Prosecutor Wants DNA of 'Craigslist Killer'

BOSTON Oct. 7, 2009— -- Prosecutors want a sample of the accused "Craigslist Killer's" DNA to compare against forensic evidence collected against the former Boston University medical student, a request that Phillip Markoff's attorney may deny.

Phillip Markoff skipped today's court hearing at Suffolk Superior Court. His attorney, John Salsberg, said that his client will not appear in court until his trial, which isn't expected to begin until some time next year.

Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Ed Zabin told a judge that he plans to request a sample of Markoff's DNA to compare against forensic evidence recovered from the scenes of three attacks, a Las Vegas prostitute attacked in Boston on April 10, a New York masseuse shot dead on April 14, and a stripper robbed and bound on April 16 in Warwick, R.I.

All three women were allegedly contacted by Markoff after they had placed erotic ads on the popular internet site Craigslist. All were also attacked and robbed either before or after Markoff gambled at the Foxwoods Casino, court documents state.

"We are requesting a sample of DNA,'' Zabin told Suffolk Superior Court Judge Christine McEvoy. Markoff has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including the murder of Julissa Brisman, an aspiring drug counselor.

"I don't know if I will turn over DNA,'' Salsberg said. "I usually speak to my clients about those things."

Markoff was also indicted today in Rhode Island after a grand jury ruled there was evidence to charge him in the April 16 crime in Warwick. He will stand trial in that case after the trial in Boston case is resolved, a spokesman for the Rhode Island attorney general said.

Markoff's arrest shocked his fiance Megan McAllister at the time, who insisted he was simply a hard working medical student.

'Craigslist Killer' Becomes Card Shark in Jail

Days after his arrest Markoff attempted to kill himself at the Nashua Street Jail by pulling leather ties out of his boat shoes to create a small noose that he wrapped around a cell bar. That landed him in a segregated unit for the first 30 days of his incarceration.

Since then, however, McAllister visited her fiancé twice in prison, once to break off the engagement and a second time on June 11 to tell him she would never see him again.

Evidence linking Markoff to the crimes, including panties from his victims, plastic handcuffs used to bind them and a gun, were found beneath the bed Markoff shared with McAllister.

McAllister is "not an idiot,'' an investigator told ABC News. "She was just a girl in love."

She was interviewed by Boston Police detectives before she left for a medical school in St. Kitts in August, according to recently released court documents. McAllister has not been in contact with Markoff since her June 11 visit, jail sources said.

On the date of his planned wedding – Aug. 14 – Markoff was sent to a specialized medical unit after he stashed medication that had been prescribed to other inmates in his cell. Since then, he has re-entered general population where he "plays cards every night," one jail source said.

"He is quite the card shark,'' the source said.