Philip Markoff biography

Arrest and Suicide

There is speculation that Markoff was attempting to pay several outstanding gambling debts, but this accusation has not been confirmed. Officials say when Boston University learned of the charges against Markoff, he was suspended. The accused was arraigned on murder charges on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Markoff pleaded "not guilty."

After the hearing,

police received a search warrant for Markoff's home. Officials say they found a semi-automatic weapon inside a hollowed-out copy of the medical textbook Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, duct tape and restraints in the suspect's apartment. The story took yet another twist when NBC News reported that Markoff also answered the Craigslist ad of a man seeking a transsexual hookup, and included photos of himself. The rendezvous never occurred, and the man contacted Boston cops when he compared news photos of Markoff to the shots on his computer.

Markoff's fiancée continued to stand by him, making a public statement declaring her enduring faithfulness to her betrothed. "I just can only hope that the criminal justice system will not be overwhelmed and persuaded by what is being put forth in the media," said McAllister. "My fiancée's fate should not rest in the court of public opinion, but rather in a court of law." McAllister left Markoff later that month, however, leading the prison system to place the suspect on suicide watch.

On August 15, 2010, law enforcement officials found Markoff dead in his jail cell, in Boston, Massachusetts, after an apparent suicide. Officials discovered his body exactly a day after what would have been the one-year anniversary of his canceled wedding. Markoff allegedly suffocated himself with a plastic bag, and severed one of his arteries. No suicide note was found at the scene.

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