BOSTON -- The parents, brother and sister-in-law of Philip Markoff visited the accused killer in the Boston jail for the first time Friday since his arraignment this week on murder, kidnapping and robbery charges.
Dr. Richard Markoff and Susan Haynes arrived early in the afternoon at the Nashua Street Jail to see their son, who has been charged in connection with the April 14 death in a Boston hotel of a woman offering erotic massages, and the robbery of a Las Vegas prostitute the week before that. Both offered their services on Craigslist.
Markoff's parents stayed at the jail for about two hours and left without making any comments to media gathered outside. Markoff's brother and sister-in-law also visited him on Friday. It was unclear when or if Markoff's fiancee, Megan MicAllister, would visit.
Markoff was arraigned on the charges Tuesday, but his attorney John Salsberg said he was under the impression Markoff's parents were not allowed to see their son right away.
"What I was told was that he couldn't have any visitors until he was classified, that that's the rule of the jail, and so my understanding was that the first day they could come was going to be today and so I asked them to wait until today," Salsberg said.
"This is difficult for them, they would really request that they have some privacy ... They love their son very much. They are supportive of him, that's what they would say if they were speaking themselves," Salsberg added.
Authorities were so concerned about Markoff's mental state that he was moved to an isolation cell on Thursday after a possible suicide attempt.
Markoff was separated from the other inmates at the jail and was wearing a special restraining suit to keep him from harming himself, the Boston Herald reported.
Law enforcement sources said Thursday that shoelace marks were found on Markoff's neck, consistent with a suicide attempt
There was a preliminary match between a gun found in Markoff's Quincy apartment and the bullets used to kill JuLissa Brisman, 26, the erotic masseuse who was shot to death in Boston's Marriott Copley Square hotel April 14.
Markoff's fingerprints were also found on duct tape at one of the hotel crime scenes and on plastic restraints used in one of the attacks, ABC News reported.
Markoff, 23, a Boston University medical student, was charged with murder in connection with Brisman's death and was also charged with robbery and kidnapping in connection with an attack on a Las Vegas prostitute in Boston's Westin Hotel the week before Brisman died. Both women had advertised erotic services on Craigslist.
Markoff's attorney has maintained Markoff's innocence, as has his New Jersey fiancee Megan McAllister, whose father said she remains "confident in Phil."
Salsberg would not confirm the suicide attempt but said his client is having a "tough time" adjusting to being in jail.
“It's difficult for anybody to make the transition from a life of freedom to being incarcerated or detained, particularly the first few days,” said Salsberg. “However, I have a tremendous amount of confidence that the Sheriff's Department of Suffolk County is going to make sure that he’s well taken care of and looked after.”
Prosecutors who used computer forensics to trace Markoff are now turning to Craigslist to search for other possible victims in the case.
Markoff is also suspected in an attempted robbery in Warwick, R.I., of a woman who had posted a Craigslist ad as a stripper.
Investigators are looking into whether Markoff had developed a gambling habit.
"As we explore various motives for the robberies, gambling is certainly a motive that we will look at," Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said Tuesday.
Markoff opened a line of credit at Connecticut's Foxwoods Casino in 2008. His visits there increased in March and April of 2009, ABC News reported.
Two days after the attack on the prostitute in Westin Hotel that netted $800, Markoff was at the casino on April 12. Two days later, on April 14, Brisman was killed at the Marriott Hotel. Two days after that, Markoff was back at Foxwoods, collecting winnings of $5,300.
