Craigslist Killer Case: Suspect Dies, What Happens Now?
BOSTON (CBS/WBZ) The accused Craigslist Killer, Philip Markoff, wrote the final chapter in the criminal case against him with his apparent suicide inside a Boston jail cell this weekend.
The family of Julissa Brisman will never face her accused killer in court and legal experts say the case has died with him.
The widely publicized case was scheduled to go to trial in March of 2011. But the state cannot prosecute a dead man.
According to WBZ legal analyst Jennifer Ronan, the murder charges against Markoff will ultimately be dismissed.
Ronan said it will potentially take several months, but Markoff will not have a conviction on his record. Instead, it will reflect the charges being dropped.
The Brisman family could potentially seek a civil suit, but there has been no comment from the family to that effect.
Markoff was accused of luring Brisman to the Marriott Copley Place in April 2009, by answering her ad in the erotic services section of Craigslist. Brisman was found bound and shot in the chest in a hotel room. Brisman's attorney said the family wants the U.S. Attorney's office to look into the New Hampshire gun store that sold Markoff the 9-mm gun allegedly used to kill Julissa Brisman. His fingerprints were found on another man's id, which was used in the weapon's purchase.
Markoff was found in his Nashua Street Jail cell Sunday with a plastic bag over his head, and bleeding from a sliced artery in his leg, reports CBS affiliate WBZ.
An official cause of death has not been released.
Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy is calling for an independent review into how Markoff was able to kill himself while in custody.
Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral, whose department oversees the jail, has refused comment.
Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate WBZ
MORE ON 48 HOURS
Watch The Full 48 Hours Investigation, "Classified For Murder?"
MORE ON CRIMESIDER
September 18, 2009 - Craigslist Killer Case: Hollowing out "Gray's Anatomy"
September 18, 2009 - Book 'Em: Seven Days of Rage - The Deadly Crime Spree of the Craigslist Killer
September 17, 2009 - New Book Says Alleged Craigslist Killer Had Bondage and S&M Fantasies
June 22, 2009 - Accused Craigslist Killer Pleads Not Guilty
June 22, 2009 - Accused Craigslist Killer In Court
May 19, 2009 - "Craigslist Killer" Set To Appear In Boston Court This Week