Why? Because Markoff looks just like about every frat boy I know on campus. He's attractive, looks friendly (from the two pictures I have seen) , dresses preppy with polo shirts and khakis, and probably spends his share of time in the gym. He is also engaged to Megan McAllister and they were planning an August wedding at McLoone's Pier House in Long Branch, New Jersey. Sounds pretty normal to me. The cookie cutter American boy is pursuing a noteworthy career in medicine and he's marrying a beautiful girl in the perfect wedding ceremony--all reasons to make his parents proud.
So what went wrong? All of sudden, Markoff is now standing in Boston Municipal Court pleading "not guilty" to charges of murder, armed robbery, and kidnapping? Boston Police claim that they have had Markoff under surveillance for some time, since they found evidence that put him at the scene of two recent hotel attacks. On April 10th, Markoff is said to have robbed a masseuse at gunpoint and on the 14th, he allegedly killed a second masseuse, Julissa Brisman. Markoff supposedly arranged both meetings through Craig's List and scheduled them at hotels in Boston’s expensive Back Bay neighborhood.
The New York Times reporters Abby Goodnough and Anahad O' Connor reported that Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley,said that “Philip Markoff is a man who is willing to take advantage of women, to hurt them, to beat them, to rob them. He thought he was going to get away with it; he thought he was too smart for us.”
Markoff's close friends and family are stunned; his peers and professors at the BU Medical campus are floored; the city of Boston is reeling. Why are we so shocked? Markoff is not your stereotypical (alleged) killer, which means that the manner in which we predetermine killers within society is not accurate. If this is the case, then there may be far more potential murders walking amongst us. Now that is a scary thought!
After filing this story away in my mind as "bizarre" and "tragic," my thoughts immediately jumped to the plight of Ms. McAllister--the fiancée. What could she be possibly thinking at this moment? How is she getting through the day? When did she find out that her soon to be hubby was living a dual life? Did she ever see any signs of his alter-ego? And finally, does she really think he's innocent?
Utilizing modern technology that enables public access to the media, Ms. McAllister emailed ABC's Good Morning America show with a statement backing her fiancée and his plea of innocence. The New York Times reports that Ms. McAllister said in the email that Markoff is “a beautiful person inside and out” who “could not hurt a fly.”
Well, she's being proactive and fighting for her man. But how far will that loyalty stretch? What sort of hard evidence does the jury need to see to convict Markoff? Will this same evidence convince Ms. McAllister as well? And what happens then, if Ms. McAllister realizes that her adorable Dr. Jekyll who studies the cure for disease is actually living the life of a killer on his Mr. Hyde, dark side?
Reference these articles to learn more:
By Catherine Moore
camoore@bu.edu
