Alleged Craigslist killer: Plastic handcuffs found

Philip Markoff, suspected of killing a woman he met through Craigslist at a Boston hotel, appeared in court Thursday to face charges of murder, armed robbery, and kidnapping.

As he did, Boston police began to reveal more details of a crime that seems to have shocked many for the very sad reason that Mr. Markoff doesn't conform to the supposed image of what a killer should be and look like.

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."

Police have revealed that in a search of the apartment Mr. Markoff shared with his fiancee, 25-year-old Megan McAllister, they found a semiautomatic weapon, bullets, and duct tape.

They also claim to have found plastic 'zip-tie' handcuffs, similar to those that are said to have been used during the assault and murder of the masseuse who had been contacted through Craigslist, Julissa Brisman.

Police have also begun to theorize that Mr. Markoff's motive may well have been robbery.

(Credit: CC BL Murch/Flickr)

They believe he may have needed money to cover gambling debts. A police source was quoted by several newspapers as suggesting that Mr. Markoff gambled as much as $1,000 a hand at Foxwoods casino.

James Kehoe, a friend of Mr. Markoff's at SUNY Albany, told The New York Times that Mr. Markoff regularly played poker with other students: "He did used to play a lot, into the late hours. He got into debt with the games and kept trying to win it back."

However, the District Attorney seemed less concerned with the motive and more concerned with communicating the nature of the murder: "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."

In his court appearance, Mr. Markoff stared straight ahead, blinked with great speed, and said nothing.

He was jailed without bail.

This news comes on the same day that it was revealed that Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, is to speak at a memorial service for Katherine Olsen, the 24-year-old woman who was murdered in 2007 by a man who found her using a Craigslist ad.