#25: Craigslist Nightmare - When Online Ads Turn Fatal - Nightwatch Files

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Before we begin. Do you have a theory about this
case or a story of your own? Leave a message
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Files without the space, or head over to night watchfiles
dot com to find them all in one place. Your
insights might be featured in a future episode. I'm Harper
Finley and this is night Watch Files. Trigger warning. This

(00:27):
episode contains graphic descriptions of self harm. Listener's discretion is
strongly advised. On April fourteenth, two thousand and nine, Julisa
Brisman posted on her Facebook wall from her hotel room
in Boston almost forgot just how good staying in and
watching a funny Dane Cook movie can be. She was energized,

(00:48):
she was sober, and she was building a new life
helping others overcome addiction. That evening, she received a phone
call from a man with a polite tone who wanted
to book an appointment for ten pm. She discribed ribed
him to her friend as sounding friendly and cordial. Five
minutes before he was due to arrive, she told her
friend Sarah she had to hang up because her client

(01:09):
was coming. Sarah, protective like a mother, hen insisted julyssa
send her a text when the appointment was over. The
text never came. At four a m. Sarah woke up
and knew immediately that something was wrong. Meanwhile, another woman
had already crossed paths with the same predator. Trisha Leffler

(01:29):
had traveled to Boston for work and ended up zip
tide on a hotel room floor, staring down the barrel
of a gun held by a tall, well dressed man
who spoke to her calmly and politely while he methodically
robbed her. Both women had one thing in common. They
had advertised their services on Craigslist. Within days, surveillance photos

(01:50):
would emerge, showing their attacker, a clean cut, attractive man
who looked more like a college student than a killer.
He appeared casual and nonchalant in the images, calmly checking
his BlackBerry as if he didn't have a care in
the world. But this was no ordinary criminal. When police
finally traced the digital breadcrumbs he had left behind, what

(02:13):
they discovered would shock even seasoned investigators. The man hunting
women through online classified ads was someone no one would suspect.

(02:54):
In nineteen ninety five, a modest email list would grow
to become one of the most influential platforms on the Internet,
created by Craig Newmark, a software engineer born in Morristown,
New Jersey, in nineteen fifty two. What started as a
simple way to share local San Francisco events with friends
would eventually reshape entire industries and spark national debates about

(03:16):
online responsibility. Newmark had spent nearly two decades honing his
technical skills at IBM and other firms before moving to
San Francisco in nineteen ninety three for a position at
Charles Schwab. A self described shy techno nerd, his approach
to community building was straightforward, give people a break. When

(03:36):
his email list of local events began attracting more requests
for inclusion, he registered craigslist dot org in nineteen ninety
six and moved the concept online, allowing users to post
and exchange classified ads, primarily for free. The platform's growth
was organic, rooted in service rather than profit. Its minimalist,

(03:56):
utilitarian design stood in stark contrast to the flashier portals
emerging during the dot com boom. By the late nineteen nineties,
tens of thousands of users were generating countless postings, and
the platform had expanded beyond San Francisco to numerous US cities.
In two thousand, Newmark hired Jim Buckmaster to scale and

(04:16):
upgrade the technology. Buckmaster introduced search capabilities, messaging, and flagging
systems that allowed the site to handle larger volumes while
reducing the need for hands on moderation. Craigslist's impact on
traditional media was devastating. By delivering classified ads online for
free or at very low cost, it directly undercut newspaper's

(04:39):
primary revenue stream. Many publications struggled to adapt as local
commerce and job listings migrated to this new digital space.
The platform's emphasis on simplicity, trust based community policing, and
broad category scope from housing and jobs to community discussions
and personal ads, cemented its dominance in online classifieds. For

(05:00):
many users, particularly those under thirty, Craigslist became a way
of life. The seventh most visited website in the US,
with twenty five million monthly users generating ten billion page views.
It served as the go to destination for finding apartments, jobs, furniture,
book clubs, nannies, or romantic encounters. Despite generating an estimated

(05:22):
revenue of over one hundred million dollars by two thousand, nine,
The company operated with just thirty employees from a Victorian
house in San Francisco. Newmark himself was known to answer
phones and contact users who violated the site's rules. The
platform generated revenue through charges for job listings in select
cities New York, apartment ads from brokers, and posts in

(05:45):
what was initially called the erotic Services section, later renamed
adult Services. This section became both a major traffic driver
and the source of significant controversy. Sex workers found the
platform particularly useful, and the scale of commercial sex advertising
was substantial. Former Madame Christen Davis reported posting around three

(06:07):
hundred ads per day for her operation. The site's casual
Encounters section facilitated various types of meetings, including those seeking
transgender individuals, categorized under headings like M four to T
for men seeking transgender women. This extensive use for sexual
services drew sharp criticism from law enforcement. Cook County Sheriff

(06:29):
Tom Dart characterized Craigslist as the single largest source of
prostitution in the nation. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal argued
that prostitution and pornography advertisements led to serious criminal activity,
including human trafficking, child exploitation, and illegal drug activity. Critics
maintained that the platform provided a roadmap for predators targeting

(06:53):
sex workers. These concerns created a fundamental tension between law
enforcement demands for tighter control and the founder's commitment to
free and open communication. In fall two thousand eight, Craigslist
reached an agreement with approximately forty attorneys general to require
phone numbers and credit cards from all users posting in

(07:13):
the erotic services section. However, officials like Blumenthal argued the
company had a moral obligation to implement additional measures, including
blocking technologies and enhanced screening procedures. CEO Jim Buckmaster and
founder Craig Newmark consistently defended their user empowerment model. They

(07:33):
argued the site was effectively policed by its millions of
users through a flagging system that allowed the community to
identify and remove inappropriate content. Buckmaster maintained this user based
approach was more effective than any team of professional moderators
could be. The company emphasized its cooperation with law enforcement

(07:53):
investigations and argued that criminals using the platform were essentially
creating an electronic trail that made their capture inevitable. While
users received anonymous email addresses, their Internet protocol addresses remained traceable,
a detail many users failed to consider. According to company leadership,

(08:14):
attempting to commit crimes through Craigslist was inherently foolish, as
the digital evidence would ultimately lead investigators to the perpetrators.
Under mounting pressure, particularly regarding allegations of facilitating prostitution and
human trafficking, Craigslist removed its entire adult services section in

(08:34):
twenty ten. This marked a significant moment of reckoning for
the platform's governance approach and highlighted the ongoing challenges of
managing an open Internet platform. The platform continued to face
other issues, including rampant scams, phishing attempts, and fraudulent listings,
which the company addressed through incremental improvements like enhanced user

(08:56):
flagging and phone verification systems. Despite these challenges, Craigslist maintained
its role as a vital community marketplace and continued democratizing
access to classified advertising. Newmark, who stepped down as CEO
in two thousand, remained involved at the customer service level,
focusing on scam prevention while dedicating himself to philanthropy through

(09:20):
his foundation. Under Buckmaster's leadership, the platform continued expanding to
new cities and categories while maintaining its straightforward approach. Quick

(09:44):
break ads keep the show running, but if you want
to skip them, the ad free versions on Patreon for
just three bucks a month, links in the show notes
and we're back. Thanks for sticking through that, Let's get
back to it. On May thirty first, two thousand seven,

(10:06):
someone created a detailed profile on alt dot com, a
community website dedicated to BDSM, leather and fetish interests. The
user name chosen was sex edict five three eight eight five,
and the profile presented a specific persona, a young college
graduate from Boston. The profile included explicit visual content, a
photograph showing a naked torso and erect penis. The user

(10:29):
provided detailed personal statistics, claiming a birth date of February twelfth,
nineteen eighty six, describing themselves as having short, blonde hair
and blue eyes, standing six feet four inches tall, and
identifying as Caucasian. The stated location was Boston, Massachusetts. Within
the lifestyle preferences section, the user indicated they thought about

(10:51):
the alt lifestyle all the time and identified their role
as submissive, with an experienced level of I am new
at this. The profile texts elaborated on these interests, stating
I am currently a graduate student looking to experiment with
the BDSM lifestyle. I am very interested in being dominated
and made to do different things. The seeking connections section

(11:13):
revealed broader interests. The profile specified I am looking for
anyone open minded try new fetishes or show me what
you know. I enjoy women, but I really want to
meet a tv slash tg slash ts for friendship and experimentation.
I am looking for doms and switches, but I am
open to experimenting with subs. The abbreviation tvtgts reference transvestite,

(11:37):
transgender and transsexual individuals. Following the profile creation, the user
began actively engaging with the alt dot com platform, building
a list of connections described as friends. These connections included
both male and female users, encompassing cross dressers, transgender individuals,
and dominatrices. The majority of these online connections were geographically

(11:58):
concentrated near Boston or in upstate New York. Subsequent investigations
by reporters and bloggers uncovered a broader digital presence extending
beyond alt dot com profiles. Using the identical username sex
addict five three eight eight five appeared on extreme Restraints
dot com, which described itself as the ultimate fetish store,

(12:18):
and Gay Clublist dot Com, marketed as your worldwide gay
and lesbian resource. Across all these platforms, the same distinctive
photograph of the naked torso appeared consistently. The alt dot
com profile displayed twelve virtual connections, including one identified as
extreme dom and another describing himself as a gay firefighter

(12:39):
seeking a submissive boy under a slightly modified username sex
addict fifth three eight five. An additional profile was discovered
on passion dot com, an adult personal's website. On this platform,
the user actively read and commented on sexually explicit articles,
including content authored by sex workers. The digital activity extended

(13:01):
to Craigslist, where the user browsed erotic personal sections targeting
both men and women during two thousand and eight and
again in January two thousand nine. Using a Yahoo email
account with the username sex addict five three eight five,
they responded to advertisements posted in the casual encounters section
under the category M four to T males seeking to

(13:22):
meet transvestites or transsexuals. This activity initiated a series of
sexually explicit email exchanges with an individual who described themselves
as a corporate professional and had posted one of the
targeted advertisements. On May second, two thousand and eight, an
email with the subject line hot Tongue was sent, containing
the message I am a twenty two year old grad student,

(13:44):
six foot three, two hundred and five pounds, good build, blonde,
blue eyes. Let me know what else you want to
see or know about me? What are you into and
what are your stats? What are you doing tonight? Throughout
these email communications, the user addressed their correspondent as babe,
and despite the extensive e mail correspondents that developed between

(14:05):
the two parties, no in person meeting ever occurred. The
exchanges remained confined to the digital realm, representing a pattern
of online sexual exploration that maintained certain boundaries while crossing others.
Tricia Leffler had traveled far from Mormon upbringing in Utah.
By twenty nine, she had abandoned her religious routes entirely

(14:28):
and established herself in Las Vegas, where she worked in prostitution.
The constant arrival of younger competitors in the city had
forced her to develop a strategic approach to her work.
When she saved enough money, she would travel to other
locations selecting destinations based on two criteria. The city had
to offer something new and interesting to experience, and it

(14:51):
had to provide viable work opportunities. This strategy brought her
to Boston for the first time on April ninth, two
thousand nine. Her criminal record for soliciting had made her
naturally wary of law enforcement encounters. Despite the nature of
her work. Those who knew Tricia described her as a
nice person, if a little lost in the world. She

(15:12):
was a bleached blonde five feet two inches tall, weighing
approximately one hundred and thirty five pounds, having gained some
weight over the years. Her easygoing nature served as her
calling card, and she was characterized as vulnerable, agreeable, and
quick to laugh, qualities that explained why clients enjoyed her company.
Her closest companion was Pixie, a tiny Pomeranian dog she

(15:34):
considered her best friend. Tricia's flight from Las Vegas touched
down at Logan Airport around six in the evening on Thursday,
April ninth. She took a taxi to her accommodation, the
Weston Copley Place in Boston's upscale Back Bay neighborhood, a
hotel she had booked through hotwire dot Com. This was
not a leisure trip. She had no interest in tourist attractions,

(15:57):
Red Sox games, or walking the Freedom Trail. This was
strictly business. Upon arriving at her hotel room, Tricia showered
and discarded her dirty clothes on the floor. She then
immediately logged onto her new computer to place an advertisement
on Craigslist, beginning the sequence of events that would define
her visit to Boston. Meanwhile, Julissa Brismane represented a different

(16:20):
trajectory entirely. The twenty five year old woman of Dominican
heritage had been raised by her mother, Carmen, in a
Manhattan apartment on West one and seventh Street, alongside a
sister ten years her junior. She told friends she barely
knew her father. Julisa identified strongly as a New Yorker,
embracing every aspect of city life, including what she called

(16:43):
the rude cab drivers and bipolar weather. Extended absences from
the city caused her withdrawal symptoms, and she believed deeply
in New York's unique magic. She once recounted how a
stranger had jumped onto subway tracks to retrieve her dropped iPod.
On her her Facebook profile, she described herself as a
born and raised NYC hottie and frequently quoted Carrie Bradshaw

(17:07):
from Sex in the City, a show she adored. Standing
just over five feet tall and weighing around one hundred pounds,
Julyusa possessed what was described as a shape close to
perfection by nearly any man's standards. She worked part time
as a model and enjoyed posing for photographs in bikinis
and revealing clothing. In her early twenties, Julissa had bleached

(17:29):
her hair blonde and embraced what friends called the ultimate
New York City party girl lifestyle. Sarah, who met Julissa
in two thousand and five through a Craigslist roommate advertisement,
recalled that Julissa drank way too much and loved to party.
Sarah observed that Julyssa would sometimes remain drunk all day
long and appeared to have no direction in life. Another friend, Monica,

(17:53):
described Julissa during this period as promiscuous, noting she would
frequently connect with different men at bars, and despite this behavior,
Monica loved Julissa for her gregarious spirit, describing her as
fun and happy and generous. During these years, Julyussa worked
various positions including bartender, shoe sailes woman, and tanning salon associate.

(18:16):
At twenty Julyssa met Mark Pines, a sixty year old
man who became her trusted adviser and assumed a protective
Svengali like role in her life. He cast her in
a public service announcement and considered her his muse while
she became his person. Pines worried that Julissa was following
too closely in the footsteps of her idol, Marilyn Monroe,

(18:38):
particularly concerning struggles with drugs and alcohol. Her closest relationship
was with Coco Chanel, her tiny, mixed breed male dog.
She frequently declared, I love Coco more than all of
my boyfriends combined. At the time of her death, she
maintained a relationship with a boyfriend named Tommy, whom she
adored and who lived in Colorado. Ussa had developed peculiar

(19:01):
eating habits, such as consuming a pint of cookies and
cream ice cream topped with cashews and strawberries for breakfast.
On April fourteenth, two thousand seven, Julissa experienced what she
described as an epiphany. She wrote in her journal, I
woke up April fourteen and said, I can't do this anymore.
I'm turning twenty four in two weeks and need to change.

(19:23):
This moment initiated a complete transformation. She abandoned drugs and alcohol,
joined Alcoholics Anonymous, and attended meetings daily. She commemorated the
beginning of her sobriety with an ankle tattoo featuring the date,
and quit her bartending job because the environment proved too tempting.
The change was profound and visible to those around her.

(19:45):
Her mother felt overjoyed, and Mark Pines observed he was
watching her become a woman. Julissa began making amends with
former friends like Sarah, apologizing for past behavior. She altered
her appearance, transitioning from bleached blonde to brunette, and adopted
a vegetarian lifestyle focused on helping others. Julissa decided to

(20:06):
pursue a career as a substance abuse counselor. She enrolled
in classes at the City College of New York to
obtain certification as an alcohol and substance abuse counselor. Her instructor,
Jack Bennett, found her to be shy and self effacing,
a dramatic contrast to her former persona. He was impressed
by her independent thinking and critical thinking skills, and noted

(20:30):
she was always impeccably dressed for their Saturday morning sessions.
Despite abandoning her regular employment, friends noticed Julissa never seemed
short of money. She purchased a new computer for her
sister and dressed herself in designer clothing and accessories, including
three hundred dollars Prada sunglasses. She began traveling extensively to
destinations including London, Iceland, Boston, and Los Angeles. When questioned

(20:56):
about her income sources, her explanations never really made a
lot of sen and she remained kind of vague. She
told one friend she could earn one thousand dollars per
night at bachelor parties simply by walking around in a bikini,
insisting she would never touch them. Julissa had begun working
as a massuse, offering sensual or erotic massages. She approached

(21:19):
this work seriously, purchasing her own massage table and receiving
training from a professional massuse. However, accounts of her work
varied among friends. Her former roommate Sarah insisted that Julyssa
maintained clear boundaries, always including the phrase no full service
in her advertisements, and did not think highly of prostitution.

(21:40):
Kristin Davis, a former madam, claimed Julissa had worked for
her providing body rub services, which Davis defined as sensual
massage performed in lingerie with some touching involved but no sex.
Monica provided the most explicit details, claiming Julissa's work consisted
of one hour massages conclude with what she termed a

(22:01):
happy ending, specifically a hand job during which clients were
not permitted to touch her. According to Monica, Julissa could
see up to eight clients daily, earning up to one
thousand dollars, and her business operated nationwide, taking her on
trips lasting weeks. Monica believed some of these trips were
organized by a man who retained a percentage of earnings,

(22:23):
though she suspected Julissa was working independently. On her final journey,
Julissa used various aliases in her advertisements, including Morgan, Susie,
and Rachel. This work was bringing Julyssa to Boston on Monday,
April thirteenth, where her path would intersect with events already
set in motion by Tricia Leffler's arrival four days earlier.

(23:00):
Thursday evening, April ninth, two thousand nine, Tricia Leffler completed
her check in procedures at the Weston Copley Place and
immediately began working. After showering and discarding her travel clothes,
she logged onto her computer and composed an advertisement for
the erotic services section of Craigslist. The ad offered potential
clients the opportunity to spend some time with a sweet

(23:22):
blonde and included her cell phone number. Late that evening,
extending into the early hours of Friday morning, her phone
began receiving calls. After fielding several inquiries, she received a
call from a man who sounded more serious than previous callers.
He requested her location, which she confirmed as a hotel
in Copley Square, and asked about her rates. She quoted

(23:46):
two hundred dollars for an hour, which he accepted without negotiation.
Leffler maintained that their conversation contained no explicit discussion of
sexual services. He was simply paying for her time. Instructed
him to call when he reached the hotel lobby. Approximately
twenty to thirty minutes later, the man called from the

(24:06):
Weston Lobby. Leffler informed him she was on the thirteenth floor.
Following her established safety protocol, she met him at the
elevator bank to evaluate him before revealing her specific room number.
She observed a tall, attractive man dressed in a black
leather coat, dark jeans, and a tan shirt. Satisfied with

(24:27):
her assessment, she felt comfortable proceeding and motioned for him
to follow her to the room. The moment they entered
the room and she closed the door, the man produced
a black semi automatic handgun. He ordered her to lie
on the floor, and she complied while attempting to remain calm.
The perpetrator, who stood well over six feet tall, returned

(24:48):
the weapon to his pocket, put on black leather gloves,
and positioned himself behind her. He secured her hands behind
her back using plastic zip ties, speaking in a calm
and polite manner. If you just be quiet, no harm's
going to come to you, He then systematically began robbing her.
When he asked for the location of her money, she

(25:09):
directed him to her purse, where he discovered and took
eight hundred dollars in cash. He methodically went through her wallet,
removing each credit card individually and asking what type each
one was. He demanded the pin for her bank debit card,
which she provided, warning her it had better be correct.
Leffler asked if he would leave her identification so she

(25:31):
could travel home. The perpetrator studied the id for approximately
a minute, as if memorizing her address, before throwing it
on the floor. She then requested that he leave her
one credit card. He cleverly pocketed the specific card she
had requested and threw down a different one instead. He
also took her Sony cybershot camera. The perpetrator helped her

(25:55):
into a sitting position, though her hands remained secured behind
her back. He took her cell phone and, fumbling while
wearing gloves, deleted his number from her call history before
removing the battery and throwing it behind the entertainment center.
He then selected a pair of her white and cream
colored thong underwear from a pile of dirty clothes and

(26:16):
placed them in his pocket, stating, I need time to
get out of here. The perpetrator looked for something to
secure her too. After a brief discussion where she suggested
possible objects, he tied her to the bathroom door. At
this point, she noticed he was no longer wearing gloves.
He placed three pieces of tape over her mouth. Unbeknownst

(26:38):
to Leffler at the time, he also took a second
pair of underwear, a new pink thong with black bows,
from her suit case. Finally, he produced what she described
as a huge silver knife and used it to cut
the telephone lines. Before departing, he told her in fifteen minutes,
I'll call security and tell them I heard something in
the room. They'll come up and set you free. Immediately

(27:02):
after the perpetrator left, Leffler waited briefly to insure his departure,
then freed herself from the zip ties within approximately ten
to twenty seconds and removed the tape from her mouth.
Concerned he might still be in the hotel, she ran
to a neighboring room and pounded on the door. A
man who identified himself as a doctor from Tennessee allowed

(27:23):
her inside, and she called security. The time was twelve
forty five a m. Boston Police detectives, including Sergeant Detective
Dan Keeler, arrived and interviewed her for the next two hours.
They cordoned off her room as a crime scene and
relocated her to a different room for questioning. Though initially
reluctant to cooperate due to her past arrests for soliciting,

(27:46):
Leffler found the detectives nice and understanding and provided full cooperation.
Later that morning, she accompanied police to headquarters to view
mug shots, but was unable to identify anyone. However, when
Invents instigators showed her grainy surveillance photographs taken from hotel
security cameras, she immediately identified the man as her attacker.

(28:09):
Investigators informed her that approximately one hour after the robbery,
the perpetrator had used her debit card at an ATM
near a pizza establishment. He successfully withdrew twenty dollars, which
represented the total balance in her account. Leffler made the
decision to remain in Boston, both because she was waiting
for funds from a friend and because she hoped to

(28:31):
recoup some of her financial losses. Police retained her cell
phone as evidence. Monday April thirteenth, two thousand and nine,
the day after Easter, twenty five year old Julisa brismane
boarded an Amtrak train in New York City destined for Boston.

(28:54):
As someone who identified herself as an NYC hottie and
loved her hometown. The only reason she would travel to
the home of what she called the hated Red Sox
was for work. She had scheduled appointments with several regular
massage clients and planned to find new ones by advertising
on Craigslist. During the train journey, she met a Yale

(29:15):
medical student she found attractive. The two exchanged phone numbers
and discussed the possibility of a date while she was
in town. Upon arriving in Boston Julyisa checked into her
room at the Marriott Hotel in Copley Square. The day
proceeded uneventfully as she attended to her regular clients. To
generate new business, she asked a girlfriend to post an

(29:36):
advertisement for her on Craigslist under the alias Morgan. The
ad was headlined hot brunette model and massuse visiting today
and contained the following text, Hi, my girlfriend, Morgan the
massage therapist will be visiting Boston Monday, April thirteenth, available
from one pm until eleven pm, Tuesday April fourteenth from

(29:58):
seven a m. To eleven pm, and Wednesday Day, April fifteenth,
from seven a m. To noon. At checkout she visits
only once every one to two months, so don't miss her.
Her picks are real recent and attached to this message.
She is visiting just these couple of days and I
highly recommend her. If you would like to schedule, please
email back several time preferences that work for you during

(30:21):
Morgan's window of availability, and I will do my best
to accommodate you. Be sure to include your phone number.
I do not give out a contact number until you
have provided yours. Kisses, Morgan and Mary with the advertisement posted,
Julyssa settled in for what turned out to be a
quiet night for business. Following her usual practice when traveling,

(30:41):
she preferred remaining in her hotel room rather than exploring
the city. That evening, she ordered room service, watched a
Damee Cook movie, and went to sleep. Tuesday, April fourteenth,
two thousand nine, Julyssa woke up in her twentieth floor
room at the Marriotte feeling energy and jazzed from the
movie she had watched the previous evening. She posted on

(31:05):
her Facebook wall almost forgot just how good staying in
and watching a funny Dane Cook movie can be. At
some point during the day, she attended a local alcoholics
anonymous meeting. Friends later confirmed she was religious about attending
these meetings even when traveling. Throughout the day, she remained
active on Facebook, which served as her virtual playground. At

(31:27):
four or four pm, she posted a list of her
favorite bands, The Killers, Led Zeppelin, Third Eye Blind, The Cure,
and Every Avenue. By five o three pm, she was
chatting with Jeremy J. Gray, an old high school acquaintance
who had recently reconnected with her on the platform. Gray
teased her about staying in while he was about to

(31:48):
go out partying. She responded jokingly that he was fucking
crazy and that she was tired for the first time
in like forever. Meanwhile, Julissa's girlfriend, who had posted the
Craigslist at a advertisement, received an e mail from a
man in Boston expressing interest in an appointment. The friend
emailed Julissa's cell phone number to the man and informed

(32:09):
Julissa to expect his call. Soon after, a man with
what she described as a polite tone called her. He
said he was visiting from out of town and wanted
to see her around ten pm. When he asked if
that time was too late, she replied no, prob up
until eleven pm is good. Just five minutes before the

(32:30):
ten pm appointment, Julissa was speaking on the phone with
her close friend Sarah. She told Sarah she had to
end the call because her new client was due to arrive,
describing him as sounding friendly and cordial. Sarah, who acted
protective like a mother, hen, urged her to be careful
and insisted that Julisa send her a text message when

(32:50):
the client arrived that night, Sarah's phone remained silent. Sometime
after ten pm, Jill Stern, a realtor from Greenwich Village,
staying with her son in Room twenty forty one, heard
a commotion down the hall. It sounded like furniture being moved,
followed by a high pitched shriek. After a moment, she
heard a second shriek. Jill opened her door and saw

(33:14):
what she initially thought was a child lying on the
hallway carpet, positioned halfway in and out of a room.
The person's head was down and their dark brown hair
was spread out. Thinking it was a child having a tantrum,
Jill called out are you okay, buddy, but received no response.
As she considered what to do, an elevator opened, and

(33:34):
a young woman who appeared a bit tipsy, walked toward them,
stopped abruptly upon seeing the body, exclaimed holy shit, and
then entered the room next door, slamming it shut. Around
this time, Jill heard a guttural sound, with the person
on the floor still not moving or responding. Jill dialed
the hotel operator and asked them to come up to

(33:55):
the twentieth floor. A security guard arrived almost immediately, knelt down,
moved the woman's hair away, and Jill could see blood.
The guard seemed to panic, repeating Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ.
He ordered Jill back into her room, but she did
not comply. He then spoke urgently into his walkie talkie,

(34:15):
this is an emergency call E M t's and the
police right away. The guard turned the woman over. She
was barely alive, dying right there on a nondescript hallway carpet,
face down in her own blood. Soon, paramedics and police
officers filled the hallway. As police escorted her past Julyiss's
room number twenty thirty four, Jill noticed that the mirrored

(34:36):
glass closet just inside the doorway was shattered with round
impressions left by two bullets clearly visible. Julyssa Brisman had
been mortally wounded. Her head showed evidence of blunt trauma
from being struck, and she had been shot three times
at point blank range. The bullets had torn into her rib,
spinal cord, and lung, with the fatal shot passing directly

(34:59):
through her heart. She was pronounced dead at ten thirty
six p m. In the emergency room at Boston Medical Center,
thousands of miles away. Her friend Sara was becoming increasingly worried.
She never received the text confirming the client's arrival or departure.
After an hour, she called Julysses's hotel room, but there
was no answer. She sent a text message, have fun

(35:22):
with your Yale boy. Just text me when you get
a chance let me know you're okay, and went to sleep.
At four a m. Sarah woke up and checked her phone.
Still nothing from Julissa. She knew immediately that something was wrong.
She called the hotel again and asked for security, but
they would not provide any information. Finally suggesting she called

(35:43):
the Boston police. Sarah made the call and learned that
her worst fear had come true. Julisa had been murdered.
Later that morning, Sarah located the e mail the presumed
killer had sent in response to the Craigslist advertisement and
forwarded it to Boston detectives, providing them with their first
major lead in the case. Quick break ads keep the

(36:34):
show running, but if you want to skip them, the
ad free versions on Patreon for just three bucks a month.
Links in the show notes and we're back. Thanks for
sticking through that. Let's get back to it. Wednesday morning,

(36:54):
April fifteenth, two thousand and nine, the story of the
murder at the Copley Marriott began to spread a ross
Boston's media landscape. Maria Kramer, a crime reporter for The
Boston Globe, received a call from her editor and immediately
understood that a shooting in such an elegant back bay
hotel would generate significant coverage. As details emerged throughout the day,

(37:16):
reporters learned that the victim had advertised on Craigslist as
a massuse, and that police were connecting her murder to
the robbery of a prostitute from Las Vegas at the
nearby Weston Hotel less than a week earlier. The Craigslist
connection captured public attention and fueled fears that a killer
was using the familiar website to select victims like the

(37:37):
rest of us might pick out a used kitchen table.
Reporters worked their phones relentlessly and turned to Facebook, which
proved to be a reporter's best friend, to locate and
contact Julisa Brismane's friends and associates. When police released surveillance
photographs from both hotels, the media was struck by the

(37:57):
suspect's appearance and demeanor. The images showed a tall, blond
man who resembled a college student from an Abercrombie and
Fitch fashion shoot rather than a typical murder suspect. In
the photographs, he appeared casual and nonchalant, calmly examining his
BlackBerry as if he didn't have a care in the world,
even after allegedly committing murder. This incongruous image of the

(38:21):
perpetrator only intensified media interest in the case. For Boston
homicide detectives, the murder confirmed their worst fears. A single
perpetrator was responsible for both hotel attacks in the heart
of the city's tourist district. With the Boston Marathons scheduled
for just days away. The connections were unmistakable. Both women

(38:42):
had advertised services on Craigslist, and in both cases the
assailant used plastic zip tie restraints. In Julyissa Brismane's case,
a single zip tie was found dangling from her wrist,
suggesting she had fought back before her attacker could fully
restrain her. Detectives believed the struggle had escalated into a
robbery gone wrong, culminating in murder. The new clearer surveillance

(39:07):
photographs from the Marriott eliminated any doubt that the same
man was responsible for the Weston robbery. Detectives immediately contacted
Trisha Leffler, instructing her not to move. When they showed
her the new photograph, she instantly recognized him. Oh this
is a really good picture of him. Where did you
get it? She asked, before her heart sank upon learning

(39:29):
that he had murdered another woman the previous night. Police
also decided to expedite finger print analysis of the tape
the perpetrator had used on Tricia's mouth. As she recalled,
he was not wearing gloves at that moment. A major
breakthrough came when Julyss's heartbroken friend Sarah, having learned of
the murder, located and forwarded the e mail the presumed

(39:51):
killer had sent in response to the Craigslist advertisement. This
provided detectives with their first significant lead. With this email,
forensic investigators, assisted by the NYPD's cyber Crime Unit, began
the meticulous work of tracing the perpetrator's Internet protocol address.
Investigators recognized the perpetrator had made several critical errors, including

(40:15):
removing his gloves and failing to wear a disguise, but
his use of the Internet was the most significant mistake.
At eleven in the morning, Julisa's mother, Carmen, and other
family members met with police in Boston, where she completed
the painful identification of her daughter's body. Meanwhile, friends like
Mark Pine's and Jay Gray learned of her death through

(40:37):
phone calls from her mother and reporters expressing shock and disbelief.
Jill Stern, the witness who had discovered Julisa in the
hotel hallway, became fearful for her own safety after her
name and neighborhood were published in news reports. While the
killer remained at large Thursday, April sixteen, two thousand nine,

(40:58):
while police worked around the clock and camera crews maintained
their vigil outside the Marriotte Hotel. The perpetrator was moving.
That day, he traveled to Foxwood's Resort casino in Connecticut.
A young mother named Jamie, who was playing blackjack with
a friend, felt an immediate chill when a tall, clean cut,
blonde man sat down at their table. She described him

(41:22):
as having a black cloud over his head and a
stone cold face. His presence made her feel very, very
weird and creepy and uncomfortable as he kept staring at
her chest in an intense strange way. She watched as
he lost approximately six hundred dollars in an hour and
a half, rolling his eyes in frustration, before getting up

(41:42):
and mumbling a curse as he departed. When she later
saw news reports, she recognized him as the weird guy
from the casino. Later that night, the perpetrator struck again. Amber,
a twenty six year old exotic dancer from Las Vegas,
had placed an advertisement on Craigslist for private lap dances
in her room at the Holiday in Express in Warwick,

(42:03):
Rhode Island. The hotel was located midway between Foxwood's Casino
and Boston. A man arranged a one hundred dollar lap
dance for around eleven in the evening, calling and texting
while an wrote. At ten fifty one p m, hotel
surveillance cameras captured a tall, blond man entering the lobby
in Amber's third floor room. She noticed he spoke with

(42:25):
an accent and told her he was from Boston. He
then produced a gun, his hand shaking and repeatedly said,
I don't want to kill you. I'm broke and I
just need some cash or some cards. He ordered her
face down on the floor and secured her hands behind
her back with zip ties. The situation was interrupted when
Amber's phone began ringing, making the gunman extremely nervous. The

(42:49):
caller was her husband, who was waiting downstairs in the
lobby for a text message that never arrived. Her husband,
who possessed a room key, then burst into the room.
The gunman threatened him with the weapon, and the husband
fled back into the hallway. The gunmen immediately escaped in
the opposite direction, leaving the hotel without taking anything. Warwick

(43:11):
police were summoned and a hotel security guard had to
cut the zip ties from Amber's wrists. Local police quickly
alerted Boston detectives, who confirmed through the holiday in surveillance
footage that the same man was responsible. Investigators in Boston
were astounded by his brazeness, noting that he was acting
in a frenzy and in apparent disregard for his own

(43:34):
safety despite the massive media attention surrounding the case. They
theorized he might be driven by drug addiction or was
a sociopath who needed to be stopped before he killed again.
The digital trail was leading investigators closer to their target.
The email address, the IP tracking, the forensic evidence. Everything

(43:56):
was converging on a single point. Computer forensics experts worked
methodically through server logs and digital breadcrumbs, following the electronic
path back to its source. Each piece of data brought
them closer to identifying the man who had terrorized multiple
women across New England. The investigation was accelerating, with clear

(44:16):
surveillance footage, witness testimony, physical evidence, and now digital forensics
all pointing toward the same perpetrator. Detectives knew they were
closing in the brazenness of the Rhode Island attempt, coming
so soon after the Boston murder amid massive media coverage,
suggested either desperation or complete disregard for consequences. Somewhere in

(44:38):
the Boston area, a killer believed he had covered his tracks.
He was wrong. Philip Markoff was born on February twelfth night,

(45:00):
teen eighty six, to doctor Richard Markoff, a dentist practicing
in Syracuse, New York, and Susan Haynes. His parents divorced
when he was very young, leading to a divided family arrangement.
Philip was raised by his mother in Cheryl, New York,
while his older brother John lived with their father. Following
the divorce, his mother remarried Gary Carroll, a banker who

(45:21):
developed a close relationship with Philip. When Philip was five
years old, his mother and stepfather had a daughter, giving
him a younger half sister. Susan worked as a stay
at home mother when her children were young, but eventually
took a position in the gift shop at the nearby
Turning Stone Resort Casino. Though his mother and stepfather later divorced,

(45:43):
both continued to reside in Cheryl. Philip grew up in Cheryl,
a community that takes pride in being the smallest city
in New York State, with a population of only three thousand,
one hundred fifty The town was described as placid with
a hometown feel and life vocals sometimes referred to it
as Pleasantville. It was a tight knit community that strongly

(46:04):
supported its children, focusing on parks, community centers, and local
events including concerts and parades. He attended local schools and
graduated from Vernon Verona Cheryl High School in two thousand
four in a class of approximately one hundred and fifty students.
During his high school years, he was a member of
the National Honor Society and participated in youth court. He

(46:27):
also engaged in sports, joining both the golf and bowling teams.
A childhood friend described him as a great bowler who
would occasionally display temper when he failed to achieve a
strike or spare. He apparently excelled at poker, even bequeathing
his playing skills to a friend in his yearbook. Socially,
acquaintances from high school held varied perceptions of him. Many

(46:51):
described him as a normal, average high schooler who was
a really nice kid and never aggressive or mean. He
was noted for his exceptional height, which made him appear
physically awkward, as if he hadn't grown into his body yet.
He tended to associate with what others called the nerdy
geeks rather than the popular crowd. However, one female classmate, Andrea,

(47:14):
held a starkly different view, describing him as mean, condescending,
and arrogant. From first grade through college, She claimed he
enjoyed targeting her with taunts, calling her stupid and dumb.
Friends from that period noted that he largely ignored his
female classmates, and they could not recall him having a
single girl friend during high school. In the fall of

(47:36):
two thousand four, Philip enrolled at the University at Albany SUNNI,
where he lived on the Honors floor of his freshman dormitory.
As a pre medical student majoring in biology, he was
widely regarded by his peers as exceptionally intelligent and gifted.
He undertook a heavy course load, with additional classes allowing

(47:57):
him to graduate in only three years. While friends noted
he sometimes appeared stressed from his studies, they also observed
that he would always bounce right back. At EU Albany,
he joined the ko ed college fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon.
Friends from this period described him as a nice, easy
going guy who could also be a little bit awkward

(48:19):
and lacking in some social skills. He was not a loner,
but neither was he the life of the party. He
continued playing Texas HoldEm poker with friends, though the stakes
were reportedly low. He was also a die hard Republican
and member of the College Republicans Club, which was notable
on a campus with a predominantly left wing student body.

(48:40):
A fellow club member described him as a throwback to
a more conservative era in his views on men's and
women's roles in society. Another acquaintance, who was gay, recalled
arguing with him over his off color comments about women
and oppressed people, but felt Philip's views were not uncommon
among other straight men on campus, while some friends felt

(49:02):
he was not a lady's man and didn't focus much
attention on pursuing women. One female friend and fraternity sister,
Morgan Houston, recalled an uncomfortable incident after a night of
drinking with a group of friends. She said he cornered
her outside their dormitory, pushed her against a wall, and
forcefully tried to kiss her. She was unable to push

(49:24):
him away until another friend intervened. She stated that she
chalked it up to the alcohol and chose not to
report the incident, preferring to forget about it. During his
sophomore year, on September nineteenth, two thousand five, Philip met
Megan mc allister, a senior at EU Albany. They were
both volunteering at Albany Medical Center, pushing stretchers down hallways

(49:47):
and bringing blood and urine samples to pathology together before
having their first date on November eleventh, two thousand five.
In early two thousand seven, Philip Markoff completed his undergraduate studies,
graduating fromm YOUW Albany summa cum laude with a Bachelor
of Science degree in biology after just three years. For

(50:11):
three days, police forensic investigators assisted by the NYPD's Cybercrime Unit,
had worked intensively to trace the IP address from the
email sent to Julissa Brismane's friend on the night of Saturday,
April eighteenth, they achieved a breakthrough with help from internet
service provider Comcast. They traced the email to a name
in physical address number eight High Point Circle in Quincy,

(50:35):
a working class city just ten miles south of Boston.
This lead was described as incredible, akin to a treasure
map marked with an X. However, investigators understood it wasn't definitive.
The suspect's computer could have been used by someone else,
or a neighbor could have accessed an unsecured wireless connection.

(50:56):
The critical next step required old fashioned police work. They
needed to determine if the resident matched the man in
the surveillance photographs. That night, at least six unmarked police
cars moved stealthily as sharks into position around the High
Point Circle Condominium Complex, a relatively new development situated on
a slight hill that affected a certain exclusive air. The

(51:20):
Boston Police Department's elite Fugitive Unit, led by Sergeant Detective
Brian Albert, established the stake out. Albert, a former U.
S Marine, possessed a well developed specialty for matching suspects
to surveillance photos, a skill honed during the First Gulf
War and further sharpened during his time in Boston's toughest
neighborhoods and gang unit. His team covered both exits of

(51:43):
the building at number eight High Point Circle, knowing any
resident would likely head for the parking lot or adjacent garage.
The night passed with long periods of waiting as the
unit listened to music, reviewed the suspect's file and consumed
red Bull To stay alert. They switched cars periodically to
avoid detection. The stakeout continued through the early morning hours

(52:06):
of Sunday, April nineteenth, extending into mid morning. When the
officers spotted their target, a tall, blond man exited the
building accompanied by an attractive blond woman. Investigators immediately focused
their attention, comparing the man to the surveillance images. His
height appeared to be over six feet tall, towering over
his companion. His hair was blonde. His gait was described

(52:30):
as both awkward and athletic, looking reminiscent of Boston Celtic's
Center Kevin McHale. Sergeant Detective Albert was immediately confident. He
later told The Boston Herald, I was surprised at how
much he looked like the pictures I saw from the
incidents in Boston and Rhode Island. It was exciting to
see him up close. Sergeant Detective Daniel Duff, the lead

(52:54):
detective on the case, also felt they were onto something,
though he cautioned we didn't want to jump to any conclusions.
The couple entered a Toyota Corolla and undercover officers began
surveillance Their Sunday excursion was mundane. They visited a local
Bjay's wholesale club and purchased a case of bottled water
and other items. Undercover officers followed them through every aisle,

(53:17):
observing an unusual dynamic between the two. The woman was
described as lovey dovey, kissing and hugging the man, but
he appeared removed and appeared cold to her. Albert thought
the man looked stressed and noted he was not smiling,
seeming to have a lot on his mind. Investigators transmitted
word back to headquarters that they believed they had identified

(53:40):
their suspect. Albert's succinct assessment was relaid. I like him.
Given his track record, his evaluation was considered reliable. Background
information was compiled, identifying the suspect as a twenty three
year old medical student and the woman as his twenty
five year old fiancee. The remainder of Sunday was quiet.

(54:01):
The suspect emerged a couple of times to work under
the hood of a second vehicle, with his fiance beside him. Again.
Officers noted she was bubbly and energetic, described by one
as giggly as she flirted with him while he focused
on the engine. She looked like she was living in
a fairy tale. One officer observed. The stakeout, which now

(54:21):
included at least twenty officers and Police Commissioner Ed Davis himself,
continued into Monday. As Sunday transitioned into Monday, investigators were
eager to bring the suspect in for questioning. They felt
they had sufficient evidence for a search warrant, but the
District Attorney's office wanted one additional piece of evidence before
authorizing an arrest, an eyewitness identification. The call went out

(54:45):
for Tricia Leffler, who was now in New York City.
Monday afternoon, the case went into overdrive. Some time after
three pm, the officers conducting surveillance observed something concerning. The
suspect and his fiancee exited the apartment building carrying a
suitcase and small backpack. The couple entered their Toyota Corolla

(55:08):
and began driving south on Interstate ninety five. The police
following in a convoy of unmarked vehicles, did not know
their destination, but realized they would soon cross from Massachusetts
into Rhode Island. That same morning, Rhode Island authorities had
released new surveillance photographs from the holiday in Express robbery,
and police feared the suspect might have been spooped into fleeing.

(55:31):
Sergeant Detective Albert later recalled the intensity of the moment.
There's a million things going through your head. Is he
taking off because he saw the surveillance photos. Police Commissioner
Davis and District Attorney Dan Conley were alerted. Conley stated,
we agreed, we didn't want this guy leaving Massachusetts. He

(55:52):
was not going to be allowed to leave Massachusetts. Simultaneously,
in Manhattan, a delicate police operation was under way. Two
Boston detectives who had been in Atlantic City for the
weekend were ordered to step on it and meet with
NYPD officers. A clear photograph of the suspect, his Boston
University identification photo, had been transmitted to them. District Attorney

(56:15):
Conly insisted that the identification process be conducted properly, Following
advice from expert doctor Gary Wells, the procedure was handled strictly.
An NYPD sergeant with no knowledge of the suspect's identity,
would show Tricia the photographs. The eight photos were stacked
like a deck of cards, and she would be asked
to turn them over one at a time. By the

(56:38):
time the officers met and reached Trisha's location, it was
approaching four p m. The suspect's car was getting closer
to the Rhode Island border, and tension was mounting inside
the room. The NYPD sergeant presented Tricia with a stack
of photographs. She turned the images over one by one
without hesitation. I stopped on number five and said, that's him.

(57:00):
Tricia recalled the moment she saw the picture, she began shaking.
The New York officer stepped into the hallway and informed
the Boston detectives that she had made a positive identification.
One of the Boston officers was already on his cell
phone with Lieutenant Detective Robert Murner, head of the homicide unit.
At four oh three p m, Tricia made her identification.

(57:24):
The photograph she had selected showed Philip Markoff, a twenty
three year old medical student at Boston University. Upon hearing
the positive identification, Murner immediately gave the order to the
trailing officers to stop the vehicle. At four oh seven
p m on Interstate ninety five near Walpole, Massachusetts, less
than fifty miles from the Rhode Island border. Unmarked police

(57:47):
cars surrounded the Toyota Corolla and initiated the traffic stop.
The man who had terrorized women across New England, who
had appeared so ordinary in surveillance footage, who had managed
to maintain the facade of a respectable medical student while
secretly hunting victims online, was finally in custody. Philip Markoff's

(58:07):
double life was over. Quick break ads keep the show running,
but if you want to skip them, the ad free
versions on Patreon for just three bucks a month. Links
in the show notes and we're back. Thanks for sticking

(58:30):
through that. Let's get back to it. Monday evening, April twentieth,
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis and Suffolk County District Attorney
Dan Conley held a press conference to announce that an
arrest had been made in the Craigslist killer case. Commissioner

(58:50):
Davis expressed his satisfaction, stating, we are very very happy
to have this man off the street in such a
timely way. When asked if the suspect had been tracked electronically,
calmly confirmed they had followed a multitude of avenues. High
tech leads and old fashioned shoe leather, including matching IP
addresses to physical locations. The announcement that the suspect was

(59:13):
Philip Markoff, a twenty three year old second year medical
student at the prestigious Boston University School of Medicine, sent
the already intense story into the stratosphere. The press went
crazy over the irony that Markov was training to save
lives at Boston Medical Center, the same emergency room where
Julisa Brisman had been pronounced dead. Crime reporter Maria Kramer

(59:36):
noted the profound shock of the revelation. This is a
suspect who, by any stretch of the imagination, has everything
going for him. He has no criminal record. He was
an ambitious, intelligent man who had a future ahead of him.
If police are correct, then he has been leading a
double life. Media crews immediately descended on his apartment complex

(59:59):
at eight High Point Circle in Quincy. Neighbors expressed their shock. Jonathanuva,
who lived next door, said, knowing him and hearing all
of this, it just doesn't connect to the guy I know.
Another neighbor, Mike Dye, who had invited Markov to his
Super Bowl party, described him as a normal, down to
earth guy. Reporters began investigating Markov's background, uncovering that he

(01:00:22):
had graduated summa cum laude from U Albany in just
three years, and that The Boston Globe had a photograph
of him in its archives from his white coat day
at medical school, capturing him with an ear to ear grin.
The media also quickly discovered the extensive wedding website Markoff
and his fiancee, Meghan McAllister, had created for their planned

(01:00:45):
August fourteenth wedding. The sight, which was shut down the
next day, detailed their courtship, which began while volunteering at
Albany Medical Center, and featured a countdown clock ticking down
the seconds until their ceremony. Before it was taken down,
one user posted a question on the guest registry has
the groom killed anyone there yet? In the early morning

(01:01:07):
hours of Tuesday, April twenty first, Megan McAllister sent emails
to The Boston Herald and ABC's Good Morning America staunchly
defending her fiancee. She wrote, Philip is a beautiful person
inside and out and could not hurt a fly, and
vowed to stand by him, claiming a Boston police officer
was trying to make big bucks by selling this false story.

(01:01:30):
That same day, details from the police search of Markov's
apartment began to leak, painting a damning picture. Police allegedly
found plastic zip ties, duct tape, and a semi automatic
firearm hidden inside a hollowed out copy of the medical
textbook Grey's Anatomy. Detectives called Trisha Leffler from the apartment
to confirm descriptions of items stolen from her. She verified

(01:01:53):
that the two pairs of underwear found, one white and cream,
the other pink with black bows, were hers. She also
told them her camera, American Express gift cards, a knife,
and a gun had been taken. Officers informed her they
had found the gift cards, knife, gun, and both pairs
of underwear, but not the camera. The discovery of the

(01:02:14):
underwear led criminologist doctor Casey Jordan to speculate that the
crimes had a sexual component and that Markov was a
thrill seeker who took souvenirs to relive the events. At
four p m. Philip Markoff was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court.
He appeared alone, without family or his fiancee. Supported only

(01:02:34):
by his court appointed defense attorney John Salzburg. Julissa Brismane's father, Hector,
sat in the front row. Markov, wearing tan trousers and
a striped shirt, looked rumpled, but his face was expressionless,
though his rapid breathing and blinking suggested nervousness. Assistant District
Attorney Jennifer Hickman laid out the state's case, citing forensic

(01:02:57):
evidence from the crime scenes, electronic communication, and surveillance video
that connected Markof to both the robbery of Trisha Leffler
and the murder of Julisa Brismane. She stated that brisman
had sustained blunt head trauma and three gunshot wounds at
close range, with the fatal shot going through her heart.
The judge set bail on the robbery and kidnapping charges

(01:03:19):
at two hundred fifty thousand dollars, but ordered Markoff held
without bail on the murder charge. After the hearing, Salzburg
stated Philip Markoff is not guilty of the charges. District
attorney conly told the press, we're dealing with somebody who
is fairly clever, choosing women who were vulnerable to dominate
them to hurt them to get what he wants. Wednesday,

(01:03:43):
April twenty second, Julyisa Brismane's family held awake for her
at a funeral home in New York. Her mother, Carmen,
was heard crying in Spanish, why not me? Why her?
She was only twenty five. The family released a statement
expressing their devastation and relief that the man who did
this is in custody. Friends defended her memory against rumors

(01:04:05):
she was a prostitute, and James Destri, a founding member
of the band Blondie, whom she had met in class,
told The Daily News, I want people to know she
was more than the massuse. Her Facebook wall was flooded
with messages of grief and shock. Friday, April twenty fourth,
Markov's parents, doctor Richard Markoff, and Susan Haynes, visited him

(01:04:26):
at the Nashua Street jail for the first time since
his arrest. They were surrounded by media but said nothing. Later,
Markov's brother, John and his wife also visited. According to
sources cited by The Boston Herald, the meeting between the
brothers was emotional, and Philip broke down, telling John forget
about me. There is more coming. Out moved to California.

(01:04:49):
When asked about these remarks, his lawyer would neither confirm
nor deny them. Saturday, April twenty fifth, on the day
she would have turned twenty six years old, Julissa Brismane
was buried. Her friend Kiki wrote on Facebook, Happy birthday,
my honey Buns. I wish you were here. Makes me
sad to think that you're getting buried on your birthday.

(01:05:10):
Days after the arrest, NBC's Today Show aired a report
featuring a corporate professional who, with his identity concealed, revealed
that he had exchanged erotic emails with Markov. The man
had posted an advertisement on Craigslist under M four T
males seeking to meet transvestites or transsexuals, and was answered
by Markoff using the username sex addict five three eight five.

(01:05:34):
In the emails, Markoff used his full name and sent
photographs of his face and naked torso. One email with
the subject line hot Tongue was sent on May second,
two thousand eight, less than two weeks before he proposed
to Meghan McAllister. Thursday April thirtieth, Meghan McAllister left her
family's home in New Jersey and traveled to Boston for

(01:05:56):
a face to face visit with Markov at the Nashua
Street Jail. It was the first time she had seen
him since their arrest. A reporter at the jail noted
that she was no longer wearing her engagement ring. After
the hour long meeting, her attorney, Robert Honaker, spoke to
the press. He stated that Megan was beginning to realize
the seriousness of the charges and that the visit was

(01:06:19):
a big step for her to get on with her life.
He confirmed that the August wedding was off and being dismantled.
Meghan herself issued a formal statement expressing that her life
had been dramatically changed and that her heart goes out
to all of those afflicted by these events. While she
stated her intent to co operate fully with the investigation,

(01:06:40):
she also maintained what has been portrayed and leaked to
the media is not the Philip Markov that I know.
He is innocent until proven guilty. The facade of respectability
that had concealed Markov's crimes was crumbling. The medical student
who had maintained a wedding website while secretly prowling Craigslist

(01:07:00):
for victims who had kept stolen underwear as trophies while
planning his future as a doctor, was finally exposed. The
double life that had allowed him to operate undetected for
months had collapsed in a matter of days, leaving behind
a trail of devastated families and a community struggling to
understand how someone who appeared so normal could harbor such darkness.

(01:07:37):
May fourth, two thousand nine, Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick
Lynch and Warwick Police Chief Stephen McCartney announced that they
had issued an arrest warrant for Philip Markoff, charging him
with armed robbery and assault for the April sixteenth attack
on the exotic dancer Amber at the Holiday in Express.
Although Markoff was already in custody in Boston, the announcement

(01:08:00):
formalized the charges against him in the neighboring state. Authorities
did not detail their evidence, which newspapers had previously reported
included Markov's finger print in the hotel stairwell and text
message data placing him at the scene. Attorney General Lynch
stated simply that the person who attacked Amber and her
husband was Philip Markoff. During his remarks, Lynch also commented

(01:08:25):
on the role of the Internet, noting that while there
are predators out there, the Internet has blessed us all
with a wonderful tool to exchange information. Except for his
initial arraignment, Markov managed to stay out of public view.
On May twenty first, he ducked a second procedural hearing,
and two months after his arrest, the public had still

(01:08:47):
not heard him speak a word. In mid June, Megan
McAllister testified before the grand jury that was hearing evidence
in the case against her former fiancee. According to her lawyer,
she told them that she knew nothing of Markov's alleged
criminal activities and provided an alibi for her own whereabouts.
She was in New Jersey from March twentieth through April eighteenth,

(01:09:09):
returning to their Quincy apartment just as police were beginning
their surveillance. During that same trip to Boston, Megan made
one final decisive stop. She visited Markov in jail and
told him in no uncertain terms that she was no
longer his fiancee and that she was moving on with
her life. On Father's Day, Sunday, June twenty first, the case,

(01:09:33):
which had fallen silent, broke wide open. The public Information
officer for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office sent out
an email announcing that a grand jury had secretly indicted
Philip Markoff on first degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and
other charges. The District Attorney's Office revealed new details that
showed a troubling degree of premeditation. In February two thousand nine,

(01:09:57):
two months before the crime spree began, Markov had purchased
several disposable track phone cell phones, which are difficult to
trace as they don't require personal information or a service contract.
He allegedly kept the phones after the crimes, and police
found three of them, including those used to contact Trisha
Leffler and Jalisa Brismane, along with the purchase receipts in

(01:10:20):
his apartment. The gun found hidden inside a hollowed out
Grey's Anatomy text book was identified as a nine millimeter
Springfield Armory x D nine semi automatic. Markov had allegedly
purchased it at a gun shop in New Hampshire using
a driver's license that belonged to a New York resident
named Andrew Miller. Investigators could not establish a connection between

(01:10:43):
the two men, and Miller reportedly did not resemble Markov.
Markov's finger prints were allegedly found on the gun purchase documents.
The indictment charged that Markov struck Jalisa Brisman twice in
the head with the butt of his hand gun after
she resisted him. District Attorney Conly stated the blows to

(01:11:04):
her head were so sharp and so violent that they
fractured her skull. Police found four pairs of women's underwear
rolled up in a pair of socks and hidden in
the box spring of Markov's mattress. Tricia Leffler identified two
pairs as hers. The owners of the other two pairs
were unknown, but police established they did not belong to
Megan McAllister. Investigators found remnants of the e mail communication

(01:11:29):
between Markov and Julissa on a black Tashiba laptop discovered
in the apartment. The day after the indictment was announced,
Philip Markoff was required to appear in Suffolk Superior Court
to answer the charges. The small courtroom was standing room
only packed with media. Markov's family, his father, mother, brother,

(01:11:50):
and sister in law sat huddled together in a back row,
saying almost nothing as they waited for over an hour.
One reporter noted their silent support as an act of love.
The hearing was delayed until Julyssa Brismane's family, including her mother, Carmen,
and her younger sister, arrived from New York. They were
seated in the front row, separated from the Markov family

(01:12:12):
only by a small isle. At eleven o one a m.
Philip Markov entered the court room. The sole sound was
his leg irons dragging along the floor. His blonde hair
was shorter, and while his face was placid, One reporter
thought he looked as though he had aged ten years
during his two months in custody. He never glanced toward

(01:12:32):
his family. The magistrate's clerk read the first degree murder
charge and asked, how do you plead to this indictment? Sir?
In a clear, strong voice, Markov answered not guilty. He
then waved the formal reading of the other six indictments
and pleaded not guilty to those as well. After the

(01:12:52):
brief hearing, Markov was ushered out of the room and
taken back to the Nashville Street Jail, where he would
be housed until his trial, which was anticipated for the
summer of twenty ten. District Attorney Conley, a veteran of
the criminal justice system, expressed no surprise at the defendant's
ability to lead an apparent double life, stating the annals

(01:13:13):
of criminal justice are filled with people who are able
to compartmentalize their lives and fit in with society. The
evidence against Markov was mounting. The premeditated purchase of untraceable phones,
the illegal acquisition of a firearm using fraudulent identification, the
collection of victims underwear as trophies, and the digital trail

(01:13:35):
connecting him to both victims painted a picture of calculated predation.
As he sat in his jail cell awaiting trial, the
full scope of his crimes was becoming clear to investigators
and prosecutors alike. Quick break ads keep the show running,

(01:13:58):
but if you want to skip them, Thesis on Patreon
for just three bucks a month links in the show
notes and we're back. Thanks for sticking through that. Let's
get back to it. After his indictment, Philip Markoff was

(01:14:19):
held at the Nashua Street Jail in Boston while awaiting
a trial that was expected to begin in March twenty eleven.
During his incarceration, there were multiple indications of his deteriorating
mental state. Shortly after his arrest in April two thousand
and nine, Markov was placed on suicide watch for approximately
three weeks when officials found marks on his neck. Sources

(01:14:42):
indicated these marks were apparently made by shoelaces. According to
ABC News, he had attempted suicide at least twice. His
first attempt reportedly occurred shortly after his fiancee, Megan McAllister,
visited him in jail to break off their engagement. During
that attempt, he tried to sl slash his wrists with
a serrated spoon. In May two thousand nine, a psychiatrist

(01:15:05):
cleared Markov to be taken off suicide watch, and he
was placed in a single cell within the general prison population.
Sources also reported that Markov was being threatened by fellow
inmates because he had won their commissary items while playing chess.
On Sunday, August fifteenth, two thousand ten, Philip Markoff, now
twenty four years old, committed suicide in his cell. The

(01:15:29):
timing was significant. The previous day, Saturday, August fourteenth, would
have been his first wedding anniversary with Megan McAllister. He
was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell and
was pronounced dead at ten seventeen. A M officials stated
that he was alone in his cell and that all
evidence indicated he took his own life. The method of

(01:15:49):
his suicide was elaborate and showed a clear use of
his medical knowledge. He fashioned a primitive scalpel out of
a pen and a sharp piece of metal. Separate law
enforcement source told ABC News he was able to take
a razor blade from one of the disposable razors that
inmates are permitted to use. He used the instrument to
inflict wounds on his neck, arms, wrists, and ankles. He

(01:16:14):
managed to sever several veins and his carotid artery. He
also slashed the femoral artery in his leg. To insure
his death and conceal the bleeding, he took several additional steps.
He wrapped the wound on his leg in a garbage bag.
He then tied clear plastic bags around his head and
feet using gauze. A source noted that he put another

(01:16:34):
garbage bag over his head and tied it tightly around
his neck. The combination of air and blood loss contributed
to his death. He was discovered when he did not
come out for breakfast or for morning recreation. Guards went
to check on him and found him dead. In his
final moments, Markov created what one source called a ghoulish
shrine to his former fiancee, Meghan McAllister. He spread out

(01:16:58):
photographs of her on the small table in his cell.
Using his own blood, he scrawled her name Megan on
the wall of his cell, along with the word pocket.
He wrote the words above his doorway, where he could
see them, but where they would not be easily visible
to corrections officers. At a news conference, District Attorney Daniel

(01:17:19):
Conley confirmed the words written in blood, but could not
explain the meaning of pocket, stating we're still studying that.
Markov's death immediately triggered a comprehensive investigation by the Suffolk
County District Attorney's Office, the Boston Police, and the Sheriff's Department.
Surveillance tapes from the hall outside Markov's cell showed that

(01:17:42):
he was alone from the time he turned his lights
out at one fifty nine a m. Until he was
found unresponsive about eight hours later. Although inmates are supposed
to be checked every thirty minutes, Sheriff Andrea Cabral noted
that his cell had last been searched in June as
part of quarterly searches. She defended the jail's procedures, stating

(01:18:03):
it had one of the lowest suicide rates in the
country and that it was impossible to prevent contraband. City
Councilor Stephen J. Murphy called for an independent investigation, which
Sheriff Cabral dismissed as political grand standing. Julissa Brisman's family
issued a statement expressing that Markov's death had taken away

(01:18:24):
their only opportunity to confront him at the long awaited
criminal prosecution. The high profile nature of the case and
Markov's death fueled continued criticism of Craigslist in the months following.
Attorneys general from seventeen states sent a letter to the
company asking them to remove the adult services section. In

(01:18:45):
response to this immense pressure, Craigslist blocked access to its
adult services section on September fourth, twenty ten, replacing the
link with a black label showing the word censored. This
followed a change made in May two thousand nine, when
the site had already renamed its erotic services category to
adult services. The case was later dramatized in a made

(01:19:09):
for television movie titled The Craigslist Killer, which aired on
the Lifetime channel on January third, twenty eleven. The film
starred Jake mc dorman as Philip Markoff and William Baldwin
as the lead detective. A review of the movie noted
that it offered no explanation or motive for Markov's behavior,
with his character in the film stating, I'm a straight

(01:19:31):
a medical student. I'm getting married in a month. I mean,
would you guys care to explain to me why I
would go around and shoot prostitutes in hotel rooms. Philip
Markov's death ended his story, but it did not end
the pain he had caused. Tricia Leffler survived his attack
and found the strength to identify him, helping ensure that

(01:19:53):
justice could be pursued. Her courage in the face of
trauma was instrumental in preventing further victims. Julisa Brismane was
not afforded the same chance at survival. She was a
young woman who had overcome addiction, found sobriety, and was
working to rebuild her life with purpose, helping others struggling
with the same demons she had conquered. Her transformation from

(01:20:16):
party girl to some one dedicated to helping others represented
the best of human resilience and redemption. She loved her
tiny dog, Cocoa, more than all her boyfriend's combined. She
believed in the magic of New York City and the
kindness of strangers who would jump onto subway tracks to
retrieve a dropped iPod. She was working toward becoming a

(01:20:38):
substance abuse counselor turning her own painful experiences into a
force for good in the world. Juliss's mother, Carmen, would
never again hear her daughter's laughter or see her smile.
Her friends would never receive another Facebook message or share
another conversation. The future she was building, one dedicated to

(01:20:58):
healing and helping others, was stolen from her and from
all the people she might have helped. In the end,
Philip Markov took his own life, but he could not
undo what he had done. The lives he shattered, the
trust he violated, and the fear he spread through his
calculated predation remained his true legacy. What should be remembered

(01:21:19):
are not his crimes, but the humanity of those he targeted,
women who deserved safety, dignity, and the chance to live
their lives without becoming victims of someone else's darkness. Julissa
Brismone was more than the messuse. She was a daughter,
a friend, a woman in recovery, and someone who wanted
to spend her life helping others heal. That is how

(01:21:42):
she should be remembered. The b

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#25: Craigslist Nightmare - When Online Ads Turn Fatal

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}#25: Craigslist Nightmare - When Online Ads Turn Fatal