AP source: Craigslist suspect had victims' items

[April 23, 2009]  BOSTON (AP) -- A Boston University medical student accused of robbing women who advertised erotic services on Craigslist, killing one of them, had items belonging to both victims in his apartment, a law enforcement official said Wednesday.

Philip Markoff is charged with killing a masseuse at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel, in the historic Back Bay district, on April 14. He also is charged in the robbery of a woman at another Boston hotel four days earlier.

A law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said police found items belonging to both women in Markoff's apartment in Quincy, south of Boston. The official wasn't authorized to speak about evidence in the investigation.

The official would not confirm a report by ABC News that the items seized by police included the victims' underwear. ABC News said two unidentified law enforcement sources said Markoff appeared to be collecting underwear as "souvenirs" from the victims.

ABC News did not say how Markoff took the underwear, and he has not been accused of sexually assaulting either woman. Prosecutors have said he went through the purse of the first woman he's accused of robbing.

Investigators are looking into gambling as the possible motivation. The law enforcement official said Markoff was a "frequent visitor" to Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.

Markoff, 23, is accused in the death of Julissa Brisman, of New York City, a masseuse who was found dead in the doorway of her hotel room after being bashed in the head and shot three times. A wake for Brisman was held Wednesday in Manhattan, where her parents live.

Markoff also is accused of robbing and tying up another woman, and police have said there could be more victims.

Defense attorney John Salsberg has said Markoff isn't guilty of the charges and "has his family's support." Markoff's fiancee, Megan McAllister, insists police have the wrong man.

Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, Conn., has confirmed it is cooperating with authorities investigating Markoff's gambling habits.

Markoff was arrested on Monday on Interstate 95 in Massachusetts as he and his fiancee drove to Foxwoods.

Business at Foxwoods was brisk Wednesday as gamblers played slot machines and table games and packed the buffets. But none of the employees coming and going at a parking garage recalled seeing Markoff at the casino. Casino managers referred questions to a Foxwoods spokeswoman, who declined to comment, citing the "integrity of the investigation."

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said that he believes Markoff's original motive was robbery but that he ended up killing Brisman, 26, when she fought back.

The first woman Markoff is accused of robbing said she believes she's alive because she didn't resist.

"I just complied with everything he wanted me to do and I didn't resist him in any way, and I think that's why," she said in an interview with Boston television station WCVB.

Prosecutors have not released her name.

The 29-year-old Las Vegas woman, who also advertised as a masseuse on Craigslist, said she was attacked April 10 at the Westin Copley hotel.

She said she had identified Markoff from the surveillance photos police distributed. She said he was wearing the same clothing and she recognized his face.

The woman said she was able to slip out of the plastic ties she was bound with about a minute after Markoff left and escape. She said she was robbed of $800 in cash, a debit card and $250 in American Express gift cards.

Markoff also is suspected in an attempted robbery in Warwick, R.I., of a woman who had posted a Craigslist ad as a stripper. The woman was held at gunpoint before her husband entered the hotel room and her attacker fled.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said in a statement Wednesday that Warwick police have developed "promising information" about the April 16 robbery at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites.

"Although we're encouraged by the progress being made, this is a complex investigation and is going to take more time," Lynch said.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday called on Craigslist to stop what he calls "pimping and prostitution in plain sight." He asked the site to immediately eliminate photographs in the "erotic services" section, hire staff to screen images and ads that violate the site's terms of service and fine those who violate those terms.

But Craigslist's CEO, Jim Buckmaster, said criminals who use the site are virtually guaranteed to get caught because they leave electronic trails that are easily traced.

"So don't use Craigslist for crime unless you want to go to jail," he said Wednesday in an interview from San Francisco, where the company is based.

Buckmaster said there have been billions of interactions on Craigslist and added: "Compared to human society as a whole, the risks of Craigslist are low, but they're not zero."

Buckmaster urged users to take precautions when meeting someone found through an online ad, such as choosing a public place or taking a friend along.

[Associated Press; By DENISE LAVOIE]

Associated Press writers who contributed to this report include Dave Collins in Mashantucket, Conn., and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.