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Erika and Benjamin Sifrit
Erika Elaine Sifrit (née Grace; born February 3, 1978) and Benjamin Adam "BJ" Sifrit (born October 21, 1977) are an American couple convicted of murdering two tourists, Joshua Edward Ford and Martha Margene "Geney" Crutchley, in Ocean City, Maryland, in 2002. The case drew substantial media attention. In 2003, both Sifrits were convicted, he for one murder and she for both murders. Erika confessed to both murders and Benjamin confessed to their dismemberment in an attempt to spare his wife.
Benjamin Sifrit is currently serving 38 years at the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Maryland, while Erika is serving a life sentence plus 20 years at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup. Married in 1998, the Sifrits divorced in 2010.
Erika Elaine Grace was born in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, to Charlotte Gail (Klotz) and Gerald Mitchell Grace. Benjamin Adam Sifrit was born in Estherville, Iowa, to Elizabeth Ann (Graves) and Craig Arthur Sifrit. Erika and Benjamin married in 1998, when they were both 20 years old. She was an honors student and basketball player at Mary Washington College.
Benjamin completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training class 212 in 1997, but due to bad conduct discharge for repeatedly being absent without leave, insubordination, poor performance and wearing unauthorized insignia, had his Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 5326 Combatant Swimmer (SEAL) revoked.
Shortly after marrying, the Sifrits moved near Erika's hometown of Altoona, Pennsylvania. There, they opened and operated a scrapbook store.
On May 25, 2002, the Sifrits, both 24 at the time, met another couple, Joshua Ford and Martha Crutchley, a vacationing couple from Fairfax, Virginia. After a night of partying together at the Seacrets nightclub in Ocean City, Maryland, the two couples went back to the Sifrits' condominium located in The Rainbow on 112th Street.
According to records, the Sifrits claimed that Ford and Crutchley stole Erika's purse, and Erika pulled a gun on the couple. The purse was never actually stolen, and was entirely made up, supposedly to further terrorize the victims. They were instructed that if they couldn't return the non-existent purse, they'd be killed.
After retreating to the bathroom, Ford was fatally shot four times with Erika's gun through the door. Crutchley was also killed; investigators believe that she was stabbed, but the official cause of death could not be determined from her remains. Before being killed by either stabbing or shooting, shots were fired past her head. It's believed this was done to terrorize.
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Erika and Benjamin Sifrit
Erika Elaine Sifrit (née Grace; born February 3, 1978) and Benjamin Adam "BJ" Sifrit (born October 21, 1977) are an American couple convicted of murdering two tourists, Joshua Edward Ford and Martha Margene "Geney" Crutchley, in Ocean City, Maryland, in 2002. The case drew substantial media attention. In 2003, both Sifrits were convicted, he for one murder and she for both murders. Erika confessed to both murders and Benjamin confessed to their dismemberment in an attempt to spare his wife.
Benjamin Sifrit is currently serving 38 years at the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Maryland, while Erika is serving a life sentence plus 20 years at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup. Married in 1998, the Sifrits divorced in 2010.
Erika Elaine Grace was born in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, to Charlotte Gail (Klotz) and Gerald Mitchell Grace. Benjamin Adam Sifrit was born in Estherville, Iowa, to Elizabeth Ann (Graves) and Craig Arthur Sifrit. Erika and Benjamin married in 1998, when they were both 20 years old. She was an honors student and basketball player at Mary Washington College.
Benjamin completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training class 212 in 1997, but due to bad conduct discharge for repeatedly being absent without leave, insubordination, poor performance and wearing unauthorized insignia, had his Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 5326 Combatant Swimmer (SEAL) revoked.
Shortly after marrying, the Sifrits moved near Erika's hometown of Altoona, Pennsylvania. There, they opened and operated a scrapbook store.
On May 25, 2002, the Sifrits, both 24 at the time, met another couple, Joshua Ford and Martha Crutchley, a vacationing couple from Fairfax, Virginia. After a night of partying together at the Seacrets nightclub in Ocean City, Maryland, the two couples went back to the Sifrits' condominium located in The Rainbow on 112th Street.
According to records, the Sifrits claimed that Ford and Crutchley stole Erika's purse, and Erika pulled a gun on the couple. The purse was never actually stolen, and was entirely made up, supposedly to further terrorize the victims. They were instructed that if they couldn't return the non-existent purse, they'd be killed.
After retreating to the bathroom, Ford was fatally shot four times with Erika's gun through the door. Crutchley was also killed; investigators believe that she was stabbed, but the official cause of death could not be determined from her remains. Before being killed by either stabbing or shooting, shots were fired past her head. It's believed this was done to terrorize.