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DA: Markoff MacGyvered himself a scalpel
By adamg on Tue, 08/17/2010 - 5:29pm
Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley told thronging reporters this afternoon that Philip Markoff killed himself after fashioning a "primitive scalpel" out of a pen and a piece of metal, which he used to slice open his wrists, ankles and neck just before putting a bag over his head. Still no word on the meaning of "pocket."
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Comments
Meaning of Pocket
It's was the name of his sled! Sorry...too soon?
I'd say you're Off the Mark
I'd say you're Off the Mark
It's awful, but I had the
It's awful, but I had the same thought after reading the blurb, before I clicked through the comments.
Really, though, I hope that interest in this story focuses on substantive, constructive things (e.g. did the systems do everything we could, is there anything we could do better), and not sensationalist drama.
Conley's statement
At 10:06 am this past Sunday, Aug. 15, a corrections officer making routine rounds at the Nashua Street Jail discovered Phillip Markoff unresponsive in his jail cell. Staff at Nashua Street immediately administered CPR and notified 911. Within minutes, members of Boston Emergency Medical Services responded to Mr. Markoff's cell. Efforts to revive Mr. Markoff were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at 10:17 am. Mr. Markoff died at his own hand.
This death should not divert attention from what really happened here. It should not obscure the overwhelming evidence against Mr. Markoff or the brutality of his crimes. It is, in no small way, the ultimate indicator of consciousness of guilt.
As the District Attorney, I am designated by statute to direct all death investigations within Suffolk County. Mr. Markoff's death is no different. I have assigned Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee, deputy chief of our Homicide Unit, to lead this investigation with the Boston Police Homicide Unit squad led by Sgt. Det. Mark Sullivan.
The investigation into Mr. Markoff's death has been active since the moment of its discovery. It remains active even at this hour and as a result there are still some pieces of information that cannot yet be released. Nonetheless, the public deserves updated and accurate information about Mr. Markoff's death.
The following information is based on the recovery of physical evidence, key witness interviews, examination of video surveillance footage, an autopsy of Mr. Markoff's body by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and initial observations of the condition of Mr. Markoff's body and his cell at the time he was discovered.
Mr. Markoff was the sole occupant of cell #24 at Nashua Street Jail.
At 1:59 am on Sunday, August 15, he was alone in his locked cell and turned out his light.
A review of surveillance footage reveals that no one entered Mr. Markoff's cell until the time he was discovered some eight hours later at 10:06 a.m.
Mr. Markoff took several measures to harm himself and ensure his own death. Using a primitive scalpel made from a pen and a sharp piece of metal, he inflicted a series of small punctures and incisions on his body, including his neck, arms, wrists, and ankles. He hit several veins and the carotid artery in his neck. All of the wounds were consistent with suicide.
Mr. Markoff fastened a plastic bag around his head with a length of gauze. He fastened a second plastic bag around his feet. These were large, clear bags available to inmates at the jail.
After autopsy, the Medical Examiner determined that this series of actions resulted in air loss and blood loss and combined to cause his death. We're currently awaiting toxicology reports to determine what medications, if any, were in his system and whether they contributed to his death.
Many of you are also curious as to what effect Mr. Markoff's death has on the criminal case against him. His death effectively terminates our pending prosecution, and we will file a nolle prosequi closing the case at the next scheduled court date of Sept. 16.
The evidence assembled against this defendant was overwhelming in quantity and substance. All of it was developed by the men and women of the Suffolk DA's office and the Boston Police Homicide Unit who left no stone unturned in their efforts to bring Philip Markoff to justice for the murder of Julissa Brisman.
With Philip Markoff's final actions, the Brisman family has been deprived of an opportunity to hear a verdict rendered, to see justice pronounced, and even the chance to tell the court and Mr. Markoff – face to face – what Julissa meant to them and the immeasurable pain and loss he inflicted upon them. These are important moments for victims of this type of violence and, as we did from the very beginning, I ask you all again to keep Julissa Brisman and her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.
I want to extend a final word of thanks to Comissioner Ed Davis for his leadership throughout this case and to the men and women of the Boston Police Homicide, Special Investigations and Fugitive Units. I also want to recognize the Massachusetts State Police, the FBI, Secret Service, Warwick, Rhode Island police department, the Rhose Island Attorney General's Office, and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding contributions into the investigation of Philip Markoff's crimes.
Just out of curiosity
Did anyone check Markoff's pockets? I'm guessing there might be, say, a note to his ex-fiance in it...
Meaning of pocket
Could it be a poker reference -- life dealt him pocket aces and he busted out on them ?
Conley is arguing that a suicide
the jail's responsibility to keep the suspect safe notwithstanding, is justice just the same, for a guilty man.
You'd think the DA would give him the benefit of a trial before finding those facts, which - not for nothing - is the jury's job.
I'm pretty sure Conley went to law school. So I wonder why he thinks its appropriate for him to find Markoff guilty in the press.
He might have told the truth and said: "We didn't get a chance to try our case and that's wrong. We will hold our prison system accountable for any negligence. I apologize to the families of the victims because their loss and closure will not come, in part, from the justice system."
Instead, it's as if Conley is saying - this suicide is just as good as a conviction, so put it on my tally board.
Agreed, I was horrified that
Agreed, I was horrified that he's somehow linking suicide to "that means he's guilty!" If anything, evidence of mental illness is a pointer towards NOT guilty.
you are right
What Conley said in his statement is reprehensible.
Prosecutors normally make
Prosecutors normally make accusations and try to persuade that someone is guilty. That's much of their job, in addition to trying to accuse only people who are truly guilty. It is the overall system and society who are supposed to presume innocence.
That said, I agree that it's weak argument to imply that suicide of the accused is evidence of guilt. Counterexample: were I in the situation of being accused of a horrible crime like that *and innocent*, I imagine I still would've given up despite innocence, as it dragged along. There's really no recovering from that situation, even were you ultimately found not-guilty. Your chosen career and life is already over, your family already devastated. Waiting can't be easy, and jail can't be easy. I imagine I'd hold out as long as I could only out of consideration for my family, til I either couldn't take it anymore or I felt this was the best thing I could do for my family by that point (say, they were being bankrupted and I didn't think I could be sufficiently vindicated in the end).
To be very clear, I'm not saying I think Markoff was likely innocent, and as an ordinary citizen it would be irresponsible for me to call someone guilty unless they've been convicted, so I'm not talking about guilt/innocence at all. I'm just saying I think that one bit was weak argument. And I'm saying this because I don't like to think that many people will read that and assume it's valid argument that they can reuse for reasoning about other situations in the future.
I also don't want to condemn that weak bit of argument too harshly, since I bet it was a well intentioned gesture to help the family of the victim find peace. Like, "Yes, we believe that the murderer then further stole some closure from you through suicide, but here is another way to look at that to get some of that closure back."
Seems to me that this is very complicated stuff, and we as citizens need to be very conscientious about our proper role in the justice system, so that the system can be as just as possible.
When did they take him off suicide watch?
He was on suicide watch initially.
This is a modern prison and Markoff, a high profile criminal suspect. Is there no good security reason for guards to walk the hallways that pass cells during an eight hours period 2AM-10AM? Unless I'm mistaken law enforcement is responsible for the suspects well-being while under arrest without bail.
Is anyone surprised Conley is so quick to absolve all law enforcement and prison personnel of any responsibility without so much as an investigation?
I find it suspicious
that no one walked by and made any kind of check between 2am and 10am. Don't prisons have earlier hours than 10am? Something isn't right here.
In 2009
According to the papers, anyway.
You should have seen the broadcast -- he said the guards went by every half hour, which jibes with what Cabral said is policy. A wealthy, white inmate shouldn't be treated differently from a poor, black one because his case get better coverage, if that's what you mean.
This statement says there is an investigation and it's "active even at this hour." Doesn't matter, though. Don't RTFA and just blame Conley, blame Cabral, blame the cops, blame anyone but the guy who stabbed himself in the neck, right?
not race but accountability (and high public interest, although
that shouldn't make a difference,) and the decision to take him off suicide watch, and whether the prison was negligent given that no one observed him between 2 and 10AM.
Conley uses language that clearly disclaims accountability by anyone other than Markoff and its pretty clear to me he's speaking out of turn becuase the investigation is less than 48 hours old.
So when/why did they take him off suicide watch?
And shouldn't Conley be the least bit angry at the (Suffolk County?) Sheriff for not safely jailing this guy, and for not protecting him while in custody, so that the rule of law and the justice it delivers could be rendered both for society and the victims' families?
Not the least bit mad! And, more importantly not the least bit interested in holding people accountable for their jobs. Unbelievable. Conley arrested and charged this guy.
We are living in a zero accountability zone but Conley doesn't think you'll notice, instead he's spinning this for his cronies in the (Suffolk County?) jail system.
When prosecutors and attorneys general systematically misuse their authority to protect their cronies we are f*cked. And remember if this can happen to a presumptively guilty man, it can also happen to a wrongly arrested (not guilty) person.
The guy told his family, "forget about me". There's that and his first attempt strangle himself with shoelaces. So they put him on suicide watch. Why did they take him off suicide watch?
this was already answered above...
... they took him off suicide watch in 2009. he was only on suicide watch for three weeks last april, and after that he was evaluated by a psychiatrist and deemed no longer a threat to himself.
thanks
It seems he was in plain view. Has he been in plain view for 8 hours?
I don't claim to know Murphy's motive but I agree it's not a sound plan to have the Suffolk country sheriff investigate itself, nor BPD, nor Suffolk County DA. They work together all the time.
I like Cabral but I think she wrong to question Murphy motive. At the least it's vonjecture. She should welcome the investigation becuase surely her dept can withstand scrutiny.
It appears he could not take the loss of the life he wanted with his fiance. By writing he ex-fiances name in his blood as he took his life, he seems to be saying say that. (In addition he may also be expressing some anger about her ending their engagement... or not)
The investigation should be black and white for the most part.
Different prisoners get different levels of security depending on several factors and all these factors are set out in a policy, and these policies are set by state law as well. If the policy says the average prisoner gets to sleep for 8 hours and no guard has to look in a cell or turn the lights on, then that is basically it.
I don't think there is anything called "suicide watch" in the MA criminal justice system. For all intents an purposes you are labeled as a "Q5". These are prisoners who have attempted suicide in the past (while locked up) or who have indicated that they are suicidal or have suicidal thoughts when they are locked up. Once you get this label and are arrested, you are basically on a suicide watch for the rest of your life if you are in a conventional cell like this (house of corrections untill prison). You have to be checked electonically (with a swipe card by a guard or on video by a guard) every 30 minutes. I'm also pretty sure a Q5 has to be on video 24/7 as well and someone physically has to be watching him live. The Q5 issues are also state law I believe.
If a doctor or court or his lawyer didn't label him as a suicide risk, he would have been treated like any other prisoner in the system. That may have meant 8 hours in a dark cell at night. That may or may not be the policy however.
Fox 25 breaks some "exclusive" new info at 10 pm
Fox 25's Maria Stephanos is reporting that a law enforcement source is telling her that pocket was a "pet name" that Markoff and Meghan McAllister called one another in happier times. Fox also had a still picture of MEGAN and POCKET written neatly in all caps (supposedly in blood) above Markoff's cell door. They also revealed that Markoff had pcitures of the couple all around his cell and that McAllister continued to correspond with him thru last December. Stephanos is teasing a Michele McPhee appearance, and some possible new info, later in the hour.
Why would he put a plastic
Why would he put a plastic bag on his feet?
Re: Plastic on feet
@anon: I read earlier where the plastic over the feet may have been to catch the blood so it didn't leak onto the floor and become visible to guards. I think the plastic on the head was dual purpose, suffocation and catch the blood from the carotid.
Interestingly Fox 25 is also reporting exclusive info that there was "remarkably, little blood" at the scene, raising questions about the earlier claims that Markoff "bled out".