Craigslist is a free online classifieds website where members can advertise and respond to advertisements on a variety of subjects – from furniture, housing, job search and internships to even peddling and purchasing erotic services. Founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark, the website works because it gives people ‘a sense of community trust and intimacy’. Time has also proved it to be the perfect haunt for prospective murderers, like Boston University Medical student, Philip Markoff.

Philip Markoff, 23, came across as an easy-going, smart young man to all those who knew him. However, his darker side surfaced last Monday when he was taken into custody and charged with armed robbery and kidnapping of a woman who advertised as a stripper through Craigslist. He is also being held without bail for the fatal shooting of Julissa Brisman, 26, at the Marriott Copley Place hotel, Boston. She was an ‘erotic masseuse’ whom he contacted through the same online channel.

As police try to demystify the murky details surrounding this case and look for a possible motive, it has emerged that Markoff may be facing a gambling problem. He was a “frequent visitor" to Foxwoods casino, Connecticut. In fact, the day of the arrest, Markoff and his fiancée, Megan McAllister were headed to the same casino and police found close to $1000 on him. This has led law enforcement officials to believe that Brisman’s murder was not premeditated, taking into consideration the fact that she was not sexually assaulted before being killed. It was a robbery that went terribly wrong, both for the unsuspicious Brisman and for killer-to-be Markoff.