U.S. & World

BOSTON (CBS) ― Rhode Island authorities said Friday that they have evidence linking a medical student accused of killing a masseuse in Boston to a hotel where a third crime occurred.
 
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that fingerprints belonging to Philip Markoff were found on a wall of the Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, where a stripper says she was assaulted by a man she met through popular Web site Craigslist.
 
The official also said Markoff sent text-messages from the hotel.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

Markoff has not been charged in the Rhode Island case.

Earlier Friday, Boston police revealed that a handgun found in Markoff's apartment is a preliminary match to the murder weapon used to kill Julissa Brisman, a woman advertising massage services found dead last week in a Boston hotel, police said.

Police, using a search warrant following Markoff's arrest, also found underwear and other items belonging to victims, along with a handgun hidden in a copy of the medical textbook "Grey's Anatomy," reports CBS station WBZ.

The Boston Globe is reporting Markoff's fingerprints turned up on plastic ties and duct tape left at one of the crime scenes, WBZ reports.

Markoff, 23, a Boston University medical student, allegedly met Brisman through Craigslist.

Meanwhile, Brisman's mother, Carmen Guzman, said in a statement Friday that losing her daughter to such a violent death will "haunt me for the rest of my life." She said she was "relieved that the man who did this is in custody."

Markoff was charged in a robbery of another masseuse that police said he also met through Craigslist.

Markoff is currently on suicide watch at the Nashua Street jail where he's been held without bail since his arrest Monday.

Authorities have been keeping a closer eye on him since shoelace marks were found on his neck Thursday, sources told WBZ.

Defense attorney John Salsberg told reporters he was concerned about Markoff's well-being but otherwise declined to comment on the reports.

On Thursday, prosecutors placed an ad on Craigslist Thursday in an attempt to find other women who may have been victimized by Markoff.

Suffolk County District Attorney's Office spokesman Jake Wark said that Boston investigators hope the ad, posted in the "erotic services" section of the Web site, will persuade other possible victims to come forth.

"Were you attacked or robbed at a Boston-area hotel after placing an ad on Craigslist?" the ad asked. "If so, you may have information that could aid the investigation into the April 10 armed robbery of a woman at the Westin Copley Place Hotel and the April 14 murder of a woman at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel. Both victims were attacked by a prospective client who had contacted them through ads placed on Craigslist."

Defense attorney John Salsberg told reporters he was concerned about Markoff's well-being but otherwise declined to comment on the reports.

Jail officials declined to comment to The Associated Press, citing privacy rules.

In an exclusive interview with the New York Daily News, a college friend of alleged "Craigslist Killer" Philip Markoff discussed an incident with him four years ago - possibly fueled by alcohol - which may have provided a glimpse into the medical student's dark side, reports CBS News correspondent Daniel Sieberg.

"He pushed me up against the wall and tried kissing me," Morgan Houston told the paper in the videotaped interview, obtained exclusively by CBS News.

"I couldn't physically get him off of me," Houston told the paper.

Since Markoff's arrest, his fiancée, Megan McAllister, has not spoken publicly. Thursday, her father spoke for her, reports CBS News correspondent Bianca Solorzano.

"She's got a lot of friends, lot of family friends its been a big help to us, everybody has been wonderful," James McAllister said.

McAllister, who still plans to marry Markoff this summer, has been holed up at her family's new jersey home since his arrest. According to her father, Megan believes police have the wrong man.

"She is still confident in Phil," he said.

And she's not the only one.

His supporters have launched a new Facebook group to rally around him.
 
The page called "Phil Markoff is Innocent Until Proven Guilty" describes itself as a forum to rally against the media and a culture "that has forgotten that people like Phil are suspects, not killers."

Markoff was arrested Monday in Walpole, less than 20 miles southwest of Boston, as he drove with his fiancee, Megan McAllister, to Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)