June 22, 2009:
BOSTON (AP) - A former Boston medical student and central New York native pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he lured a masseuse he met through Craigslist to a Boston hotel, then bound her, beat her and shot her to death with a gun authorities say he later stashed in a hollowed-out medical textbook. Philip Markoff, a Sherrill native and graduate of VVS High School, firmly stated "not guilty" when asked how he pleaded to the seven charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and weapons violations, then stared straight ahead as prosecutors outlined their case during a brief arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court. Markoff is charged in the April 14 shooting of Julissa Brisman, 25, of New York City, and the April 10 armed robbery of Trisha Leffler, a 29-year-old Las Vegas prostitute, at another posh Boston hotel. Authorities say he used anonymous e-mail addresses and prepaid cell phones to set up meetings with the women he met through Craigslist, where they had advertised in its "erotic services" category. Prosecutors say Markoff left a trail linking him to the attacks including his fingerprints on the ties allegedly used to bind the women. They said he used someone else's ID - a New York man's license - in February at a gun shop in Mason, N.H., to buy the 9 mm weapon that killed Brisman. Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin said the gun used to kill her was found in a hollowed-out copy of "Gray's Anatomy" in the Quincy apartment Markoff shared with his then-fiancee, Megan McAllister. McAllister has since called off plans for their August wedding in New Jersey. They also say Markoff was seen on surveillance video coming and going from the Boston hotels around the times of the attacks. Brisman's mother, Carmen Guzman, listened in court through a Spanish-speaking translator to how her petite daughter allegedly fought against the 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound Markoff, then was found dead in the entrance of her hotel room with three gunshot wounds to her torso. The family left without answering questions from reporters but issued a statement saying they were "overwhelmed and devastated" by her death. "She was the light of our lives. She was also a college student who would have graduated this May with a degree in counseling after long hard years of studying and financing" her education, said Jeremy Silverfine, a family spokesman. Prosecutors have not revealed a motive for the attacks. Markoff was arrested April 20 on Interstate 95 while driving with his fiancee to Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. Markoff's attorney, John Salsberg, tried unsuccessfully to persuade Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson not to allow prosecutors to recite the evidence against Markoff, saying it was unnecessary since Markoff was not fighting for bail and that reciting the evidence against him would only serve to "poison" the potential jury pool for a future trial. Markoff was ordered held without bail. His family, including his mother, Susan Haynes, and father, Richard Markoff, left the courtroom after the arraignment without speaking to reporters. Asked if Markoff's family would continue to support him, Salsberg said, "They're definitely sticking by him." Wilson set a tentative trial date for June 2010. Meanwhile, a hearing was scheduled for Tuesday into whether the grand jury was exposed to leaked information from the media and whether that played into the decision to indict Markoff. "I'm starting this case at the very beginning, to look at these indictments and determine whether of not these proceeding were conducted appropriately or not appropriately," Salsberg said outside the courtroom.
May 17, 2009
BOSTON (AP) - The Boston University medical student - and Central New York native - accused of killing a 25-year-old masseuse he met through Craigslist will be back in court this week for a pretrial hearing.
Philip Markoff is scheduled to appear in Boston Municipal Court on Thursday in connection with the fatal shooting of Julissa Brisman and the armed robbery of another woman four days earlier, both at posh Boston hotels.
Police said both women had advertised erotic services on Craigslist. Markoff has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The 23-year-old Markoff is also charged in an arrest warrant in the attempted robbery of another woman in Rhode Island on April 16. Police said she was bound with cord and held at gunpoint at a hotel in Warwick, but her assailant fled when her husband came into the room.
Warrant charges Craigslist suspect with RI assault, May 4, 2009
WARWICK, R.I. (AP) - A medical student jailed in Boston on suspicion of killing a masseuse he met on Craigslist was charged Monday in an arrest warrant with pulling a gun on a stripper in a Rhode Island hotel. The warrant accuses Philip Markoff of assault and weapons violations. Authorities had previously said Markoff was the suspect in the April 16 robbery attempt at a Holiday Inn Express in Warwick. A Las Vegas stripper who offered lap dances told Rhode Island authorities that she was bound with cord and held at gunpoint by a man she met through the Craigslist classified advertising Web site. She said her assailant fled when her husband came up to the hotel room. Police had earlier described the suspect as a tall white male with blond hair, which matches Markoff's description. Attorney General Patrick Lynch, at a news conference Monday, said he had no doubt about the identity of the woman's attacker. "It was Philip Markoff," Lynch said. "He will be brought to justice." A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity previously told The Associated Press that investigators found Markoff's fingerprint in the hotel. They also believe he sent text messages from there. But police and prosecutors refused to discuss the evidence Monday. Markoff, a second-year medical student at Boston University, was arrested April 20 on Interstate 95 while driving with his fiancee to Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. He was charged with the April 14 killing of Julissa Brisman, a 25-year-old New York City resident who advertised on Craigslist, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel, in the historic Back Bay district. He has also been charged in a robbery at a Boston hotel of another masseuse police say he met through the site. Markoff, a native of the Oneida County City of Sherrill, has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, John Salsberg, did not return a phone message Monday but has said his client is innocent and has his family's support. Markoff's fiancee, Megan McAllister, visited Markoff in jail last week and has said she still loves and supports him but will be cooperating with prosecutors. Her lawyer has said the couple's wedding, which had been scheduled for August, is being "dismantled." Because Markoff, 23, is a suspect in a homicide case in Boston, it could take six months to a year before he makes his first appearance in a Rhode Island courtroom, Lynch said. But he said he was committed to prosecuting Markoff even if it could take a couple of years and even though Markoff faces life without the possibility of parole if convicted of murder in Massachusetts. "You go forward because a community cries out for justice - justice for an act that takes place that merits a response," Lynch said. Prosecutors could convene a grand jury to formally indict Markoff in the Warwick attack or press criminal charges directly against him. Markoff was put on suicide watch at the Boston jail where he is being held. The Rhode Island warrant, signed by a Superior Court judge Monday morning, accuses Markoff of assault with intent to commit robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon, each of which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison upon conviction. The warrant also includes counts of illegal possession of a handgun and using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, which have lesser punishments.
AP: Ad yields no new complaints in Craigslist case
April 30, 2009
BOSTON (AP / WSYR-TV) - An ad placed on Craigslist by prosecutors has not turned up any new accusations against the Boston University medical student charged with killing one masseuse and robbing a second one. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday that police have not been contacted by any other potential victims since Philip Markoff's arrest last week. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case. Markoff, a native of the Oneida County City of Sherrill, is charged with murder in the April 14 killing of Julissa Brisman, a 25-year-old masseuse from New York City who he allegedly met at a posh Boston hotel through Craigslist. He's also accused of robbing another masseuse he met at a different Boston hotel, also through Craigslist. Markoff is also being investigated in an attempted robbery of a woman at a Rhode Island hotel. After Markoff's arrest, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley urged other victims to report any crimes by Markoff to police. Authorities also placed their own ad on Craigslist encouraging victims to come forward. But as of Thursday, no one else had reported being a victim of Markoff's. Authorities still hope that if Markoff did rob other people, those victims will come forward, but they realize that prostitutes and others who advertise erotic services through Craigslist may be reluctant to report a crime. "This is a population of people who are not readily going to come forward," the official said. Last week, investigators posted an item in the "erotic services" section of Craigslist asking, asking, "Were You Robbed After Using Craigslist?" The ad said investigators believed that both women were attacked by a man "targeting female Craigslist advertisers who would be reluctant to report the crimes." Markoff has pleaded not guilty.
April 27, 2009:
Craigslist slay suspect can't afford lawyer; wedding canceled?
BOSTON (AP) - The band that had planned to play at the August wedding of the medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met on Craigslist is now looking for a new gig. The Bstreetband, a Bruce Springsteen tribute band, had been scheduled to play at the New Jersey oceanside wedding of suspect Philip Markoff and his fiancee, Megan McAllister, on Aug 14. But now, the band is available for another gig on that date, according to its Web site. "Due to circumstances beyond our control, this date is now available to book," says a blurb on its performance schedule. William Forte, the keyboardist and owner of the Bstreetband, said a relative of McAllister called him and said "that as of right now, there is no way they will be able to have the Aug. 14 wedding date." Forte said he plans to return the couple's $500 deposit. "Under the circumstances, I would never hold them to the contract," Forte said. McAllister told ABC News in an e-mail last week that Markoff could not hurt a fly. As recent as Thursday, her father, James McAllister, told reporters she still was standing behind Markoff. It was unclear whether cancellation of the band means the wedding is delayed or permanently off. Markoff was a second-year medical student at Boston University when he was arrested last week during a traffic stop as he drove to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. He is charged with murdering Julissa Brisman on April 14 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel. He also is charged in a robbery at a nearby hotel of another masseuse police say he met through the Craigslist classified ads Web site. He has pleaded not guilty. Attorney John Salsberg, appointed to represent Markoff last week, has said Markoff is innocent of the charges. Authorities continue to investigate Markoff to determine whether there are other possible charges. A law enforcement official said Friday that Markoff's fingerprint was found on a wall of the Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, R.I., where a stripper has said she was tied up and held at gunpoint by a man she met through the site. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case. The official also said Markoff sent text messages from the hotel but said he didn't have information about what he said or to whom he wrote. Markoff has not been charged in Rhode Island. According to court papers, Markoff owes $130,000 in student loans, which is not unusual for a medical student. He does not get money from his parents and has been unemployed for a while making him eligible for an appointed attorney paid through public funds, court documents showed. "(Markoff) stated he did not receive financial support from his family," said an April 23 document signed by a probation officer. "(Markoff) further stated he was unemployed for a lengthy period of time and was essentially living off student loans in the amount of $130,000."
April 25, 2009:
Parents visit man charged in Craigslist killing
BOSTON (AP) - The parents of a medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist have visited their son at a Boston jail.
Philip Markoff's attorney says on their behalf that they love their son very much and support him.
Susan Haynes and Richard Markoff did not speak to reporters as they entered the jail Friday. Attorney John Salsberg says it was the first day his client was allowed to have visitors.
Salsberg would not discuss the suspect's condition. He was placed under a suicide watch after authorities reportedly found shoelace marks on his neck.
Philip Markoff is charged in the killing of a 25-year-old New York woman. He is also charged with robbing another masseuse police say he met through Craigslist.
April 24, 2009:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP / WSYR-TV) - Rhode Island authorities said Friday they have evidence linking a medical student accused of killing a masseuse in Boston to a hotel near Providence where a third crime occurred. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that fingerprints belonging to Philip Markoff were found on a wall of the Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, where a stripper has said she was assaulted by a man she met through Craigslist. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case. Markoff, a Sherrill native and Boston University medical student, is charged in the April 14 killing of Julissa Brisman, a 25-year-old masseuse he met through Craigslist. He is also charged in a robbery of another masseuse that police say he met through the online classifieds site. He has not been charged in Rhode Island, but police and prosecutors here have been investigating links to the Boston cases. A Las Vegas woman who worked as a stripper and was offering lap dances through Craigslist told police that she was bound with cord and held at gunpoint late on April 17 at the Warwick hotel. The assailant fled when the victim's husband returned to the room. The law enforcement official said he did not know where in the hotel the fingerprints were found or who Markoff was messaging. Markoff's attorney, John Salsberg, has said his client is innocent of the charges. Markoff, who was arrested during a traffic stop Monday as he drove to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, was placed on suicide watch at the Boston jail where he was being held after authorities reportedly found shoelace marks on his neck. His attorney and parents visited him Friday, and his fiancee said earlier in the week that she supported Markoff and didn't think he was capable of hurting anyone. Meanwhile, Brisman's mother, Carmen Guzman, said in a statement Friday that losing her daughter to such a violent death will "haunt me for the rest of my life." She said she was "relieved that the man who did this is in custody."
April 23, 2009:
Craigslist ad placed to find victims; Markoff on suicide watch
BOSTON (AP) - Prosecutors placed an ad on Craigslist on Thursday in an attempt to find women who may have been victimized by Philip Markoff, the medical student accused of using the Web site to prey on them. Suffolk County District Attorney's Office spokesman Jake Wark said that Boston investigators hope the ad, posted in the "erotic services" section of the Web site, will persuade other possible victims to come forth. "Were you attacked or robbed at a Boston-area hotel after placing an ad on Craigslist?" the ad asked. "If so, you may have information that could aid the investigation into the April 10 armed robbery of a woman at the Westin Copley Place Hotel and the April 14 murder of a woman at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel. Both victims were attacked by a prospective client who had contacted them through ads placed on Craigslist." The posting does not mention Markoff by name, and Wark says investigators aren't sure there are other victims. Markoff is charged in the April 14 killing of Julissa Brisman, a 25-year-old masseuse he met through Craigslist. He is also charged in a robbery of another masseuse that police say he met through Craigslist. Also Thursday, a law enforcement official, speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, said Markoff had been placed on suicide watch at the Boston jail where he is being held. ABC News and The Boston Globe, citing unidentified law enforcement sources, reported that what appeared to be shoelace marks were found on his neck. Defense attorney John Salsberg told reporters he was concerned about Markoff's well-being but otherwise declined to comment on the reports. Jail officials declined to comment to The Associated Press, citing privacy rules. Investigators were not certain the Craigslist ad would produce new leads. "There may not be any other victims out there, but if there are and they have not seen or are not comfortable responding to our requests in the mainstream media, this may be a way to make contact with them," Wark said. Markoff has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, armed robbery and kidnapping. Meanwhile, supporters of Markoff have launched a new Facebook group to rally around him. The new Facebook group called "Phil Markoff is Innocent Until Proven Guilty" describes itself as a forum to rally against the media and a culture "that has forgotten that people like Phil are suspects, not killers." Markoff was arrested Monday in Walpole, less than 20 miles southwest of Boston, as he drove with his fiancee, Megan McAllister, to Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. McAllister, who earlier this week said Markoff would not hurt anyone, is standing behind him, her father, James McAllister, told reporters Thursday. "She's still confident in Phil. Other than that, we're saying a lot of prayers," he said outside his home in Little Silver, N.J.
April 22, 2009:
Source: Craigslist suspect had items from victims
BOSTON (AP) - A Boston University medical student accused of robbing women who advertised erotic services on Craigslist, killing one of them, had items belonging to both victims in his apartment, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. Philip Markoff is charged with killing a masseuse at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel, in the historic Back Bay district, on April 14. He also is charged in the robbery of a woman at another Boston hotel four days earlier. A law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said police found items belonging to both women in Markoff's apartment in Quincy, south of Boston. The official wasn't authorized to speak about evidence in the investigation. The official would not confirm a report by ABC News that the items seized by police included the victims' underwear. ABC News said two unidentified law enforcement sources said Markoff appeared to be collecting underwear as "souvenirs" from the victims. ABC News did not say how Markoff took the underwear, and he has not been accused of sexually assaulting either woman. Prosecutors have said he went through the purse of the first woman he's accused of robbing. Investigators are looking into gambling as the possible motivation. The law enforcement official said Markoff was a "frequent visitor" to Foxwoods casino in Connecticut. Markoff, 23, is accused in the death of Julissa Brisman, of New York City, a masseuse who was found dead in the doorway of her hotel room after being bashed in the head and shot three times. A wake for Brisman was held Wednesday in Manhattan, where her parents live. Markoff also is accused of robbing and tying up another woman, and police have said there could be more victims. Defense attorney John Salsberg has said Markoff isn't guilty of the charges and "has his family's support." Markoff's fiancee, Megan McAllister, insists police have the wrong man. Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, Conn., has confirmed it is cooperating with authorities investigating Markoff's gambling habits. Markoff was arrested on Monday on Interstate 95 in Massachusetts as he and his fiancee drove to Foxwoods. Business at Foxwoods was brisk Wednesday as gamblers played slot machines and table games and packed the buffets. But none of the employees coming and going at a parking garage recalled seeing Markoff at the casino. Casino managers referred questions to a Foxwoods spokeswoman, who didn't return phone calls Wednesday. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said that he believes Markoff's original motive was robbery but that he ended up killing Brisman, 26, when she fought back. The first woman Markoff is accused of robbing said she believes she's alive because she didn't resist. "I just complied with everything he wanted me to do and I didn't resist him in any way, and I think that's why," she said in an interview with Boston television station WCVB. Prosecutors have not released her name. The 29-year-old Las Vegas woman, who also advertised as a masseuse on Craigslist, said she was attacked April 10 at the Westin Copley hotel. She said she had identified Markoff from the surveillance photos police distributed. She said he was wearing the same clothing and she recognized his face. The woman said she was able to slip out of the plastic ties she was bound with about a minute after Markoff left and escape. She said she was robbed of $800 in cash, a debit card and $250 in American Express gift cards. Markoff also is suspected in an attempted robbery in Warwick, R.I., of a woman who had posted a Craigslist ad as a stripper. The woman was held at gunpoint before her husband entered the hotel room and her attacker fled. Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said in a statement Wednesday that Warwick police have developed "promising information" about the April 16 robbery at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites. "Although we're encouraged by the progress being made, this is a complex investigation and is going to take more time," Lynch said. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday called on Craigslist to stop what he calls "pimping and prostitution in plain sight." He asked the site to immediately eliminate photographs in the "erotic services" section, hire staff to screen images and ads that violate the site's terms of service and fine those who violate those terms. But Craigslist's CEO, Jim Buckmaster, said criminals who use the site are virtually guaranteed to get caught because they leave electronic trails that are easily traced. "So don't use Craigslist for crime unless you want to go to jail," he said Wednesday in an interview from San Francisco, where the company is based. Buckmaster said there have been billions of interactions on Craigslist and added "compared to human society as a whole the risks of Craigslist are low, but they're not zero." Buckmaster urged users to take precautions when meeting someone found through an online ad, such as choosing a public place or taking a friend along.
From April 21st, 2009
BOSTON (AP / WSYR-TV) - Philip Markoff seemed to have a good life: The handsome, clean-cut, 23-year-old medical student was planning a lavish beachfront wedding this summer to a beautiful woman. But authorities say his computer and surveillance video paint a picture of a suspected serial criminal who targeted women offering erotic services through Craigslist. Now he's accused of killing one and suspected of robbing and tying up another. And police have said there could be more victims. "This was a brutal, vicious crime - savage, and it shows Philip Markoff is a man who is willing to take advantage of women, to hurt them, to beat them, to rob them," District Attorney Daniel Conley said Tuesday. "He probably thought he was going to get away with it. He thought he was too smart for us." Authorities refused to comment on reports that Markoff might have been seeking money to pay gambling debts, but a Connecticut casino confirmed it was cooperating in the investigation. Markoff, a native of the Oneida County City of Sherrill and a second-year medical student at Boston University, appeared in court Tuesday on charges including murder, kidnapping and armed robbery. Dressed in a wrinkled button-down shirt and khakis, he said nothing during the brief hearing and was jailed without bail. Defense attorney John Salsberg said later that Markoff is not guilty of the charges and "has his family's support." Markoff is accused in the death of Julissa Brisman of New York City, who was found dead April 14 in a Boston hotel after being bashed in the head and shot three times. Brisman, 26, was an aspiring model and actress who had advertised erotic massage on Craigslist. Authorities said she and Markoff communicated through e-mail and cell phone to set up a meeting. Investigators traced an e-mail to Markoff, who created a new address the day before Brisman's body was discovered at the Marriott Copley Hotel. He was arrested Monday in Walpole, less than 20 miles southwest of Boston, as he drove with his fiancee to Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. Authorities say he was the man seen on surveillance video near where Brisman was found and where a woman was robbed in Rhode Island. Boston police refused to comment on reports citing unidentified law enforcement sources that Markoff was a problem gambler. But the casino said it was helping investigators. "We do not release information publicly concerning individual patrons; however, we are aware of this situation and are cooperating with the appropriate law enforcement authorities," the casino and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation said in a statement. Markoff's grandfather, Jerome Markoff, a lawyer from Arnold, Md., said he was shocked. "This is not my grandson. I know my grandson," he told The Boston Globe. "I hate to see a rush to judgment ... He's a wonderful boy, just absolutely wonderful, and couldn't be better. I'm proud of him and proud of his abilities as a medical student. He always wanted to be a doctor." Markoff's grandfather did not immediately respond to a call from The Associated Press. Police said his grandson has no prior criminal record. Markoff is also suspected in the attempted robbery Thursday in Warwick, R.I., of a stripper who had posted an ad on Craigslist. She was held at gunpoint before her husband entered the room and her attacker fled. Markoff's mother, Susan Haynes, declined to comment through a receptionist at her apartment complex in Sherrill, N.Y., where Markoff went to high school. In the 2004 Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School yearbook, Markoff was listed as a member of the bowling and golf teams, the National Honor Society, history club and youth court. He graduated in 2007 from the State University of New York at Albany. Later that year, he had a broad smile in a photograph taken as he put on a "white coat" at a ceremony for incoming BU medical school students. The university has said Markoff was suspended immediately following his arrest. Police say they found a semiautomatic weapon, duct tape and restraints - what prosecutors called "critical, powerful" evidence - in the upscale apartment he shared with his fiancee in Quincy, about 10 miles south of Boston. "I can't even put it into words, the disbelief I'm feeling right now," neighbor Jonathan Uva said. "This is a great guy ... just a total disconnect from what we're hearing in the news." According to the couple's Web site, Markoff and his fiancee met in 2005 while volunteering at a medical center near SUNY Albany, and they were engaged in May 2008. They had planned to marry Aug. 14 on a beach at sunset in Long Branch, N.J. The couple also had registered for kitchen goods and housewares from Pottery Barn, Macy's and Williams-Sonoma. Conley, the district attorney, said he believes Markoff's original motive was robbery, but he wound up killing Brisman when she fought back. Prosecutor Jennifer Hickman said in court that Brisman had been bashed in the head and shot three times at close range, including once through the heart. "It's hard for me to get into his mind. The evidence that we have is Julissa put up a pretty tough struggle, and it's in the context of that struggle that she lost her life," Conley said. The slain woman's father, Hector Brisman, appeared in court but left without commenting. Hickman said Markoff also contacted the woman he allegedly robbed using Craigslist on April 10 and set up a meeting after midnight. The woman told investigators she met Markoff and then let him into her room at the Westin Copley in Boston. When she shut the door and turned around, he was pointing a gun at her stomach. He bound her hands and mouth. He then stole more than $800 and personal items, Hickman said. His fiancee, Megan McAllister, insists police have the wrong man. "He could not hurt a fly," McAllister said in an e-mail to ABC's "Good Morning America. "All I have to say is Philip is a beautiful person, inside and out." An e-mail message sent to McAllister via her Facebook page was not immediately returned Tuesday. The McAllister family did not answer the door of their Little Silver, N.J., home Tuesday. Shortly after, a police officer emerged and said the family did not wish to speak with reporters. Michael Bernard, who lives in Markoff's building in Quincy, was shocked to recognize his neighbor on television reports of the killing. "He was smart. He carried himself well. He was clean, a good-looking guy," said Bernard, a retired electric company worker. "He seemed like the type that would have it all. It doesn't make sense."
Markoff's father is a dentist in Syracuse; his stepmother is employed with Syracuse City Schools.
Sherrill neighbors in disbelief
In Sherrill, where Markoff lived as a child, several neighbors we spoke with on Tuesday seemed equally surprised that Markoff was accused of the murder. “I read his name in the paper this morning and I cut it out because I thought it couldn't be him, but my son who happens to be in Boston said, ‘Mom, it's Philip, he's from Sherrill,’” says neighbor Terry Law. Law, who lived on the same street as the family, was Markoff's first-grade teacher. Sonja Hluska never would have imagined she would somehow be connected to the accused Craigslist killer. “I thought it'd be some derelict, just not this nice, polite young man,” Hluska says. Markoff was in Hluska’s honors English class at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School, and out of hundreds of students, he stood out. “A leader-type person, and did very well in school,” Hluska says. “A teacher's pet kind of boy.” Markoff used to live right down the street from Hluska. She says she always knew Markoff as a kind person, who even used to mow her lawn. She says she can't believe he would in any way be involved in these crimes. “It's not true, it's not Phil,” she says. “A good student, a good person, it's just hard to believe.”
| 
