In laying out what would have been their case against the accused Craigslist killer Thursday, law enforcement officials provided a rare glimpse into the reach and resources authorities used to end his “reign of crime.”
Local police, state troopers and federal agents from the Secret Service all contributed to the investigation that led to the capture of Philip Markoff.
The former BU medical student allegedly planned his crimes weeks in advance and traveled to New Hampshire to purchase the 9mm handgun he used to kill masseuse Julissa Brisman. To buy the gun, Suffolk County DA Daniel Conley said at a press briefing Thursday, Markoff used a stolen license and fraudulently filled out federal forms at the gun shop.
Police used the forms to obtain his fingerprints.
Markoff, who killed himself in his jail cell before standing trial, was accused of killing Brisman and robbing another woman in downtown hotels in 2009. He met the women through Craigslist.
After the first crime, police were able to get fingerprints of their then-unidentified suspect from the plastic zip ties he used to detain his victim.
When police identified Markoff as their suspect, they realized he had no record, and they did not have his fingerprints on file to match those from the crime scene.
They followed him to a Dedham BJ’s Wholesale Club and collected every item he touched but did not buy.
The most damning evidence, authorities said, was Markoff’s shoes, which he was wearing when he was arrested in April 2009.
The shoes, authorities said, still had Brisman’s blood on them.
