Councilor wants outside probe of Markoff death
A Boston city councilor is asking for an independent probe into how Philip Markoff was apparently able to take his own life at a Boston jail.
Markoff, awaiting trial for allegedly killing a masseuse he met on Craigslist, was found dead in his cell on Sunday morning at the Nashua Street jail. Authorities said all evidence collected so far points to suicide.
In calling for the outside probe, Councilor Stephen Murphy tells WBZ NewsRadio that the family of Julissa Brisman has been denied an opportunity for justice because of the Suffolk County Sheriff's office failure to provide appropriate care and custody for Markoff.
The sheriff's office has not commented on the circumstances surrounding Markoff's death.
The former Boston University medical student had been placed on a suicide watch at the jail following his arrest in April 2009.
Markoff had pleaded not guilty in the fatal shooting of New York City resident Julissa Brisman and the armed robbery of a Las Vegas woman. Rhode Island prosecutors had accused him of attacking a stripper.
His trial in the Massachusetts cases was expected in March.
Boston City Councilor calls for investigation into Markoff's death:
Podcast
A lawyer said Brisman's family was "shocked and dismayed" to hear of Markoff's death.
"Their grief for Jullissa is as fresh today as the day over a year ago when Markoff took Julissa away from them," Boston attorney Djuna Perkins said in an e-mail.
Why did Markoff take his own life? WBZ NewsRadio speaks with Northeastern University professor James Fox:
Podcast
"The long-awaited criminal prosecution was their only opportunity to confront him, and now he has taken that away as well."
Still, she said, the family will pursue other "avenues to seek justice" and to help ensure others do not fall victim to violence. She said the family has asked a federal prosecutor in New Hampshire to investigate the gun shop used in the crime.
