Craigslist Victim's Mom Glad He Can't Do 'Horrible' Thing to Anyone Else

Fingerprint ties Craigslist suspect to hotel where stripper was bound.

ByABC News
April 20, 2009, 5:10 PM

April 24, 2009 — -- The mother of the woman police say was slain by accused "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff said today her family is "devastated" by her death, but is pleased that the alleged killer won't be able to do "this horrible thing" to any other women.

Carmen Guzman, mother of Julissa Brisman, issued her heart rending statement on what would have been her daughter's 26th birthday.

The statement came hours after ABC News revealed that Markoff had scratches on him at the time of his arrest and that his fingerprints were found on plastic restraints at the scene of two of the three suspected Craigslist victims.

Markoff's prints were also found on the wall of a Warwick, R.I., hotel room where a third woman was robbed by a man believed to have chosen his victims from Craigslists ads offering erotic services, sources told ABC News.

Sources said investigators were also able to track Markoff's cell phone calls to the crime scenes. The suspect in the Rhode Island robbery was caught on surveillance cameras looking at his cell phone as he left the hotel.

Markoff, 23, is being held in a Boston jail on suicide watch. He is charged with Brisman's murder and the robbery of a second woman in Boston. Sources told ABC News he is expected to be charged with the Rhode Island robbery on Saturday.

"Our family has been devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Julissa," Guzman said in her statement. "We are a close family, and Julissa called us every day. We won't be getting those calls anymore."

Investigators believe Brisman and the other two alleged

"I feel very much relieved that the man who did this is in custody and will not be able to do this horrible thing to another family," she said.

Guzman said her daughter was studying to be a counselor. "Over the past few days, people have told us the many ways in which Julissa helped them... These words mean so much to us," she said.

"We will hold Julissa in our hearts every day," she added.

The evidence against Markoff is coming to light as he was put on a suicide watch. He was moved from the general population of Boston's Nashua Street jail to a segregated unit where officers can keep a constant eye on him, sources said.

Markoff's parents, Susan Haynes and Richard Markoff, visited their son today in jail. Markoff's lawyer John Salsberg said on their behalf that they love their son very much and support him. Later, Markoff's brother also visited him.

Markoff was moved to a suicide watch because "shoelace marks were found on his neck," law enforcement sources said.

Jail sources described to ABC News the sequence of events that led to Markoff's isolation from the other prisoners:

Upon his arrival at the jail, other inmates taunted him by calling, "Yo, Craigslist."

"He was nervous," one of the jail sources said. "He didn't want to be in general pop[ulation]."

At around 11:45 a.m. Thursday, deputy sheriffs discovered the shoelace marks on his neck -- the leather loafers that he wore at time of arrest having been taken away because they had hard soles.

The shoelace marks were viewed as a "suicide attempt," a source said, and he was moved to the "shu unit" -- a segregated unit -- where he was issued a paper gown and was to sleep on a cot without sheets or blankets, just a bare mattress.

Markoff's attorney, John Salsberg, visited the inmate Thursday, but declined to discuss whether Markoff tried to commit suicide.

"I am deeply concerned for Philip's well being and I have complete faith that the sheriff's office will take care of him," Salsberg said.

He added that the transition for any individual from civilian life to prison life is extremely hard and Markoff's experience is no exception.