MARKOFF

The former medical student awaiting trial in Boston as the alleged “craigslist killer” was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury on Warwick charges that he will face after his Boston murder trial, the Rhode Island attorney general’s office reported Wednesday.

Phillip Markoff, 23, who is being held without bail in the Nashua Street jail in Boston for his trial in the April 14 murder of Julissa Brisman, 29, of New York City at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, and the April 10 robbery of Trisha Leffler, 29, a Las Vegas prostitute, at the Westin Copley Place.

The Rhode Island charges result from an investigation by Warwick police after a Las Vegas exotic dancer, 26, reported that she was held at gunpoint on April 16 at the Holiday Inn Express on Jefferson Boulevard. She said her husband came to her rescue and was also assaulted, they told Warwick police.

Before Markoff was arrested April 20, the man being sought was dubbed the “craigslist killer” because he contacted women who advertised erotic services through the online classified service craigslist.

The two felony counts on which Markoff has been indicted in Rhode Island each carry 20-year maximum penalties.

Markoff pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder and six other charges in Suffolk (Mass.) County Superior Court on June 22.

Massachusetts prosecutors said Wednesday that they are seeking a DNA sample from Markoff, but the man’s lawyer would not say whether he will turn it over voluntarily.

During a pretrial hearing, Assistant District Attorney Ed Zabin said he has no known sample of Markoff’s DNA and wants Markoff to turn one over.

Markoff’s lawyer, John Salsberg, declined comment after the hearing when asked whether Markoff will give a sample without being ordered to do so by a judge.

— With reports from the Associated Press

dnaylor@projo.com