Craigslist killer suspect denied bail

BOSTON, April 21 (UPI) -- Accused Craigslist killer Phillip Markoff was ordered held without bail Tuesday in Boston.

Police said paying gambling debts may have been the motive for the Quincy, Mass., man charged with robbing two women he met on Craigslist and killing one.

Markoff, 22, was denied bond on the homicide charge, The Boston Herald reported. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

The Herald said the shackled Markoff was dressed in a wrinkled button-down Oxford blue shirt in court, and showed no emotion as he listened to the prosecutor give details of the killing.

Markoff's fiancee, Megan McAllister, said police have the wrong man, ABC News reported Tuesday.

Markoff, a second-year medical student, was arrested and charged Monday with the April 14 shooting death of Julissa Brisman, 26, at a Boston hotel, and is charged with robbery and kidnapping in an alleged attack against another woman April 10 at another Boston hotel, police said in a statement.

Police said a search of Markoff's home turned up guns, plastic ties and what police said they think was his motive, gambling debts.

However, McAllister, who lives with Markoff, said in an e-mail to ABC News, "All I have to say to you is Philip is a beautiful person inside and out and could not hurt a fly! A police officer in Boston (or many) is trying to make big bucks by selling this false story to the TV stations. What else is new??"

She said she and Markoff expect to marry in August.

Boston police said they are working with police to determine whether an incident in Warwick, R.I., is connected to the Boston cases.

Craigslist Chief Executive Officer Jim Buckmaster said in a statement, "We are very pleased to hear that the person alleged to have committed these crimes has been arrested, and we will continue to provide law enforcement agencies with any assistance necessary to prosecution of the case."