Police hunt 'Craigslist killer'

[Flower25]

A hunt is on for a gun-toting killer targeting escorts and masseuses who advertise online and work out of ritzy hotels in the US city of Boston.

Police are following "numerous tips" as they investigate the murder of 26-year-old masseuse Julissa Brisman, whose body was found riddled with bullets on Tuesday night in Boston's Marriott Copley Place, the Boston Herald reports.

Investigators believe the killer is the same young, clean-cut blond man who robbed and tied up at gunpoint a 29-year-old prostitute from Las Vegas in her room at the Westin Copley Place last Friday.

Other possible victims are also being urged to come forward.

"There is a possibility that maybe women in this scenario are not reporting what happened to them," a Boston police spokeswoman said.

"We’re hoping more information might lead to his arrest."

Brisman, an aspiring actress, put up a fight when the killer attempted to tie up her wrists and rob her, police said.

She struggled with him in the hotel room doorway before being shot multiple times in the chest.

A massage table was found inside the hotel room and police initially referred to Brisman as a prostitute, but later used "masseuse" as her occupation.

Police have released surveillance photos showing the suspect at the Marriott wearing a black jacket and dark pants and typing on a BlackBerry.

Photos from the robbery at the Westin show the suspect engrossed in his phone.

Police are not ruling out that the suspect was also involved in the armed robbery of a San Francisco call girl at the Back Bay Sheraton Hotel in January.

All three victims advertised their services on Craigslist, an online classifieds service.

[Al-khiyal]

[Al-khiyal]

Suspected Craigslist killer charged with assaulting a stripper

May 4, 2009 -- A medical student accused in Boston of killing a masseuse he met on Craigslist has been charged in Rhode Island with assaulting a stripper in a hotel, attorney general Patrick Lynch said Monday.

An arrest warrant issued today accuses Philip Markoff of assault and weapons violations. Authorities previously said Markoff, 23, was the suspect in the 16 April robbery attempt at a Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, Rhode Island.

An exotic dancer from Las Vegas who offered lap dances told Rhode Island authorities that she was bound with cord and held at gunpoint by a man she met through Craigslist. She said her assailant fled when her husband came up to the hotel room.

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.

Markoff was arrested on 20 April on Interstate 95 while driving with his fiancee to Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.

He was charged with the 14 April killing of Julissa Brisman, a 25-year-old New York City resident who advertised on Craigslist, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel.

He also has been charged in a separate robbery at a hotel of another masseuse who, police say, he met through the site.

He has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, John Salsberg, did not return a phone message today.

Markoff was put on suicide watch at the Boston jail where he is being held.

The Rhode Island warrant accuses Markoff of assault with intent to commit robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a handgun and using a firearm while committing a crime of violence.

[Al-khiyal]

Craigslist dropping 'erotic services' ads

CHICAGO, May 13, 2009 -- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says that Craigslist is getting rid of its "erotic services" ads and will create a new adult category that Web site employees will review.

Madigan's office said Wednesday that such existing ads on Craigslist will expire in seven days.

Madigan and the attorneys general for Connecticut and Missouri met with Craigslist officials last week seeking an end to ads they contend are advertisements for illegal sexual activities.

An e-mail sent to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster was not immediately returned Wednesday morning.

Craigslist came under renewed pressure to remove the ads after a medical student in Boston was charged with the April killing of a masseuse he met on the site.