bail. Salsberg asked Magistrate Gary D. Wilson to stop the prosecution from rehashing the details of the alleged crimes because he said it could poison a potential jury pool. Wilson dismissed that request, allowing the prosecution to continue with its recitation of the alleged facts. Few new details were revealed about the case, which grabbed national attention in April as police searched what the media had dubbed the "Craigslist killer."

The Globe reported today that prosecutors told a grand jury that Markoff used another man’s New York driver’s license to purchase the 9mm automatic handgun used to kill Brisman at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel in April. The grand jury heard testimony from victims, witnesses, and Markoff’s fiancee, Megan McAllister.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said Markoff used a driver’s license that belonged to a man named Andrew Miller to buy the gun in February. Prosecutors interviewed Miller and do not believe he is connected to the attacks.

“We’re not sure how [Markoff] got this license,’’ said Conley on Sunday.

Markoff’s fingerprint was found on registration forms filled out when the firearm was purchased, Conley said.

The grand jury returned the seven-count indictment late Thursday, said Jake Wark, Conley’s spokesman. Markoff, 23, was arraigned this morning on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery, two counts of armed kidnapping, armed assault with intent to commit robbery, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.

After his April 20 arrest, Markoff pleaded not guilty to charges connected to killing Brisman and robbing Trisha Leffler, a 29-year-old prostitute from Las Vegas who said Markoff took her debit card, $800 in cash, and $250 in gift cards.

In both cases, and in a third assault in Warwick, R.I., Markoff is accused of using prepaid cellphones and temporary e-mail addresses to make appointments with victims who had advertised erotic services on Craigslist, then tying his victims with plastic zip ties and duct tape.

His attacks were quick and brutal and his methods were similar in all the cases, Conley said.

“He had a very brief encounter with Julissa Brisman,’’ said Conley. “He bound her hands, he used the same [kind of] ties that he used on Trisha Leffler, and they had a very, very violent struggle. And, in the course of that struggle, he hit Miss Brisman in the head with his gun. He then pressed the gun into her chest and he fired the gun. She suffered three gunshot wounds, and he fled the grounds.’’

Markoff was attending Boston University School of Medicine at the time of the attacks, but officials suspended him when prosecutors filed criminal charges. Before that, he had graduated from the State University of New York at Albany, where he met McAllister.

The indictment was handed down after the grand jury saw evidence presented by prosecutors and heard testimony from witnesses, two victims, and McAllister, said Conley.
Conley said his office presented volumes of physical evidence, including security footage that allegedly shows Markoff entering and leaving each attack, and fingerprints recovered from the duct tape and the plastic ties used to bind the victims.

Police recovered Miller’s driver’s license when Markoff was arrested on Interstate 95. He told police he and McAllister, who was in the car with him, were headed to Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.

Conley said McAllister has cooperated with investigators.

After searching Markoff’s Quincy apartment in April, police found the 9mm automatic handgun hidden inside a hollowed-out copy of “Gray’s Anatomy,’’ a medical textbook.
While initially fearful that Markoff had attacked more women, Conley said he now believes the investigation is complete.

“In the days after the incident occurred, I was worried that there may be other victims out there,’’ he said. “We posted an advertisement on Craigslist ourselves, and at this point no one has come forward.’’

Markoff's family watched the proceedings from a back row. They declined to comment after the proceedings.

Maria Cramer of the Globe staff contributed to this report.