NYC Woman Killed In Boston Hotel, Craigslist Link Investigated

Boston police say the woman found shot to death in a hotel room was NYC resident Julissa Brisman. Brisman apparently advertised massage services in Craigslist's erotic services section and police suspect her killer was the man who answered her ad.

A hotel guest at the Marriott Copley Place heard screams on the 20th floor Tuesday night. Jane Greenberg, a New York resident who was taking her son on college tours, told the Boston Herald that "she opened her door and saw a woman lying in a doorway and called security." Brisman, 26, had been shot multiple times and also had a plastic restraint on one wrist. Police released surveillance photos of a man who is a "person of interest"—the Daily News describes him as a "young, clean-cut looking man with blond hair"—and believe it may have been a robbery gone wrong.

Brisman lived in NYC but traveled to Boston that day. The Boston Globe reports, "Friends said Brisman had drifted through much of her early 20s, a partyer with a taste for the good life and a thirst for celebrity. She kept odd hours and worked sporadically. Unable to keep up with expenses, she had turned to erotic services. But friends said that in the past year she had abruptly changed ways. She got sober, was exercising more, and told a friend she was getting a degree in psychology."

Her friend, Matthew Terhune, a photographer, told the NY Times that Brisman was always on the go, "They would pay her $1,000 to go to these really expensive parties and give drinks or pass food. But she never said anything about being a call girl or an escort. When we' questioned her about whether there was anything shady, she said, ‘Oh no, that’s gross.'"

The murder has raised fears in online escorts as well as guests at the Marriott, which has many coming in for the Boston Marathon on Monday. And police in Rhode Island say Brisman's murder is similar to the attempted robbery of a woman in Providence.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on April 17, 2009 2:15 PM

Comments [rss]

Terrazzo Floor Polishing

Pretty shocking! He should be identified for further investigation!

freddynyc

Another dead whore who was on the make? Oh well, NEXT....

babyhitler

it's like Bizarro-Kari Ferrell

AnnaZed

"They would pay her $1,000 to go to these really expensive parties and give drinks or pass food."

Yes, another in a long line of deluded men who can't believe that their female friends are hookers. Here's the facts: there are NO jobs where they pay pretty women $1,000 a night to pass drinks at parties, no such jobs, don't exist, end of story. If your friend has cash, is "working as an escort" and gives you this line, she has crossed the line ~ she is a hooker. Got that?

Think2wice

Soon to be "ripped from the headlines" Law & Order episode.

JacqueMehoff

another victim of the economy.

wonder what she only accepted boston clients?

fugothamist

she's pretty

bowelmovment_man

Pretty dead.

bowelmovment_man

Pretty dead.

pete

Why not just call it "murdered hooker"? Why be so PC?

Guest

Maybe because there's a huge difference between being PC and knowing that libel is against the law. Can you prove that she was a hooker beyond a shadow of a doubt?

smitty

that's like patrick bateman style. yikes.

pete

Why not just say "murdered hooker"? Why keep is PC?

Papercutninja

Because she was pretty, white and young. Anything else and she would've been labelled a dirty filthy hooker.

fakenewyorker

Were either of these people hipsters? Maybe that'll generate more interest and blog traffic.

But to be serious, I hope they catch this murderer before he qualifies for seriality.

The Edge

What a waste.. -_-

jaycjay

Some of the pictures on this page look pretty clear, clear enough that anyone who knows him should be able to recognize him:

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/city_desk_wired/

That hotel must have invested good money on their security cameras. You rarely see anything this clear after a bank robbery or most other crimes.

Wza

Creepslist...er..Craigslist.

KING

Theze thingz can happen when you sell your flesh on the computer. Not just craigslist. I sold a camera today on it. But come on. To travel & get cash for your ass?

I looked thru one section. There was a skinny pregnant young girl! Very Disturbing