Markoff cannot afford own lawyer, filing says

Accused killer has $130,000 in debt

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff  |  April 28, 2009

The medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met on Craigslist has $130,000 in student loan debt and cannot afford to pay for his own lawyer, according to court papers.

Philip Markoff, a 23-year-old Boston University medical student who has been suspended pending the resolution of his case, has no job and was not receiving financial help from his parents at the time he was arrested, according to a court document that labeled him indigent.

The document, filed in Boston Municipal Court, provided a peek into the financial status of Markoff, who investigators believe may have had a gambling problem and who was headed to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut the day he was arrested.

Authorities in Rhode Island are poised to announce charges in the April 16 attempted armed robbery of a 26-year-old Las Vegas prostitute who had advertised lap dances on Craigslist. Law enforcement officials said last week that Markoff's fingerprint had been found at the hotel where the attack occurred and that he had sent a text message from that area on the evening of April 16.

Meanwhile, Markoff's fiancee, Megan McAllister, released a statement through a lawyer yesterday saying her life has "dramatically changed" since Markoff's arrest but that the man portrayed in media reports is not the man she knows. McAllister said she plans to meet with prosecutors within the next several days and continues to support Markoff. "I love my fiance," she said. "He is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

Boston police are also looking into the possibility that Markoff was using a Yahoo e-mail account to send erotic photos of himself to others, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case. It was not clear to whom Markoff was sending the photos. The Globe has reported that Markoff had posted his own ad on Craigslist offering massages.

Markoff has pleaded not guilty to charges that he fatally shot 25-year-old Julissa Brisman on April 14 and robbed another Las Vegas prostitute at gunpoint four days earlier. John Salsberg, who was appointed to represent Markoff, did not return repeated calls for comment yesterday.

No one else has come forward to report an assault by the person being called the Craigslist killer, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation.

Markoff, who has been placed on suicide watch at the Nashua Street jail, was "essentially living off of student loans in the amount of $130,000," according to a probation officer who interviewed Markoff. A Boston Municipal Court judge ultimately determined that Markoff should be appointed a lawyer through the Committee For Public Counsel Services.

Police have said that Markoff was living in a $1,400-a-month one-bedroom apartment in a luxury high-rise in Quincy.

William J. Leahy, the committee's chief counsel, said it is not uncommon for defendants in homicide trials to say they are indigent. "In a murder case, where the cost of . . . retaining counsel is so considerable, I think more people are going to be declared indigent than in a minor misdemeanor case where the cost of counsel may be far more affordable," he said.

Clients who are indigent still pay a $150 attorney's fee, which goes toward a general fund to pay for public defenders. Other defendants can declare indigency but contribute toward their counsel. These contributions, combined with the fees, add up to about $8.7 million a year for public counsel services. But the bulk of the budget that pays for court-appointed attorneys, about $181 million for fiscal 2009, is funded by taxpayers.

Probation officers have to report back to the court within 60 days of the arraignment whether the defendant's financial situation has changed. A judge would then determine whether the defendant should still be represented by a court-appointed lawyer, Leahy said.

Shelley Murphy of the Globe staff contributed to this report.