The Craigslist Killer // 528

Summary

Podcast Summary: Going West: True Crime - "The Craigslist Killer" (Episode 528)
Release Date: August 12, 2025
Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft and Heath Merryman
Produced by Dark West Productions

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Introduction

In Episode 528 of Going West: True Crime, hosts Daphne Woolsoncroft and Heath Merryman delve into the chilling case of Philip Markoff, infamously known as the "Craigslist Killer." This episode provides a comprehensive overview of Markoff’s crimes, his background, the investigation that led to his capture, and the profound impact his actions had on his victims and their families.

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The Crimes of Philip Markoff

Trisha Leffler's Robbery and Assault
The episode begins by recounting the spring of 2009 in Boston and Rhode Island, where a series of attacks against women caused widespread fear along the Eastern Seaboard. The first known victim, Trisha Leffler, a former Mormon turned sex worker, encountered Markoff at the Westin Hotel in Boston on April 9, 2009.

Trisha Leffler (Transcript [07:43]): "I guess you could call him polite. He didn't call me names or swear at me."

Markoff posed as a graduate student, gaining Trisha's trust before violently robbing and tying her up. His calculated approach included stealing her valuables and leaving behind a fingerprint while attempting to erase his digital traces. Remarkably, Trisha managed to escape and alert authorities, providing a crucial eyewitness account.

Julissa Brisman's Murder
Three days later, on April 13, 2009, Julissa Brisman, a 25-year-old aspiring counselor struggling with alcohol addiction, became Markoff's second known victim. Meeting him under similar pretenses at the Marriott Hotel in Boston, Julissa was brutally murdered after resisting Markoff's attempts to bind her. The swift and violent nature of this attack highlighted Markoff's escalation from robbery to murder.

Cynthia Melton's Survived Assault
Just two days after Julissa's murder, Cynthia Melton, an erotic dancer and part-time sex worker, was targeted by Markoff at the Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, Rhode Island. Unlike his previous encounters, Cynthia survived the assault thanks to her husband’s timely intervention, which caused Markoff to flee the scene. This incident provided investigators with additional surveillance footage and led to a break in the case.

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Investigation and Capture

The convergence of these attacks prompted a concentrated investigation. Police leveraged security camera footage, fingerprints left at the scenes, and Trisha's eyewitness testimony to identify Markoff. Despite lacking initial evidence, the cumulative patterns pointed unmistakably to him.

Heath Merryman (Transcript [22:17]): "This was all his doing."

Markoff was arrested in Quincy, Massachusetts, after an officer noticed suspicious activity related to stolen credit cards used to purchase items like a baseball hat—his attempted disguise during Cynthia's assault. The evidence against him was mounting, including stolen items, digital footprints, and DNA evidence.

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Philip Markoff's Background

Early Life and Education
Philip Haynes Markoff was born on February 12, 1986, in Cheryl, New York. Described by peers as tall, awkward, and academically gifted, Markoff excelled in his studies, graduating summa cum laude and enrolling in a pre-med program at the State University of New York at Albany. However, beneath his promising exterior lay deep-seated issues with women and identity.

Relationship with Megan McAllister
Markoff's relationship with Megan McAllister, a fellow pre-med student, was initially strong and supportive. The couple planned a future together, including a lavish seaside wedding set for August 14, 2009. However, Markoff's secret activities on fetish dating websites and his inability to communicate his true impulses strained their relationship, ultimately leading Megan to sever ties as evidence against him mounted.

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The Downward Spiral and Arrest

As the investigation closed in, Markoff attempted to flee to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. During a traffic stop, authorities recognized the signs pointing to him as the Craigslist Killer. Despite his composed demeanor, the accumulating evidence—ranging from stolen items to matching fingerprints—secured his arrest on charges of armed robbery, kidnapping, and murder.

Daphne Woolsoncroft (Transcript [52:00]): "He really was such a wolf in sheep's clothing."

Markoff’s behavior following his arrest suggested a profound sense of shame and anticipation of the consequences he would face, leading to his eventual suicide in custody on August 15, 2010.

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Aftermath and Impact

Markoff's Suicide
One year after his planned wedding, Markoff was found dead in his jail cell, having taken his own life. His final act included blood-written messages and personal items, leaving families without closure.

Daphne Woolsoncroft (Transcript [54:57]): "It's so awful because Tricia Loeffler, Cynthia Melton, and the friends and family left behind by Julissa Brisman were forced to move on without real answers or closure."

Changes to Craigslist Policies
In response to the outcry following Julissa Brisman's murder, Craigslist discontinued its erotic services section in May 2009, implementing stricter verification measures before ultimately removing the section entirely in 2010. This move aimed to enhance the safety of individuals seeking services through the platform.

Victims' Families and Public Reaction
The families of Markoff’s victims, particularly Julissa Brisman’s mother, Carmen, expressed deep sorrow and frustration over the lack of closure. The case underscored the vulnerabilities faced by individuals engaging in online transactions for personal services and prompted discussions on regulation and safety measures.

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Conclusion

The "Craigslist Killer" case serves as a grim reminder of the potential dangers lurking behind seemingly ordinary individuals. Philip Markoff's ability to mask his violent tendencies under the guise of a promising medical student shocked both his acquaintances and the broader community. This episode of Going West: True Crime masterfully unpacks the layers of deception, the meticulous nature of the crimes, and the lasting scars left on the victims and their loved ones.

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Notable Quotes:

• Daphne Woolsoncroft ([07:43]): "I guess you could call him polite. He didn't call me names or swear at me."
• Heath Merryman ([22:17]): "This was all his doing."
• Heath Merryman ([46:47]): "But like, they didn't do anything wrong. So they're like, well, we don't, we don't care."
• Daphne Woolsoncroft ([54:57]): "It's so awful because Tricia Loeffler, Cynthia Melton, and the friends and family left behind by Julissa Brisman were forced to move on without real answers or closure."

---

Listeners interested in exploring more about this case or other chilling true crime stories are encouraged to check out the bonus episodes available on Patreon and Apple Podcasts.

Transcript

[Heath]

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[Narrator]

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is coming to Hulu and hulu on Disney August 20th. In 2007, Amanda Knox was halfway around the world studying abroad in Italy. She had no idea her dream would turn into a nightmare. Inspired by the actual events of her wrongful conviction and 15 year fight for freedom. Watch the Hulu original series the Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox on August 20th. Straight streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

[Commercial Voice]

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[Heath]

What is going on? True crime fans? I'm your host, Teeth.

[Daphne]

And I'm your host, Daphne.

[Heath]

And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne]

Hello everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Today we're we have one of those cases that I'm sure we have all at least heard of. Maybe you've watched that Lifetime movie that came out after this case, but it was only recently that both Heath and I actually fully dove into it. And it is just as crazy as I thought it was going to be.

[Heath]

And honestly, this guy was so unsuspecting like you really, it's hard to believe that he did what he did.

[Daphne]

Yeah, I think he makes for such a fascinating character in that way because then as you kind of start like peeling back the layers, you see some signs and you can kind of understand it a little bit more. But somebody on the outside would never have guessed. Like, it's truly so wild. So thank you guys so much for being here with us today. I also wanted to say that recently we released a couple new bonus episodes. We came out with Lisa Harnum which is a crazy Australian case. And then another Australian case on Marion Barter, which is a huge, huge mystery. Check those out, along with over 130 other bonus episodes over on Patreon and Apple podcasts.

[Heath]

Yes, head over to patreon.com goingwestpodcast or you can just subscribe right there on Apple. All right, guys, this is episode 528 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[Commercial Voice]

Police say they have caught the Craigslist killer. He's a 22 year old medical student and is accused of killing one woman and robbing another. But there may be more victims.

[Daphne]

In the spring of 2009, a short lived spree of attacks against women in Boston and Rhode island had the Eastern seaboard on edge. But when the suspect was finally identified, the revelation was almost too bizarre to believe. A clean cut, promising medical student with a seemingly perfect home life. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered a dual existence, darker and more calculated than anybody who knew him could have possibly imagined. These are the crimes of the Craigslist killer, otherwise known as Philip Markoff. Trisha Leffler had been raised Mormon, but eventually left the church, moving to Las Vegas and dabbling in sex work to make ends meet. Every few months, when she was able to do so financially, she would buy a plane ticket to a new city and rent out a hotel room for a few nights where she would post an ad for sex work on Craigslist and book a handful of clients. He do say Craigslist or Craigslist.

[Heath]

I say Craigslist.

[Daphne]

Okay, me too. I know somebody out there is like, it's Craig. But it's just like I say Craig and not Craig.

[Heath]

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, it's easy to say Craig.

[Daphne]

Sorry, guys, I don't know why, it's just the accent, you know. So she would stick around for a little bit after she got these hotel rooms until she made the money that she wanted to. This was kind of like her mission every time she booked a hotel room somewhere else and then she would go back to Las Vegas and work more there. But this was also kind of her way of expanding her client pool, changing things up, you know, stuff like that. So Trisha was blonde, bubbly and sweet, and she actually generally did not have difficulty finding clients. And as far as we know, she hadn't been in a life threatening situation with a client until April 9, 2009 when she was renting out a room at the Westin Hotel in, in the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Back Bay. By the way, this is a Nice four star hotel. It's a Marriott. Also, another pronunciation discrepancy. Did you know it's supposed to be Marriott?

[Heath]

Is it? Is it supposed to be Marriott? Yes, I thought it was Marriott. I did too.

[Daphne]

Apparently it's a Marriott.

[Heath]

Well, anyway, anyway, it's, it's a hotel.

[Daphne]

We're learning things. So this hotel, it's in a great part of Boston with, like gorgeous views of the city. So, you know, it was lining up to be a good evening. So after posting the advertisement for her services on Craigslist along with her cell phone number, she received a call from a man who identified himself as a graduate student. When he asked for a full hour with her, which would cost him $200, she offered up her location and told him to call her when he got to the hotel. Now, Trisha made this habit of meeting her client outside the elevators on her floor before actually letting them up into her room. You know, this was of course, for her safety. And I'm sure she. I don't know, I kind of wonder why she didn't do this in the lobby if maybe too many people would notice. You know, she just wanted it to be like somewhat public before she actually lets this person into a room and lets them know exactly which room she's staying in.

[Heath]

That's kind of what I'm figuring is she doesn't want to tip staff off that she's, you know, doing what she's doing in the hotel rooms.

[Daphne]

Yeah, yeah, them kind of thinking the same thing. So either way, she's doing this for this guy. That night, and when they met at the elevator, according to Trisha, this guy was soft spoken and appeared normal. So she led him to her room. But almost as soon as the door closed behind them, he pulled out a gun. He told Trisha to lie down on the floor and put her hands behind her back. And when she complied, he tied her up and told her that if she stayed quiet, he wouldn't do anything else to harm her. So, thinking quickly, Trisha just stayed calm and decided to comply, to get him out of her room as quickly as she could, just hoping that this guy was telling the truth and that he didn't want to kill her. Now, strangely, she remembered him as calm and fairly cordial even while he was robbing her at gunpoint. And this is what she had to say. Quote, I guess you could call him polite. He didn't call me names or swear at me.

[Heath]

Yeah, he just tied you up and held you at gunpoint. But at least he didn't Swear, you.

[Daphne]

Know, But I mean, I think it's such kind of an interesting thing to note how calm he's being. He's saying exactly what he needs. He's telling her what to do, and then he's saying, and then, I'm going to get out of here and you'll never see me again. And she's taking note of how he is strangely not kind, but he. He has this weird, almost eerie politeness to him, Right?

[Heath]

And this would give the appearance that he had maybe done this previously. And it also gives us, you know, a pretty good peek into his personality and just who this guy is. I mean, the fact that he acted right after the door closed. This guy clearly knows what he wants. And it's not Trisha, because also, after tying her up, he found her purse, and he pulled out $800 in cash. He removed some gift cards and each of her credit cards and her debit card as well, which he requested the PIN for. Now, weirdly, he also took her camera before cutting the phone cords in the room with a large knife, obviously to stop Trisha from calling for help after he left. And he even made a point to erase his phone number from her cell phone. So he's obviously doing things very smart here. The last thing he did was pick up a pair of her underwear from the floor and then shoved it into his pocket, almost like a keepsake. When he was about done ransacking her belongings, he then instructed Trisha to get up from the floor, and then he tied her hands to the bathroom door handle to give him, you know, a little bit of a running start. And Trisha took note of another thing. The man was meticulous enough to be wearing gloves this entire time, but when he went to duct tape her mouth, he had to take them off so that they wouldn't stick and rip on the tape. And this is when he made an error that would come back to haunt him, because left behind in the adhesive was a perfect imprint of his fingerprint. Then after this, Tricia noticed that he had removed another pair of underwear from her suitcase while she was tied to this bathroom door. So it appeared that the pair that he had taken from her wasn't enough. True to his word, he left Trisha in the room unharmed. And eventually, she managed to slip out of the ties, flee to the hallway, and then knock on her neighbor's door to call for help.

[Daphne]

And I gotta say, it's pretty amazing that she reported this attack at all, because I'd be willing to bet that even though he was being careful, you know, mostly not to leave behind evidence that he didn't think she would go to police because she is running an illegal operation by soliciting sex. But clearly she understood that that wasn't even what was important here. What was important is that a predator was on the loose seeking vulnerable women. So Trisha really has been praised for this decision.

[Heath]

Right. Because had she not, you know, called the police and basically told them about this whole situation, he would probably go on to continue to do it, which he did do anyway, which is kind.

[Daphne]

Of like what you're just saying as well. He, you said that he kind of seemed confident, like maybe he had done this before.

[Heath]

Right.

[Daphne]

And that is what a lot of people think, is that he had and they didn't report it like Trisha did.

[Heath]

Well, it did work out for her in the end because Trisha in law enforcement also feared that he was likely to strike again and that perhaps the next time would be worse. So they were very thankful for her detailed report, especially as the next events would unfold, because unfortunately, this guy would strike again and fast. Authorities were able to glean the man's fingerprints from the scene, but the man in question was not in their database. So they obviously didn't have a hit yet, meaning that he likely hadn't been caught for any crimes up until that point. But remember, this is a nice Hotel. It's 2009. Security cameras are a thing. And there were actually surveillance cameras in the lobby of this hotel. So they basically got this guy red handed on tape. So as police watched the footage, they saw a man matching Trisha's attacker's description crossing the lobby in a baseball hat and then exiting, appearing at ease as he left the hotel. So it's not like they have this really great footage. His face wasn't shown. The camera quality is fairly low, but it is something.

[Daphne]

And they really need everything they can get because just three days later, this same man would murder someone. Julissa Brisman was born on April 24, 1983, and grew up on the Upper west side of Manhattan. She was the first generation daughter born to parents Carmen, who was a doctor, and Hector, who had both immigrated from the Dominican Republic. But they separated when Julissa was young. Now in her teens and early twenties, Julissa started to struggle with alcohol addiction. But in 2009, she had been sober for over a year and she was doing really well. She was actually in training to become a counselor for other people struggling with addiction and was nearing the completion of her certification. Then in May of 2010, she would have graduated with her license and could work as a substance abuse counselor. But sadly, she would never be given that chance. Julissa attended frequent meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous and she really enjoyed the structure and community that it gave her. She was proud of herself and she had overcome a lot. And in her free time, she enjoyed pursuing part time modeling and acting work and thoroughly enjoyed seeing Broadway shows and live music, which was great because she lived in New York City, so this was perfect. And she also worked part time at a tanning salon right there in Manhattan. But to make some extra money, she would offer erotic massages on Craigslist and had a fairly steady client base. A coworker at the tanning salon even helped her out by acting as like an intermediary. So basically they would help her line up clients and arrange her appointments for her. So kind of like an assistant. So she did have somebody who was aware of her appointments and aware of where she was and who she was seeing, which is really helpful in this case. On April 13, 2009, as 25 year old Julissa planned a trip up to Boston to meet with clients, remember, from New York, she received an email from a man who called himself Andy. At the email amdpmive.com requesting an appointment. And they agreed to meet when she was in town. In Boston, Julissa's friend, the one who was kind of like her assistant, corresponded with Andy on her behalf, who knew Julissa as Morgan. So we have Morgan meeting with Andy, this man. Now, generally, Julissa was pretty picky about who she would entertain. But this man, who had introduced himself as a graduate student just like he had done to Tricia, seemed harmless and non threatening.

[Heath]

The next day, which was Tuesday, April 14, 2009, Julissa took the train north from her hometown of New York City up to Boston, Massachusetts, and set up her massage table in a room on the 20th floor inside this other Marriott hotel, which like the Westin, was in the Back Bay neighborhood. So this guy really did not go far at all because the two hotels were actually just a block away from each other and they're both nice and similar hotels. But of course, Julissa had no idea what had happened to Trisha. So she planned on settling there for a few days and even found a local Alcoholics Anonymous chapter so that she could continue to attend her near daily meetings. She last spoke with her mom an hour and a half before she was murdered, excitedly telling her that she had met a man on the train that day and that he was going to take her out on a date while she was in Boston. So obviously, this is not one of her clients. This is just a guy that she met that she was really excited about going on a date with. And he was questioned in connection to her murder, but he was found to have nothing to do with it. So anyway, that evening, around 10pm, she let Andy into a room and closed the door behind him. But just like with Trisha, this guy pulled his gun on her immediately. Now, unlike Trisha, Julissa decided to fight back, angry that this shithead thought that he could take advantage of her in that way. She writhed away from him as he attempted to bind her hands behind her back. And the man then panicked, striking her in the head with his gun and then firing three shots into her at point blank range only about 10 minutes after he had been let into that room. Others staying on the floor reported hearing screams. So a woman that was staying down the hall heard Julissa's call for help and called hotel security. So security headed upstairs right away. But unfortunately, they missed her assailant. The attack had been so brief, and Andy had fled so quickly, that Julissa was still in the doorway, recumbent on the floor of the hotel room in a pool of her own blood. When security reached her, her face was bludgeoned and bloody, and any of those three shots she sustained to her abdomen and chest would have killed her. She was then rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. And Julissa died just 10 days before her 26th birthday.

[Daphne]

Well, immediately, law enforcement recognized a possible connection between Trisha's robbery and Julissa's mur. Order.

[Heath]

Of course.

[Daphne]

So they pulled security camera footage from the lobby at the Marriott and compared it to the footage of the man at the Westin three days prior. And they even had Trisha, who was still in town at this point. You know, remember, she came from Vegas. They had her come back into the police station to make an identification. Again, she is such a crucial part to this case. And without hesitation, she recognized Andy as her attacker. And other witnesses from the hotel reported having seen a clean cut looking man with blonde hair, which matched his description as well. And this is part of why both women found him to look normal. He has been described by many as looking like the boy next door, or I guess the. The young man next door.

[Heath]

Yeah, he's just kind of unassuming, like he. He looks like he's maybe somewhat athletic. Just very typical, very normal. I don't know, it's hard to even.

[Daphne]

Say because, like, hey, what does that even mean? And, yeah, who cares, you know? And how do you look? Normal, you know? But when you see a picture of this guy, it's like, he didn't look scary. He wasn't some weird older dude.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

He didn't have, like, a young.

[Heath]

He didn't have, like, a scar over his eye scar.

[Daphne]

Again, there's nothing wrong with scars.

[Heath]

Yeah, no, there isn't. But, you know, it's like that association of, like, oh, somebody that has a wonky eye or a scar.

[Daphne]

This is why.

[Heath]

I don't know. No, I know what you mean. I just think it's so funny because.

[Daphne]

Every time we talk about this, we try to explain it. You guys know what we mean.

[Heath]

I mean, really, the only thing you can say is that he just looked unassuming. He looks unassuming. That's the word to use.

[Daphne]

And I think especially because he's, like, in his early 20s, as you guys will see. He's like a young man. So. And he's saying. He's telling everybody he's a graduate student. This is not the kind of guy who's going to rob you at gunpoint. But he is. He literally is doing this. So with Julissa's attack, despite having killed someone minutes prior, he could be seen strolling out of the hotel without a hat on to cover his face. And we will post those on our socials so you guys can see his face and his build a little bit, along with all the other pictures. The friend and coworker of Julissa's who helped her with scheduling the assistant, if you will, became kind of nervous when she didn't hear back from Julissa, who usually checked in after every appointment for safety. So she actually called the hotel because, of course, she knows where Julissa was staying. And she was immediately transferred to the Boston Police Department, who used this friend to make an identification of their victim, as well as to assist them in beginning their investigation. Julissa's friend was also, amazingly, able to share with them the email address that the murderer had used to make the appointment with her, which would prove to be a very important piece of information, because although police determined that the man had created the email solely to set up this appointment, they were able to trace his email back to its rightful owner through the IP address of the computer he used. And this would bring police a name, but not before a third attack occurred.

[Heath]

So this time the attack occurred in Warwick, Rhode island, which is about an hour southwest of Boston at a Holiday Inn Express. So he's leaving the immediate Boston area and going to a large two star Hotel. Cynthia Melton was an erotic dancer who would sometimes rent out hotel rooms to offer lap dances to private clients just in order to make some extra income like the other victims. She posted an ad on Craigslist, and this same man booked a private meeting with her. He called Cynthia on the evening of April 16, 2009. So just two days after Julissa's murder. I mean, this guy's really, really moving fast here. So she accepted this meeting, and they agreed to rendezvous at the Holiday Inn in a few hours. So this was a pretty quick agreement. Cynthia's attacker told her that he was staying at Foxwoods, which is a casino and resort in Mashatucket, Connecticut, and about 100 miles, or 160 kilometers southwest of Boston and about an hour away from the hotel that they agreed to meet.

[Daphne]

At, which is kinda far.

[Heath]

Yeah, so I don't know why they agreed to meet at this place if he was an hour away, but I guess he just didn't mind traveling. He was supposedly staying at Foxwoods to blow off some steam, gambling and playing poker. And he told Cynthia that he would head over in a few hours. So on his way, the suspect was spotted on security camera footage clearly the same man from the lobbies of the Westin and the Marriott picking up a baseball hat to wear as his signature disguise.

[Daphne]

Okay, Joe Goldberg.

[Heath]

Yeah, as if this is, you know, like a great disguise. Anyway. But this guy was a complete idiot. I mean, he actually used one of the stolen cards that he had taken from Tricia Lefler to purchase this hat, which made him exceedingly easy to track down, because police knew that he had stolen her cards and that he had gotten her pin.

[Daphne]

So obviously, they're tracking her purchases to see if he's going to use her card. And then he did. To buy a freaking hat.

[Heath]

Exactly. And to buy a hat to use for another crime he's about to commit.

[Daphne]

You can't make this shit up.

[Heath]

Well, the suspect arrived at the Holiday inn Express at 11pm that April 2009 evening. And he can be seen walking up the stairs to the third floor on hallway security footage. He knocked, and then he entered the room. And just as he had with Trisha and Julissa, he brandished a gun and he pointed it at Cynthia. She let out a scream, and he told her to shut up, but promised that he wouldn't hurt her if she was compliant, and she kept quiet. He then attempted to place a ball gag in her mouth to keep her from obviously shouting or talking, but Cynthia resisted so much that he gave up on this idea.

[Daphne]

So he tied her hands behind her back and began ransacking the room. And at one point, he asked her if she had a laptop with her, and she said that she did not. So he told her that if he wound up finding one, he would kill her for lying to him. But then came a twist that her assailant had not expected. Cynthia's husband, Keith, was downstairs in the lobby, and he knew what was going on. He was kind of just keeping a safe distance. So when he didn't hear from her, he got a little worried, and he went upstairs to check on her, letting himself in with a spare copy of the key. And suddenly, he sees a man holding a gun over his wife, who was positioned on the floor, of course, with her hands tied. So Keith panicked and backed out of the room, and he. You know, it's believed that he was leaving to try to go get help, because obviously, this guy has a gun. He's no match against somebody holding a gun. He doesn't have any weapons. But as he's trying to get out of the room to get help, he falls down. But this actually rattled the suspect so much that he even walked in at all that he fled as well, heading in the opposite direction down the hallway. With the assailant gone, Cynthia called hotel security and then ran downstairs to get help. So, luckily, she got out of this at least physically unscathed. But clearly, like you were saying, Heath, this guy isn't stopping. So with the third attack in a week, investigators were scrambling to close in on a suspect, and they had just enough to do so. Remember that IP address of the computer used to book Julissa services? Well, that led police to an apartment complex in Quincy, Massachusetts, which is a suburb of Boston, about 15 minutes south of downtown. Investigators went there, they scoped out the building, just hoping to match the man from his Internet presence to his description. And soon enough, they did, identifying this same man, pictured in the surveillance footage of the three different hotels, who had come to be known as the Craigslist Killer. This is an ad by BetterHelp. With the Internet and information overload about mental health and wellness, it can be a struggle to know what's true and what actions to even take these days.

[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Commercial Voice]

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[Heath]

Philip Haynes Markoff was born on February 12, 1986 in Cheryl, New York, which is a small town in upstate New York just east of Syracuse, making him just 23 years old at the time of these attacks. Philip's parents, Susan and Richard, divorced when he was a toddler and both eventually remarried but actually Philip was split up from his older brother Jonathan, who moved to Syracuse with his dad. So it's like the. It's kind of like each parent got a child, meaning that Philip stayed in Cheryl with his mom and his stepdad Gary, and also his younger half sister. Friends and peers remember Philip being tall, gawky, and awkward from a young age, but nobody really seemed to have predicted his violence streak, though former friends recall that he was very competitive. Sonia Luska, Philip's former high school English teacher, as well as his neighbor, remembered of Philip's family, they were very quiet and kept very much to themselves. They were never any bother. She recalled Philip being the nicest young man, polite, respectful, with a good sense of humor. He was not the most popular. He had his own group of friends more interested in computers and science, like Trekkies. And obviously, if you guys don't know what a Trekkie is, it's just people who are very interested in Star Trek. But one thing that Philip did excel in was his studies. He graduated from Vernon Verona Sherrill high school in 2004 and enrolled in the State University of New York at Albany as a pre med major. But there, his problems with women just persisted, though his academic success continued. So we've got some, you know, kind of give and take here. But he started doing, like, this really weird shit because according to classmates, he would zero in on girls in his class that he felt like were the most attractive. And then he would complain to them that he was struggling with the subject matter and needed to be tutored, which was really just a line, of course, because he never seemed to have trouble when it came to his. His exams. Like, he would just pretend that, oh, I don't know how to do this. And then these girls felt sympathy for him. They would tutor him, but this guy was very smart, so when he would do his exams, he would do very well. And this already seems kind of strange, but one college classmate of his named Morgan remembers a very harrowing story of being the object of Philip's desire. One evening after a frat party, Morgan remembers Philip pinning her up against a wall and trying to kiss her while he escorted her home. But not only was Morgan just not interested, but she had a very serious boyfriend at this time. She remembered later, I was saying, no, Phil, what are you doing? We're just friends. I don't like you. Stop. And it got so intense that another friend of theirs had to pull him off of her. And Morgan was so disturbed by this, obviously, to say the least, but chose not to report the incident, just writing off the encounter as Philip being a drunken idiot. She also felt bad about how insecure he could be, adding, at some points, he really wasn't comfortable in his own skin.

[Daphne]

Well, then, Creepy Phil graduated summa cum laude after just three years and was bound for medical school at the prestigious Boston University in Massachusetts. So this, obviously is how he wound up in Boston. And then after years of being exceedingly uncomfortable with women, he started dating fellow pre med student Megan McAllister in 2005, having met her while they were both volunteering at a hospital in Albany. And this should have been really great. Like, he really should have taken what he could get because Megan loved him so much. She's a great gal. She's smart. She's also trying to be a doctor. She's trying to work in the medical field, but he totally fumbles this whole thing. But first, a little bit more on Megan. Actually, she is described as quiet and sweet and. And she grew up in the affluent New York City suburb of Little Silver, New Jersey. Now, Megan, who had not been accepted to medical school on her first round of applications, unlike Philip, decided to move with Philip to Boston. And then they became engaged on a beach in Maine, setting their wedding date for August 14, 2009, which, as you guys can probably tell, is months after these attacks are happening. After this move, they excitedly began planning a lavish seaside wedding in Megan's hometown, with Megan finding a stunning Vera Wang wedding dress, hiring a Bruce Springsteen cover band, and creating a detailed wedding website, sharing the story of their romance. Like I'm saying, she really loves this guy. She's so excited to marry him.

[Heath]

Yeah. And she's kind of living in this fairy tale, but sadly, the guy that she's about to marry is not who she thinks he is.

[Daphne]

Yeah, in the craziest way. So after their wedding, obviously this didn't happen yet, but the plan was that Megan actually would be heading to the Caribbean for medical school, and then they would spend the next year or so doing long distance while they both completed their studies, very committed to making their relationship work. And then she eventually hoped to transfer to a school closer to home and move back to the east Coast. But before any of that could happen, Megan would find that her fiance had fantasies which he harbored for years before he would be caught in the act of robbery and murder on May 31, 2007. So a couple years earlier, while he and Megan were two years into their serious relationship, Philip created a profile on Alt.com, which is a fetish dating website. Giving himself the screen name SexAddict5385. He even created multiple profiles, later adding a profile with the same username, but including one extra letter. So sex addicts. Or, sorry, one extra number. So sex addict 53885. So an extra eight in there for this one. Philip included a photo of his naked body from the chest down and would freely exchange pictures with other users, including many photos, of course. Of his genitalia. Yeah.

[Heath]

Of his wiener.

[Daphne]

Sure. So he shared many conversations with various men and women on alt Craigslist and a slew of other dating and kink websites. He described himself as a submissive and claimed that he was new to the BDSM community, but that he thought about the lifestyle all the time. He claimed that he was particularly interested in exploring the BDSM arena and that he had been straight in the past, but was open to experimentation.

[Heath]

Now, obviously, there's nothing at all wrong with any of this on its. On its face. Like, people can use BDSM websites that. There's nothing wrong with that at all. But it's the way that he's going to use them that's the problem.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Well, also, I mean, you know, clearly he's struggling with some identity and impulse issues here.

[Heath]

Sure.

[Daphne]

But like, he's pseudo cheating on his fiance while he's doing it. So it's like he isn't doing anything wrong, but it's like, yeah, but he's cheating on his fiance. You know, he's, he's. And not romantically, of course, but he is trying to explore. Maybe trying to explore these things in a panic before he gets married and kind of figure out if he's making the right choice for himself. But sure, obviously this would go down a very dark path that was not just exchanging pictures of his weenie to other people.

[Heath]

Well, and kind of what makes him seem more like a shitty person is like he could have had this conversation with Megan and said, hey, you know, I love you. I've got these impulses. Yeah, you know, just talk to your partner about it. But he's doing all of this behind her back. Not only is he doing that, but he's doing a whole lot more other shit.

[Daphne]

That's what I mean. It's like, it's not like he's just exchanging photos. He is taking this to a very dark, deep level. Because while in the midst of planning their wedding and juggling his schedule as a busy second year medical student, Philip somehow found time to start committing crimes. Megan, who was recovering from a back surgery Went home to visit her parents for a week in April of 2009.

[Heath]

Oh, and that's what happened in April of 2009.

[Daphne]

Exactly. Literally, Philip decided that because she's going out of town, she's gonna go recover at her parents house, that that would be the perfect time to flex his curiosity for the erotic, which would turn into a spree of robbery, assault, and murder. And I think it's pretty obvious that his motive here isn't, oh, my fiance's away and I really would like to explain Explorer BDSM by having sex with a stranger in a hotel room. That's not what he's doing. As soon as the door closes, he's got a gun on these women.

[Heath]

Which is so interesting because this whole thing is about how he wants to explore his sexuality. But at the end of the day, he doesn't have sex with any of these women. He doesn't actually doesn't sexually assault them. He literally just robs them.

[Daphne]

To be fair, some of you kill them, right? To be fair, some of you might be saying maybe as a gun kink or something like that. But, you know, obviously that's not what's fully going on here.

[Heath]

Well, yeah, I mean, I guess in that sense, it could be something about like, power, being able to power over somebody or make somebody feel fear, things like that. But I mean, come on, that's just. That's just a step over the line.

[Daphne]

Well, Megan returned to Boston on April 18, 2009. So just two days after his last attack, the third attack, none the wiser to how he'd spent his week, which is so insane. Like, she leaves and he comes back and says, hey, fiance, you know, all is normal. Let's keep planning the wedding. And he. She has no idea that the police as well are surveilling him 24 hours a day at this point. Yeah, because they're onto him.

[Heath]

Exactly. They're watching him. Megan has no idea that they're watching the both of them, actually.

[Daphne]

Yeah.

[Heath]

So two days later, investigators noted that Philip seemed to be prepping for an escape. Cause on April 20th of 2009, he and Megan packed up their car and headed south for Connecticut. Planning on taking a quick getaway to Foxwoods.

[Daphne]

Back to the casino.

[Heath]

Yep. His favorite place. Well, fearing that he was going to cross state lines and potentially try to flee, investigators pulled him over and told him that they needed to speak with him immediately. Cause at this point, they're feeling very confident that this is their guy. But the officer who pulled them over claimed that Philip didn't seem surprised nor fazed by this development. But Megan, on the other hand, was absolutely confused, assuming that the stop was for a speeding ticket. But things got all the more confusing when the car was seized, with officers noting that Philip had 1,000 seats, $600 in cash on him, thanks to all.

[Daphne]

The women he stole from.

[Heath]

Exactly. Because he's fucking robbing people. Well, while police were zeroing in on the man that they believed was responsible, they spoke with Megan, who didn't seem to have any idea whatsoever that they had detained her fiance. So when Philip was questioned, he was willing to speak casually with detectives for a while. He claimed that he didn't watch or read the news, and he had no idea that the Craigslist Killer, as he had been dubbed by in the media, had emerged in Boston and was still on the prowl. And ironically, he told them that the only hotel he had stayed in recently was the hotel at the Foxwoods resort where he had been gambling on the night of his attack on Cynthia Melton. So he admitted to having stayed there that night. With his patience thinning, Philip admitted that he was anxious to finish their line of questioning and because he and Megan were due back at Foxwoods for the night. Though he shared little about his personal life, he did tell them that he enjoyed gambling and would make bets on baseball games and play both poker and pinochle online. He also told them that he made frequent trips to Foxwoods to gamble. In fact, he went there so much that he had visited no fewer than 19 times in the last four and a half months. When asked about his many email addresses, and particularly the one that was hosted by live.com, philip claimed that he had many different emails for gambling and playing games online and that he couldn't recall having one on Liv, but that he wasn't sure. He only recalled one on Hotmail and a few hosted by Gmail, despite having conversed with Julissa just a week prior via his live.com email address.

[Daphne]

And Philip basically just offered up as little information as possible. He told them very dryly that he couldn't remember when he had last used Craigslist or if he had ever been to any of the hotels where the crimes took place. Which feels like these are things that you would know, especially if you live in Boston. You're not going to frequent hotels there, so you should know if you've been. But he's, he's not trying to give it up. After about 30 minutes of giving the detectives very half baked, non committal answers, he requested a lawyer Claiming that he was worried they were going to twist his passive statements into an admission of guilt. But despite his best efforts to maintain his aloofness and convey innocence, 23 year old Philip was arrested that same day for his involvement in the two armed robberies and murder. And this really was such a shock to everybody, to investigators, to Megan, the public, because again, he really was such a wolf in sheep's clothing. He's a medical student, he's young. A lot of people in his life said that he was normal and even polite and nice and had a good sense of humor. He's getting into a career where he's trying to help people. But all the pieces were fitting, even though he's not admitting it. Philip was actually so embarrassed and ashamed by his situation that he was put on suicide watch during his first 48 hours in jail. I mean, he even tried to strangle himself with his shoelaces and had to be sent to the infirmary, though the prison psychiatrist declined to send him to a hospital. The day after his arrest, his older brother Jonathan and Jonathan's wife visited Philip, who allegedly told them, this is Philip saying this, quote, forget about me, move to California. There is more coming out. Like, he knows he's caught. He's like, save yourselves from my atrocious, monstrous stupidity.

[Heath]

But like, they didn't do anything wrong. So they're like, well, we don't, we don't care.

[Daphne]

I mean, I think he's just worried that they're going to be affected. Like, there's more coming out. Save yourselves from the embarrassment. Like, move on with your lives. Get away from me. Which is such a crazy thing to say. But also he's admitting, he's saying there is more coming out. He knows that he has been caught. And to tack on to the list of shocked people were his parents and his siblings. His mother, Susan, told a friend that it seemed so out of character for her son to do anything like this with Philip in custody. Detectives circled back with Tricia Loeffler offering up a photo of Philip, whom she confirmed to be her attacker. So there Philip remained in jail, being held for the crimes, awaiting trial. And after his fingerprints were admitted to testing, they were found to be a match for the ones left at the scene in the robberies of both Trisha and Cynthia. And much more was found at his apartment, because when it was searched, police found the two pairs of underwear that he had stolen from Trisha, which Philip had stuffed inside his socks and placed in the box spring of the bed that he shared with his fiance. Megan. So creepy.

[Heath]

That is such a weird thing to do.

[Daphne]

Well, on top of that, they also found a 9 millimeter handgun which matched the shell casings found at the scene of Julissa's murder. And get this. Philip was concealing this gun inside a hollowed out copy of the medical textbook Grey's Anatomy. Like that's straight out of a movie. He was trying to be so sneaky.

[Heath]

Yeah, I mean, he's gotta hide all of this shit from his fiance. Megan.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And in order to purchase this gun, to stay hidden, he used a fake id, which was recovered from his wallet as well. And also recovered were multiple burner phones and a laptop that he had used to interact with Julissa Brisman, the one that led police to his house using his IP address. The same plastic ties that he had used to bind the hands of all the women, as well as spare ammunition matching that of the murder, was taped behind their apartment's dryer. And also socked away was $4,500 in hundred dollar bills.

[Heath]

Well, up until late April of that year, again, 2009, Megan maintained Philip's innocence and vowed to stand by him. She just could not believe that her fiance could do something like this. So her family, the McAllister family, retained a lawyer who helped them navigate this kind of media frenzy that was going on. In an email to People magazine asking her for a statement, Megan came to his defense, writing, philip is a beautiful man inside and out and did not commit this crime. Unfortunately, somebody else did and needs to be penalized. Philip was set up to ABC News. Megan wrote, a police officer in Boston, or many, is trying to make big bucks by selling this false story to the TV stations. What else is new? Philip is an intelligent man who is just trying to live his life. So if you could leave us alone, we would greatly appreciate it. We expect to marry in August and share a wonderful, meaningful life together. But on April 29, 2009, Megan, accompanied by her mom, went to see Philip in the Boston jail in which he was being held. And in a brief, emotional 25 minute meeting, Megan met with Philip to tell him that they would need to call off the wedding, if only for the time constraint that they were up against, as if it was all going to be sorted out and they could possibly get married later on.

[Daphne]

I honestly feel kind of bad for her. Like the way that he must have manipulated her into thinking he was this good guy and she's still standing by him, unable to come to terms with the truth like that must have been really tough, honestly.

[Heath]

Well, the following day, her lawyer assured the media that she was continuing to stick by his side and that they were very much still engaged. But this would not last long as an overwhelming amount of information continued to pour out and Megan saw just how much was against him. You know, the security footage, the DNA, everything hidden in their house. She ended their relationship for good. On June 11th of 2009, Megan appeared before a grand jury to offer her testimony. And in a subsequent meeting at his prison, she told Philip that she was going home to New Jersey and admitted that she did not expect to return to Boston. She also added, if she were to ever see him again, it was going to be a very long time. Philip was arraigned in court and pleaded not guilty to charges of armed robbery, kidnapping and murder. And Megan was notably missing from this court date.

[Daphne]

I mean, again, he totally fumbled her, he fumbled his life. He was really set to have a wonderful life with Megan. They were both going to have successful, happy careers, I'm sure. And he's, as we're gonna see in a second, like, is gonna be so upset by her abandoning him. And it's like you went behind her back and did all these terrible things. Of course she's gonna go. Of course she's not gonna continue to stand by you.

[Heath]

And I think he kind of knows this too. That's why he was telling his family members to just like, forget about him kind of thing, because he knows that he was responsible for all of this. This was all his doing.

[Daphne]

Well, here's how it all ended, because shockingly, Philip's trial never came. There never was a trial, because on August 15, 2010, one year and one day exactly after he was supposed to marry the love of his life, 24 year old Philip was found dead in his cell. Written in blood on the wall was Megan's name, as well as a word that resembled pocket. But for whatever reason, authorities could never figure out what this meant. Or, you know, I would assume, oh, there's something in my pocket. But nothing like that ever came out. He also spread out photos of Megan in his cell. And basically he had managed to sharpen a pen, like into a razor. And using that, he slit his neck, legs and ankles. He then stuffed toilet paper down his throat and covered his head with a plastic bag so that he would suffocate after shrouding his body under a blanket. What a horrific way to go.

[Heath]

Yeah, that's pretty terrible, honestly.

[Daphne]

Yeah, so he's kind of like covering himself with a blanket so nobody can see what he's doing. But Cutting himself in so many places so that he'll bleed out and also suffocate. Like, it's so intense. And, I mean, it feels clear to say that he felt shame around what he did. Either that or he didn't want to spend the rest of his life in that cell. But as far as motive goes, obviously he had a gambling addiction. Maybe he also wanted money. But it clearly wasn't just about the money. He kept women's underwear hidden under his bed. Like you said, Heath, those were keepsakes or trophies to him. Maybe he got sexual gratification and compensation from these attacks.

[Heath]

Yeah, but here's the thing. He only felt this sense of remorse after he had already done these things to these women. I mean, he killed Julissa, and then he went on to attack another woman.

[Daphne]

Which is why I don't really think that he did feel remorse, because he kept acting. I think he was just upset that he got caught.

[Heath]

Absolutely, completely agree. I think he was like, damn it, I'm gonna spend the rest of my life in prison. I might as well just take the coward's way out.

[Daphne]

Yeah, because he know he let everybody down. He knows that this box is the rest of his life, and he's only 24. So, yeah, again, he took his life discreetly under a blanket. So an employee of the prison went into the cell to check on him after noticing that he hadn't moved for a while. They're like, is he sleeping? He's not breathing under that blanket? Like, they just felt like something was up, and that's when they found his lifeless body. A source at the jail said this. They pulled the COVID back, and it was a bloodbath. Her name, Megan's, was in a prominent place in the cell. He clearly knew what he was doing. So it's awful because Tricia Loeffler, Cynthia Melton, and the friends and family left behind by Julissa Brisman were forced to move on without real answers or closure or the ability to face the person who had tormented and taken so much away from them. Julissa's mother, Carmen, was especially distraught at Philip's death because she had hoped to see her day in court and to be able to face him and tell him the detrimental effect that his actions had on her life.

[Heath]

In an interview after his suicide, Carmen claimed that Philip destroyed my life and that of my family. I cursed the day, the hour, and the minute that Philip Markoff picked my daughter as his next victim. Carmen claimed that she had been prepared to address him in court, saying, I would have asked him why did he take my daughter's life? Why hurt her when she never hurt anyone and was always good to others and was always helping people? In May of 2009, Craigslist announced that it would no longer feature an erotic services section due to the outcry that they received after Julissa's murder. But the adult services section remained, though changes were made. Like posters were then required to offer a name, email, and a credit card, and the IP address would be traced in order to circumvent criminal activity. Postings were flagged and reviewed for inappropriate, harmful, or threatening content. But just the next year, in 2010, this section was removed from Craigslist completely.

[Daphne]

Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of Going West.

[Heath]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. You know, it's really sad because none of these families and nothing, none of these women really got the answers that they needed from Philip because he took his own life. But at least he won't be out there hurting any more women.

[Daphne]

And at least changes came from this because obviously these women were able to be put in this very dangerous situation, just blindly meeting somebody online with no way to track it. Which is why, I mean, really, the only reason that we were. Police didn't get any of this information from Craigslist. They got the IP address because Julissa's assistant gave them the email address. You know, so, like, I'm really glad that that was taken down just for safety reasons. And it's crazy that this case was the catalyst for that happening.

[Heath]

Well, yeah, definitely. I mean, just it going unregulated was very dangerous for these women, to be honest with you. Because sex work is a thing. It's going to be a thing. I think that it should be regulated so that women can feel safe doing that.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And not having to be secretive, as we said, as well.

[Heath]

Right.

[Daphne]

How many other women did Philip do this with? Was it just these three? Were there more? It does feel hard to believe that Trisha's attack was his first. You know, he. He went in there, he was all confident. It's like he knew what he was doing. Is it because he practiced? Is it because he rehearsed it himself? Or is it because there were others that didn't feel like they could come forward out of fear?

[Heath]

Yeah. I mean, it's very, very interesting to me that in the three cases that we do know of, he killed one person. But it's like, could this have progressed? Could he have continued to go on and eventually murder more women?

[Daphne]

Yeah. Even when Megan was in town. Like, was he gonna become a serial killer? Because obviously, obviously he's called the Craigslist Killer. But one person was killed and that was Julissa. So would it have progressed? So many questions. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to this episode. Don't forget to check out our socials for the photos associated with this story and all the other cases that we cover.

[Heath]

Also make sure to check out our bonus episodes on patreon.com goingwestpodcast and Apple subscriptions. Alright guys, so for everybody out there.

[Daphne]

In the world, don't be a stranger.

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Um, that's a hard question. Something that you can strive for.

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[Heath]

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