When the news broke back in 2009 that a clean-cut Boston University medical student was the "Craigslist Killer," people couldn't look away. It was wild. Philip Markoff looked like the guy next door, but the Phillip Markoff crime scene photographs eventually told a much darker story than his engagement photos ever did.
Even now, years after he took his own life in a jail cell, people are still searching for those images. They want to see the proof. They want to know how a guy with a "bright future" ended up in a Marriott hallway with a gun.
Honestly, the sheer amount of evidence the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office eventually released is staggering. We aren't just talking about grainy surveillance footage. We’re talking about the intimate, messy details of a double life captured on film.
The Chilling Reality of the Hotel Evidence
The most haunting images from the case aren't actually from the apartment. They are the surveillance stills from the Boston Marriott Copley Place.
You've probably seen them. Markoff is wearing a black windbreaker and a New York Yankees cap. He looks remarkably calm. In one photo, he's just looking at his Blackberry, texting like he’s waiting for a friend to grab a drink. This was minutes after Julissa Brisman was killed.
"He didn't look like somebody who had committed murder or bound a woman and gagged her," said one investigator.
The crime scene itself was gruesome. Reports from the scene described Brisman found face down in the doorway of her room. Her hands were bound with plastic zip ties. The Phillip Markoff crime scene photographs taken by forensic units captured three 9mm bullet wounds and signs of a violent struggle. There was blood on the carpet and a spent casing that would eventually link back to a very specific hiding spot.
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What Investigators Found Inside the Apartment
When the police finally got a warrant for Markoff’s place in Quincy, they hit the jackpot. It wasn't a "den of evil." It was a normal-looking apartment he shared with his fiancée, Megan McAllister.
But the photos from the search showed things that didn't belong in a medical student's home.
- The "Gray's Anatomy" Textbook: This is the most famous piece of evidence. Photos show a hollowed-out copy of the classic medical text. Inside? A Springfield Armory XD9 semi-automatic handgun.
- The Dryer Hideout: Investigators found extra bullets taped to the back of the clothes dryer.
- The Restraints: Plastic zip ties, identical to the ones found on the victims, were tucked away in the apartment.
- The Trophies: This part is particularly dark. Police found leather boots and even personal items belonging to the women he had robbed.
Basically, Markoff was living two lives, and he was keeping "souvenirs" from the people he hurt. The photographs of these items laid out on evidence tables are what eventually broke the defense's argument that they had the wrong guy.
The Blood-Stained Shoes
If you're looking for the "smoking gun" in the photo files, it’s the shoes. During the investigation, Markoff’s fiancée actually defended him by looking at surveillance photos and saying, "Those are not his shoes. I monitor all his shoes."
She was wrong.
When Markoff was arrested, police seized the shoes he was wearing. Forensic photos later confirmed they had traces of Julissa Brisman’s blood on them. It’s hard to argue with DNA. That single photograph of a pair of sneakers basically sealed his fate before he ever stepped foot in a courtroom.
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Why the Trial Photos Never Went to Court
We never got to see a full trial. Markoff killed himself in the Nashua Street Jail in 2010.
Because of that, the public never saw the evidence presented in front of a jury. However, in 2011, District Attorney Daniel Conley released a massive amount of the case file anyway. He did it partly because the victims' families wanted the truth out there. They wanted the world to see that this wasn't a "mistake" or a case of "wrong place, wrong time."
The files released included:
- Full audio of police interviews.
- High-resolution stills from the hotels.
- Photographs of the weapon and the "Gray's Anatomy" book.
- Images of the forensic evidence found on his computer.
It was a digital trail as much as a physical one. Markoff had used a throwaway email account to contact the women, but he used his own home IP address to log in. The photos of his laptop screen showing his Craigslist correspondence were the final nails in the coffin.
The Last Images: The Jail Cell
The very last Phillip Markoff crime scene photographs are the most disturbing. They depict the scene of his suicide.
Markoff didn't just go quietly. He used a homemade blade made from a pen and a piece of metal. He wrote his fiancée's name on the wall in his own blood. He had photographs of the two of them scattered around the cell. It was a theatrical, tragic end to a case that had already destroyed so many lives.
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What We Can Learn From the Case Files
Looking back at this evidence today, it’s a reminder of how much the "digital footprint" changed everything for law enforcement. Back in 2009, this was a landmark case for using IP addresses and Facebook dossiers to catch a killer.
If you're researching this case for legal or historical reasons, the best way to find the official information is through the Suffolk County District Attorney's archives or reputable news repositories like CBS Boston and the ABA Journal, which still host many of the original evidence slides.
Most "leaked" photos on shady websites are often mislabeled or sensationalized. Stick to the official releases if you want the real story of what happened in those hotel rooms.
The case of the Craigslist Killer remains a chilling example of how a person can hide in plain sight—and how a camera, whether it's in a hotel hallway or a forensic lab, eventually captures the truth.
Next Steps for Researching This Case:
- Search for Official DA Statements: Look for the March 2011 press release from the Suffolk County DA for the most comprehensive list of authenticated evidence.
- Verify Forensic Details: Use the ABA Journal archives to understand how the digital forensics (IP addresses and cell towers) were mapped against the physical crime scenes.
- Review the Digital Trail: Check the Forensics Colleges case study for a breakdown of how Markoff's social media and email accounts were used to track his movements.