'Craigslist killing' suspect dead, likely suicide

BOSTON (AP) - Authorities say a former medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist apparently killed himself inside a Boston jail.

Ed Geary, a spokesman for the Suffolk County sheriff's office, says Philip Markoff's body was found Sunday morning in the Nashua Street Jail. Geary called it an apparent suicide.

Geary says no additional information is immediately available, and an investigation has begun.

Markoff's trial was expected in March.

John Salsberg, who was Markoff's lawyer, said he was shocked and saddened about his client's death. He would not comment further.

Markoff, a former Boston University student, pleaded not guilty in the April 2009 fatal shooting of Julissa Brisman, of New York City, and the armed robbery of a Las Vegas woman, both at Boston hotels.