Craigslist Victim's Favorite Band? The Killers

The Web lets us go beyond the headlines and find out more about names in the news. Psychos and victims now leave behind a digital trail that offers greater insights into who these people are, or were. In a sadly ironic twist, Facebook reveals that one of Craigslist murder victim Julissa Brisman's favorite bands was a rock group called The Killers. It also shows that in most respects she was a typical young woman--and that's troubling.Brisman, according to her Facebook profile, also liked Kings of Leon and DJ Jamieson Hill. She enjoyed watching "Gossip Girl" and "The City", and drank Red Bull. And she declared herself a fan of U.S. Airways hero pilot Capt. Sully Sullenberger.

Brisman, allegedly murdered by dental student Philip Markoff in a Boston hotel room, also appeared have a wide range of friends, male and female.

What's the point of this digital spelunking?

Mainly that "the Craigslist hooker" wasn't some crack-addled streetwalker who hustled for tricks outside the Lincoln Tunnel. For the most part, she appeared to be a pretty normal young woman with normal interests and social connections. She wouldn't have looked out of place working behind the counter at an Abercrombie store.

And that may be a story the mainstream media is missing.

A few quick clicks through Craigslist's "erotic services" section reveals dozens, if not hundreds, of other Julissa Brismans--wholesome looking, all-American types whose only apparent difference from their peers is that they, uh, take money for sex. And that's just in New York. There are similar ads all across the country.

Haves sites like Craigslist made it so easy and convenient to advertise sexual services that women who wouldn't be caught dead in a red light district are now considering entering "the trade," perhaps as a way of getting through the economic downturn, only to end up literally dead?

Is the "sex messaging" trend leading individuals to riskier behavior?

Has the line between virtual and physical reality become so blurred that ordinarily smart people, like former WABC radio reporter George Weber--who also met his killer on Craigslist--have forgotten that you can't just hit 'ESC' if you're trapped in a room with a sociopathic pervert?

Did Craigslist kill Julissa Brisman?