In the article "Killer@Craigslist," which appears in the magazine's October issue, Orth explains that while Markoff and murdered masseuse Julissa Brisman both arranged their meeting through a series of temporary email addresses and texts in an attempt to remain anonymous, their electronic trail wound up helping police expose their identities. Orth writes:

Few Americans, even those from the younger, Internet generation, seem to understand how easily their clicks and text messages can be detected, and how little privacy any of us have anymore. Every search, every posting, every text message or Twitter, leaves a cyber footprint. The content of every e-mail sent by any one of us is kept by the Internet service provider and stored for a period of time, usually six to nine months. Google and Gmail used to store e-mails indefinitely; now they claim they're within the same range, but all the e-mail we choose to keep until we delete it can also be accessed by the provider.

Markoff responded to Brisman's Craigslist ad by sending emails from AMDPM@Live.com, an address he'd set up a few days earlier, using the name "Andy." Brisman advertised under the name "Morgan" and had messages sent to massagesbymorganboston@yahoo.com, an account that was being monitored by Mary Beth Simons, who owns the tanning salon where she worked. Simons screened offers for Brisman and even pretended to be her during a call with Markoff, who used a disposable Trac phone. Hours after her murder, when Simons hadn't received a text from Brisman to say how the meeting went, she contacted the police, who were gathering forensic evidence from the crime scene. Simons gave police the emails she had exchanged with AMDPM@Live.com and called Mark Rasch, the former head of the computer-crime unit of the U.S. Department of Justice, who she knew was an expert in computer forensics and could help the police.

After obtaining a search warrant, Microsoft, which owns Live.com, gave police the I.P. address used to access the account. Police found the I.P. address was linked to two similar robberies that had occurred recently in Boston and Rhode Island.

Craigslist was able to see what time and date the user of the Live.com address responded to each of its postings-when he clicked Morgan's or the other two women's ads, for instance. "People who use Craigslist leave more of a trail than people who just use the phone," says Rasch. [Suffolk County district attorney Daniel] Conley goes further: "People feel online communication is pretty discreet. That's entirely false." (Hotel security services routinely monitor Craigslist to see how much of the erotic trade they are attracting.)

Though the I.P. address gave police Markoff's name, it led to a wireless router in his apartment building, meaning anyone there could have been using the address. Police matched records of Simons' and Markoff's phone calls and texts to hotel surveillance footage, but also turned to more common methods to get an idea of who Markoff was.

Rasch says, the first thing police did, once they had a name, was exactly what many of us would do-they went to Facebook and Google to find out who their suspect was and what he looked like. Then they fell back on tried-and-true detective work and began an old-fashioned stakeout.

Police arrested Markoff on April 20 as he was driving with his fiancée, Megan McAllister to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, which was about a half an hour from the Rhode Island hotel where Cynthia Melton was robbed and assaulted.

...this would have been his 19th visit to Foxwoods in four and a half months. His first visit had been noted on December 8, 2008, when he signed up for the "Wampum" points awarded as perks for frequent gamblers. His presence had also been documented in the early evening of April 16, the night Melton was attacked. (Police were able to trace his Foxwoods visits by the computer records kept of his "burning Wampum.")

Though McAllister revealed to Orth in a phone call that Markoff was her first love, and she believes she was his too, internet evidence suggests he had a darker sexual life online she was not aware of. Orth writes:

A police source told me that Markoff's tastes were "wide and varied." That may be an understatement. A crime blogger recently uncovered evidence suggesting that Markoff once applied as a newcomer for sadomasochistic experiences.

Orth interviewed a transvestite who had communicated with Markoff on two separate occasions and exchanged explicit pictures with him. The transvestite showed her about 1,500 responses he'd received to ads on Craigslist.

"It's not blackmail per se," he explained, patting the laptop, "but in case I get murdered I have the information to share." One of the icons on the screen was for his complete Markoff file. "Hey sexy" was the first subject line. On May 2, 2008, at 12:29 a.m., the name "Phil Markoff" came up with the e-mail address Sexaddict5385@yahoo.com. He was replying to Craigslist personal No. 664395223... "I am 6'3" a 22y/o grad student." Along with the message, he sent his picture, which the tranny verified by going to Markoff's Facebook page and seeing the identical photo of him there, smiling, in a blue-and-white striped shirt, with a small drapery swag in the background.

In May, after pressure from the attorneys general of 43 states, Craigslist eliminated its Erotic Services category in the United States and changed it to Adult Services, which Craigslist C.E.O. Jim Buckmaster says is "manually reviewed to make sure a human reviewer looks at each ad and picture, reads each word, and compares the ad with our posting guidelines." Some still criticize Craigslist for only providing the police with information after a crime is committed rather than doing more to prevent crimes; however, Buckmaster says the site has many filters in place and it's not smart for people to arrange illegal activities via the site because, "It virtually guarantees they'll be caught."

Killer@Craigslist [Vanity Fair]

Writer Wray Herbert applies to McAllister four cognitive mechanisms that are not necessarily related to the horror of finding out a loved one has committed murder. Perhaps she is suffering from "the endowment effect," which in studies showed that people who already owned tickets to a basketball game overvalued them when asked to sell. Or maybe she's experiencing "loss aversion," as she is "facing a huge loss-the end of her dreams, symbolized by her canceled summer wedding plans." We've all wondered why McAllister stuck by Philip Markoff for so long, but it's impossible to understand what she's going through from a few random findings about the human brain. But, we can guess that a man would be just as traumatized, and have just as much difficulty knowing when to call it quits, were the situation reversed.

Standing By The Craigslist Killer [Newsweek]

Earlier: After Visiting Markoff In Jail McAllister Says Wedding Is Off

• Police had been searching for more women who may have been victimized by the "Craigslist Killer," but now they are expanding the search to men as well. In an interview with NBC News yesterday, a Boston professional who did not want to be identified said that Markoff contacted him through the site. "I posted an ad on Craigslist under ‘male for t,' which stands for ‘males for transsexuals,' " the man said. "That's where he found me." He says Markoff replied by writing, "I am a 22 y/o grad student. 6'3, 205, good build, blond/blue eyes ... let me know what else you want to see or know about me." The emails started last spring and continued through late January, but they never met. He claims Markoff called him "babe" and said in another email, "What are you into and what are your stats? What are you doing tonight?" The man says Markoff used the Yahoo! address "sexaddict5385" and send explicit pictures, which is how the man recognized Markoff. According to the man, Markoff's ad in Craigslist's "casual encounters" section said he wanted to meet, "men who dress as women, with transsexuals - anyone who he can get ahold of online." The man added, "This person was trolling Craigslist like a Monopoly game. I don't know who knows who else he contacted through there."
• Markoff's fiancée, Megan McAllister, issued a statement through her lawyer. The Boston Herald reports:

  "In the past two short weeks, my life and what I hoped my life to be has dramatically changed," Megan McAllister said in a statement released by an attorney.

  "I also love my fiance and I will continue to support him throughout this legal process. My heart goes out to all of those afflicted by these events," McAllister said. "It is my intent to fully cooperate with my fiance's attorney as well as the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office . . . I can only tell them what I know and what is the truth. I will expect that these discussions will occur within the next several days."

  "What has been portrayed and leaked to the media is not the Philip Markoff that I know," McAllister, 25, said. "To me and my family, he is a loving and caring person and . . . he is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt . . . My fiance's fate should not rest in the court of public opinion, but rather in a court of law."

  McAllister did not say, as she has in previous statements, that Markoff had been set up.

• When asked how his daughter was doing, Jim McAllister told reporters with tears in his eyes that, "Megan is not doing so well, it's a very tense situation," according to People.
• As mentioned earlier, a member of the Bstreetband, a Bruce Springsteen tribute band, said the wedding had been called off. Keyboardist William Forte said a member of the McAllister family called and said, "that as of right now, there is no way they will be able to have the August 14 wedding date," according to the Associated Press.
• A law enforcement official said Markoff's fingerprint was found on the wall of a hotel in Rhode Island where a stripper was robbed at gunpoint and that Markoff sent text messages from the hotel.
• Markoff owes more than $130,000 in student loans and can't afford an attorney, according to court papers. "[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."
• The New York Times has a lengthy look into Markoff's background. He grew up outside of Syracuse in Sherrill, which claims to be "the smallest city in New York State," with a population of 3,150. His parents were divorced and he grew up with his mother while his brother went to live with his father. Like many high school students in town, he enjoyed hanging out at the bowling alley and local casino.
• In college at the State University of New York at Albany, Markoff was a member of the College Republicans. "We were surrounded by such a left-wing student body, and he was more like me: he didn't really share those sentiments," said one classmate, Jonathan Zierler. "He was a traditionalist as far as things like men and women's roles in society. He was a throwback from a more conservative era."
• An eviction notice is hanging on the door of Markoff and McAllister's Quincy, Massachusetts apartment. "He seemed like the rest of us in med school," Shanna Rone, a classmate at Boston University School of Medicine, told The Times in an e-mail message, "making ends meet with some skeletons in the closet ... nothing out of the ordinary."

Was Craigslist Suspect Also Targeting Men? [MSNBC]
Philip Markoff's Fiancee: I Love Him [The Boston Herald]
Fiancee Still Stands By Accused Craigslist Killer [People]
Craigslist Killing Suspect Can't Afford Lawyer [The Associated Press]
Details, But Little Insight, On Craigslist Killing Suspect [The New York Times]

Earlier: The "Craigslist Killer": A Story Told In Many Voices
Fiancee Of Accused Craigslist Killer Says He's Innocent

We live in an era where you can't afford to hesitate: the court of public opinion is swifter and more damning than ever, thanks to our rapid methods of communication, and the accused often find themselves in a weird state of media hysterics, with both supporters and detractors rushing forward to tell their version of an as-yet unsolved story. With each detail released about "the Craigslist killer," the media storm grows, as we are, for some reason, drawn to the darker sides of one another, desperate to know what happened, and how, and if there was anything that could have stopped such a tragedy.

Naturally we begin to cast characters in such a story: here, we have a "clean cut" accused murderer and his "blonde bombshell" fiance, a perfect storm of Lifetime movie scandal, intrigue, and beauty: these educated, seemingly "normal" people, the public exclaims, aren't supposed to be in a situation like this! How strange! How creepy! How do we make sense of such a thing?

It begins with the interviews: Markoff's supporters and detractors quickly jumped in front of microphones, granting interviews and sending emails depicting their view of the alleged killer: his fiance, understandably, continues to send out emails proclaiming Markoff's innocence, insisting that the two will marry, as planned, in August, and move on with their lives. My first reaction to McAllister's emails was one of pity and slight annoyance: I had already decided that Markoff was guilty and creepy, based only on what I'd read, and couldn't understand why McAllister would continue to support him. But when you put yourself in that situation, and imagine how you'd react, if it was YOUR fiance being accused of such unspeakable things, it's a bit easier to understand McAllister's position.

We continue to build up our own version of the story through bits of information given by minor characters: William Forte, a member of a wedding band hired to play the Markoff-McAllister ceremony in August says the wedding is definitely off, claiming that "a family member of Megan's told me there is no possibility of this wedding taking place this August." A jail source tells the press that Markoff has told his brother and sister-in-law to "move to California" as there is "more coming out," about the case.

Markoff's friends support him, noting that he was "very easygoing," "completely average," and "dorky, but so many of us are." Others remember him in a much different light, recalling that he "had issues with people of color, had issues with women," and that he gave off a "creepy vibe." Everyone, it seems, has a memory that solidifies their stance on the situation: to those who remember him as kind, shock and disbelief are their overall reactions to the crime. For those who remember him as weird and creepy, the details of the crime seem to make sense.

I went to school with a man who is currently awaiting trial on charges that he killed several people. The last time I really ever talked to him was during a musical theater production in 6th grade, where we were dancing partners. We went to high school together, but we barely saw each other, much less interacted with one another. Yet as soon as the story broke, all I could say to people was, "I just remember that he was so nice in 6th grade. Just a really nice person." The evidence against this person is fairly damning, and yet my brain immediately reverted back to 6th grade, in a weird attempt to make sense of a completely senseless situation. Was he still the same person he'd been when I knew him at age 12? Is anyone? No. But that didn't stop me from attempting to process the news in such a way.

Whether or not Philip Markoff is guilty, the fact remains that when a story like this breaks, everyone's memories spill out in order to create a composite picture of the man in the handcuffs; we are constantly seeking the signs, the defense, the point at which we should have, could have, must have seen something. We are so hardwired to view people in a certain light that we'll shift our thinking to suit whatever purpose makes us feel a little safer, a little more aware.

The circus surrounding Markoff won't end anytime soon, but perhaps the most tragic part of this entire story is that the voice that should be heard right now is being drowned out by a wave of tabloid frenzy: the voice of the victims in this situation, the women who were attacked, and the family of the woman killed by "the Craigslist killer." "The feeling of losing my daughter in this way and the pain she must have felt will haunt me for the rest of my life," says Julissa Brisman's mother, Carmen Guzman, "She won't live to see her dreams. We will hold Julissa in our hearts every day."

August Wedding For 'Craigslist' Killer Is Off, Says Wedding Band [People]
Clean-cut Craigslist Killer Suspect Philip Markoff Gave Off "Creepy Vibe" [NYDN]
Mother Of Craigslist Victim 'Devastated' By Loss [CNN]
Friends Defend 'Easygoing' Phil Markoff [Boston Herald]
Accused Craigslist Killer Tells Kin, 'Forget About Me' [Boston Herald]

Earlier: Accused Fiance Of Craigslist Killer Says He's Innocent

• Several law enforcement officials told The Boston Globe that a preliminary match has been made between the semi-automatic handgun police found in Philip Markoff's apartment and the weapon used to kill Julissa Brisman last week. Officers also said that fingerprints matching Markoff's were found on the plastic restraints and duct tape left at a crime scene, but it wasn't clear what case they were referring to.
• A fingerprint matching Markoff's was found at the Rhode Island hotel where an exotic dancer was robbed at gunpoint last week, according to The New York Times.
• Correctional officers say they noticed "shoelace marks" around Markoff's neck yesterday, leading them to believe that he tried to kill himself, reports The New York Daily News. He was moved to a segregated unit at Boston's Nashua Street Jail and placed on suicide watch. Another source said Markoff is wearing a special restraining suit to keep him from harming himself.
• Yesterday Jim McAllister, father of Markoff's fiancée Megan McAllister, spoke to reporters. According to The Boston Herald:
  

  The father of the bride said Megan McAllister has read all the news reports about the evidence.

  "How could you not?" Jim McAllister said. But he said her faith is strong. "She's still confident in Phil. Other than that, we're saying a lot of prayers."

  Speaking to reporters outside the family's home in Little Silver, N.J., McAllister briefly addressed how his daughter was holding up.

  "As expected, not well," he said in a soft voice, according to video footage of the interview. "She's still confident in Phil. Other than that, we are saying a lot of prayers."

  Asked whether his daughter had any idea about Markoff's alleged double life, Jim McAllister shook his head. "Absolutely not," he said, before walking away from the microphones, according to video footage.

• Megan McAllister wrote and sent another email to the press. People reports:
  

  "Philip has not been convicted," McAllister wrote in an email to PEOPLE. "A policeman who wished to make money off this story sold it to countless companies. 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 and you are wrong to be asking me for stories."

• A friend of Markoff's has started a Facebook page titled, "Phil Markoff is Innocent Until Proven Guilty." The purpose: to "Rally against the media who is quick to place blame, against the culture that has forgotten that people like Phil are suspects, not killers." As of this morning it had 199 members.
• A Boston radio station aired an interview with a Cape Cod woman who said she sat next to Markoff at a blackjack table at Foxwoods casino on April 16, two days after he allegedly killed Julissa Brisman and the same day he's suspected of robbing a woman in Rhode Island. People reports:
  

  The Cape Cod woman said Markoff spent about $600 and hardly said a word, bringing down the upbeat mood at the table. His behavior was so odd, she told the radio station, that she mentioned him to her friends after he left. When she saw his picture in a newspaper after his arrest, she said to herself, 'Oh my God, it's him."

• Markoff's former Boston University School of Medicine lab partner, Tiffany B. Montgomery, told The Boston Globe that he experienced mood swings and depression to the point that she considered telling school counselors that he might be suicidal. She said she is "not even remotely surprised" that he has been charged with murder. The Globe reports:
  

  "He just wasn't right in the head, and I knew it, and probably other people did, too," said Montgomery, 26, who spent hours with him each day in the lab.

  "My friends from the lab group have confirmed that 'you weren't the only one feeling that way,' " she said. "I got the impression he was really disturbed."

  Montgomery, who dropped out of medical school last February because of financial problems, said Markoff's mood swings alarmed her.

  "One day, he'd be warm and friendly and smiling," said Montgomery, who now works as a biotech consultant in Boston. "And the next day you'd see him and the clouds had rolled in. And you'd say to yourself, 'This is the 50 percent of the week when it's the upset, brooding Phil, and not the smiling happy Phil.' "

• There are more calls for Craigslist to take down its "erotic services" category, or police the site more. "It is clear that Craigslist is the new frontier," Mark Lagon, executive director of the anti-trafficking group the Polaris Project told the Associated Press. "Ultimately, the 'erotic services' section must be shut down," Lagon said, explaining that a study last year found Craigslist was the site used most frequently by johns seeking prostitutes. Last month in Illinois, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart sued the site, claiming that it has actively created, "the largest source of prostitution in America."
• Prosecutors posted an ad in Craigslist "erotic services" section yesterday in an attempt to find other women who may have been victimized by Markoff. According to CBS News:
  

  "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."

Sources: Preliminary Tests Link Gun Found At Markoff's Home To Slaying [Boston Globe]
Fingerprint Is Student's, Official Says [New York Times]
Suspected 'Craigslist Killer' Philip Markoff Tried To Hang Himself In Jail Cell, On Suicide Watch [NY Daily News]
Sources: Cops Make Gun Link In Philip Markoff Case [Boston Herald]
Who Is 'Craigslist Killer' Philip Markoff? [People]
"Phil Markoff is Innocent Until Proven Guilty" [Facebook]
Report: Craigslist Murder Suspect On Suicide Watch [People]
Behind 'Perfect Life,' A Darker Side [Boston Globe]
Craigslist Death Renews Calls For Limiting Sex Ads [Associated Press]
Investigators Turn To Craigslist For Clues [CBS News]

Earlier: Cops: Craigslist Killer Robbed To Fund Fiancee's Lavish Lifestyle
Fiancee Of Accused Craigslist Killer Says He's Innocent

• Michelle Obama says that the family's new puppy, Bo, is "kind of crazy," and really likes to chew on people's feet. • For the first time since they were donated almost a year ago, Emory University is planning to unveil Alice Walker's literary archives. • The University of California, Davis has launched a new program, titled "One Health", which will help save the world's remaining 740 mountain gorillas by not only caring for the gorillas, but also the people and animals the inhabit the surrounding community. • Joe Shuster, the creator of Superman, made most of his money drawing racy, bondage themed images for an obscure series of magazines called Nights Of Horror. • Philip Markoff, aka the "Craigslist Killer," has been put on suicide watch after corrections officers found shoelace marks on his neck. • The Philippine Court of Appeals has overturned the 2006 rape conviction of a U.S. Marine. The decision is final, and leftist groups are outraged. • The BBC put Google's new Similar Images tool to the test, to find out whether it actually brought back, well, similar images. The verdict: sometimes, but the Renee Zellweger/John Prescott comparison is not very flattering. • A fertility doctor who claims to have implanted cloned human embryos into several woman is being denounced by experts in the field as an "unscrupulous publicity hound." • The Public Health Commission in Wales has changed the national policy on sex change operations, making them more easily available to transgender individuals. • Two frat brothers from a New Hampshire college are facing misdemeanor charges after they branded pledges with a WWII bayonet. • Feministing takes the New York Times to task for its recent review of "17 Again," Zac Efron's new, possibly sexist, movie. • This is the funniest story I've read today: a woman dressed as Princess Leia was pulled over for drunk driving because both she and her husband (dressed as Luke Skywalker, natch) were too embarrassed to walk home in costume. • Henrietta Hughes, the woman who asked Obama for help and a house during one of his town meetings, is now jobless and is may soon be homeless again. • This quirky British couple got married in full-on Shrek costumes. Fairytale wedding indeed. •  Click here to learn about some weird medical mythology, like vagina dentata and sperm gone bad. • In what was probably a very good move, Apple yanked the "Baby Shaker" iPhone app from their store. • In efforts to prevent childhood obesity, ice cream trucks in Britain have been banned from parking outside schools. •  Students in Alaska have been suspended for cruelly taunting and frightening a moose so much that it suffered a fatal injury. • Andrea Wachner hated high school, so instead of attending her 10 year reunion, she sent a stripper in her place. Watch the whole thing on video here. • A new study has found that people who drink a glass of 100% juice each day are more likely to be thin than those who do not. • A 25-year-old woman from San Antonio has plead guilty to arranging the sale of her 5-year-old daughter for sex. She had also planned to sell her 10-month-old daughter into sex slavery, but fortunately, neither child was actually sold. • Massachusetts officials are conducting a DNA search on the body of the "Craigslist Killer" victim to determine whether to add rape to the charges leveled against Philip Markoff. • The women behind the Pink Chadi Campaign have organized another protest, called "One Night Stand". •  Scientists from the University of South Dakota have invented a wall paint that kills germs and bacteria. • Sad news: the Australian government has authorized the killing of thousand baby kangaroos that have been forced by drought into residential areas. •

A plea of not guilty was entered for Philip Markoff at his arraignment yesterday on charges of murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery, according to The Boston Globe. He was ordered held without bail until his next court appearance on May 21. Police have turned up new evidence in the case, saying they found a handgun in a hollowed-out copy of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, panties taken from the victims, duct tape, restraints, and ammunition. Investigators are testing the gun to see if it was used to fatally shoot masseuse Julissa Brisman on April 14. Police say a Google search of Markoff's phone number brought up an old Craigslist post advertising "Ebony Erotic Masseuse." The ad said "taking my last appointment" and told customers to call Markoff's number.

It has been revealed that when police arrested Markoff on Monday driving south on Interstate 95, he was headed to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut and his fiancée, Megan McAllister, was in the car. The Globe reports that McAllister, a medical student like Markoff, told police she frequently stays with her parents in New Jersey and had been there most of last week. She hadn't been following the story of the Craigslist Killer, but said her mother had told her, "Be careful ... There was some guy that killed somebody up in Boston." After questioning, McAllister asked to use a computer to book a plane ticket back to New Jersey and police drove her to the airport.

An unidentified police source told ABC News that they believe Markoff's motive was robbery, as he needed to pay off gambling debts. As ABC News puts it:

Police have said Markoff's fiancee, Megan McAllister, who has stuck by him and not said much publicly, was accustomed to a lavish lifestyle that may have been financed, at least in part, by the money he got from robbing other women.

Former friends say Markoff's love of gambling dates back to high school, when he wrote in his senior yearbook, "I bequeath my poker playing skills to Andy Finley so he won't lose his dad's house." A college friend of Markoff's has come forward to share a glimpse of his "dark side." In an interview with The New York Daily News, Morgan Houston said when they were walking back to their SUNY Albany dorms after a night of drinking four years ago, "[Markoff] pushed me up against the wall and tried kissing me," She says she told him, "No, Phil, get off me, stop kissing me, I'm not interested in you, what are you trying to do?" but he would not get off her. A male friend pulled Markoff off of her before things went any further.

Trisha Leffler, the Las Vegas prostitute who was robbed in a Boston hotel on April 10 has also come forward, saying she believes that she is alive because, "I just complied with everything he wanted me to do and I didn't resist him in any way," reports The New York Daily News. She says she believes Markoff was her attacker, and during their meeting, he pulled a gun on her, shackled her with plastic handcuffs, tied her to a doorknob, and covered her mouth with tape. He took cash, gift cards, a debit card, and left. "I slipped my ties within one minute after he was gone," Leffler said, adding that she plans to get out of the escort business.

At a press conference yesterday, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in light of this case, Craigslist should take stronger action to combat pornography, prostitution, and child trafficking in its online advertisements, according to The Boston Globe. He demanded that the site make it impossible for users to post images in the "erotic services" category and hire more staff to scan the sites for ads promoting illegal activity, and suggested a $1,000 on users who post illegal ads. Craigslist chief executive Jim Buckmaster denied that the website offers sex-related advertising, claiming in an email to The Globe that the "erotic services" section should only include "legitimate escort services, sensual massage, exotic dancers, etc.," but that offers to exchange sexual favors for money are "strictly prohibited" and removed from the site.

Search Of Suspect's Home Turns Up A Gun Police Say [Boston Globe]
A High-Tech Tip, An Old-School Stakeout In Craigslist Attacks [Boston Globe]
College Classmate Says Markoff Attacked Her [ABC News]
College Buddy Morgan Houston Recalls Her Close Call With 'Craigslist Killer' Suspect Philip Markoff [New York Daily News]
Surviving Victim Of Craigslist Killer: Phillip Markoff Should Be Jailed For Life [New York Daily News]
Amid Calls To Curb Ads For Illegal Sex Craigslist CEO Defends Status Quo [Boston Globe]

Earlier: Fiancee of Accused Craigslist Killer Says He's Innocent

As mentioned yesterday, Markoff has been brought in on charges for the murder of Julissa Brisman, 26 of New York City, who was found in Boston's Copley Marriott Hotel on April 14, unconscious and with multiple gun wounds. ABC reports that Markoff has also been charged with the robbery of Trisha Leffler, who says she was bound and robbed at the Westin Hotel in Boston on April 10. She claims to have recognized Markoff instantly from the police surveillance photo. Leffler has said that that she only survived the attack because she did not fight Markoff. "I just complied with everything he wanted me to do. I didn't resist him in any way and that's why," she said.

Yesterday, Markoff the Boston Herald depicted Markoff as "a clean-cut Boston University medical student preparing to wed a blond beauty." This morning, the press is telling a slightly different story. The Boston Globe reports that Markoff was supposedly "disturbed," according to a former medical school lab partner. Tiffany Montgomery, 26, says that she is "not even remotely surprised" that Markoff has been charged with such violent crimes. After spending hours in the lab with him every day, Montgomery claims she suspected that he may have been suicidal, and even considered alerting school counselors. "He just wasn't right in the head, and I knew it, and probably other people did, too," she said. She cites his drastic mood swings as evidence that Markoff was mentally ill:

"One day, he'd be warm and friendly and smiling," said Montgomery, who now works as a biotech consultant in Boston. "And the next day you'd see him and the clouds had rolled in. And you'd say to yourself, 'This is the 50 percent of the week when it's the upset, brooding Phil, and not the smiling happy Phil.' "

The Boston Herald recently reported that before Markoff became the medical student "on the fast track to achieving the American dream," with a "blond bombshell fiancee" on his arm, he was a "nerdy high school bully." A former classmate, who sat next to him in 9th grade Spanish class, recalls that Markoff was cruel to her on a daily basis.

"He had this hatred for people he thought were beneath him," said Caitlin, a 23-year-old high school classmate who asked that her last name be withheld. "He saw me as beneath him and he needed to degrade me. I think he had a complex."

She goes on to say that although Markoff was often the subject of bulling himself, she still hated him:

"He was just a bully," she said. "He would get picked on, but I never felt sorry for him because he was mean. He had this arrogance that he was better than you."

Others, including Markoff's former neighbors, his first grade teacher, and parents of high school friends, all claim that Markoff was a kind, intelligent boy, if maybe a little withdrawn. Many have also mentioned Markoff's allege gambling problem, which may have begun as early as high school. Police suspect that gambling debts may have sparked Markoff's spree of robberies. ABC reports that after both attacks, Markoff hit the casinos.

Two days after Brisman was murdered, the police source said Markoff hit the casino again, leaving with casino with $5,300 in his pocket.

Markoff is also being looked at in a third attack, this one also a robbery, in a Rhode Island Holiday Inn Express where, again, a woman was tied up after placing an advertisement on Craigslist for massage services.

Prosecutors say Markoff was headed to the casino when they finally caught up with him on Monday. A search of his Quincy, Mass., apartment, they said, turned up a semi-automatic weapon along with ammunition, plastic zip ties and duct tape.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley says that he is in the process of posting an ad on Craigslist, in hopes of finding more of Markoff's victims. "In light of the fact that at least two victims have been attacked after placing ads on Craigslist, it seems a natural place to seek additional victims," said a spokesman for Conley. Conley has said that there is a "strong possibility he has done this before." "This is a brutal, vicious, savage attack. This suspect showed he was willing to take advantage of women," he said.

Update: Markoff's fiancee Megan McAllister has emailed People to defend Markoff:

"Philip has not been convicted," McAllister wrote in an email to PEOPLE. "A policeman who wished to make money off this story sold it to countless companies. 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 and you are wrong to be asking me for stories."

Alleged 'Craigslist Killer' recalled as nice, smart boy [Boston Globe]
Accused Craigslist killer was a nerdy high school 'bully' [Boston Herald]
Behind 'perfect' life, a darker side [Boston Globe]
Police Say Accused Craigslist Killer Owed Gambling Debts [ABC]
Victim of Accused Craigslist Killer Says She Survived By Not Fighting Back [ABC]
District Attorney Using Craigslist To Find More Victims [Boston Herald]

Related: Fiancée Of Accused Craigslist Killer Says He's Innocent

Philip Markoff, of Quincy, Massachusetts, will be arraigned this morning on charges that he murdered Julissa Brisman, 26 of New York City, who was found unconscious with multiple gunshot wounds in Boston's Copley Marriott Hotel on April 14, reports CNN. Police says Brisman advertised her massage services on Craigslist. According to a statement by Boston police, "It appears that there was a struggle between the victim and the suspect in the threshold of the hotel room immediately prior to the shooting."

Markoff is also charged with kidnapping and armed robbery in a separate case involving another woman he met on Craigslist, according to The Boston Globe. Police say he tied up and robbed a prostitute at gunpoint at the Westin Copley Hotel on April 10. Police are still investigating whether Markoff is linked to an incident that took place on April 16 at a hotel in Warwick, Rhode Island, where a gunman tied up an exotic dancer and tried to rob her, but fled when the woman's husband entered the room. The same plastic zip-tie cuffs were used in all three cases, according to The Boston Herald.

Markoff was stopped by police and arrested while driving south on Interstate 95. Though he is innocent until proven guilty, a large amount of damning evidence has been turned over to the press. The man captured on surveillance cameras at each crime scene is shown checking his Blackberry, and police say Markoff's email address and IP address helped identify him.

A portrait of Markoff as "a clean-cut Boston University medical student preparing to wed a blond beauty," as The Boston Heald put it, was quickly assembled from searching online sources like his Facebook page, online class schedule, and a website for his wedding to Megan McAllister, which was supposed to take place this summer.

In addition to the horror of having her fiance accused of murder, Megan McAllister now has to deal with the intimate details of her life being reported in the press. Many news articles commented on her appearance, analyzed the details of her wedding registry, and made jokes about the wedding being off. All of Markoff's personal sites have been taken down, but Gawker posted screenshots of the wedding website, which reveals that the couple were both students at the State University of New York-Albany, and met three years ago while volunteering at a hospital.

Though password protection was added to their profile on TheKnot.com in the past few hours, their guestbook quickly filled with anonymous posts blaming McAllister for not realizing what was going on, such as:

from: Common Sense 4/21/2009
How could you NOT see that you were with a psychopath? Forget the Noritake China place setting and thank God you're still alive!

from: GetReal 4/21/2009 She had no idea ... right! All these unexplained absences ...where did he say he was for 3 or 4 hours at a time? I've sat next to someone on the bus and after 30 seconds I knew they were up to no good.

from: a Mom 4/21/2009 Dumb girl, You have have had to see something in this creep! Too bad you could have saved the girl he killed. Shame on you stupid fuck.

And making cruel jokes:

from: brandon 4/21/2009
this is what happens to a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown with a BRIDEZILLA up his all 24/7

from: Nurse Ratchet 4/21/2009
What's the difference between a 22 year old doctor wasting his youth in prison, or in marriage? . . . None.

Though the public seems to have already condemned Markoff, McAllister still insists that her fiance is innocent. In the clip below, Good Morning America reports that this morning McAllister sent an email to ABC News saying:

Philip is a beautiful person inside and out and could not hurt a fly! 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.

Pre-med Student To Be Arraigned In Craigslist Slaying [CNN]
BU Medical Student Arrested In Hotel Killing, Robbery [The Boston Globe]
Cops: BU Med Student The Craigslist Killer [The Boston Herald]
Accused Craigslist Killer's Prosaic Facade [Gawker]
Megan McAllister & Philip Markoff - Our Guestbook [The Knot]