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Benjamin Sifrit convicted of killing 1 of 2 Virginia tourists
Jury convicts Benjamin Sifrit of second-degree murder in the death of Ocean City tourist Martha Crutchley, but clears him of murder charges in the killing of her boyfriend.Date published: 4/10/2003
ROCKVILLE, Md.--A Montgomery County jury convicted Benjamin Sifrit of second-degree murder in the death of Ocean City tourist Martha Crutchley, but cleared him yesterday of murder charges in the killing of her boyfriend. Sifrit, who showed no emotion while the verdict was read, also was convicted of being an accessory after the fact for dismembering the bodies of Crutchley, 51, and Joshua Ford, 32, and dump-ing them in a trash bin to cover up the crimes. During his eight-day trail, the former Navy SEAL admitted that he helped cut up the bodies, but pinned the murders on his wife, Erika Sifrit--who graduated from Mary Washington College two years ago. Jurors deliberated for 14 hours over two days before coming back with their decision. The verdict shocked Ford's family, who sat stunned in the courtroom as Sifrit, 25, was cleared of murder and assault charges against Ford. "I'm totally disgusted," said Mark Ford. "He took away a good brother, a very loving, trustworthy friend to everybody and this guy walks. He's walking on my brother." The trial was the first of two in the gruesome murders that shook the resort town of Ocean City last Memorial Day weekend. Erika Sifrit, 25, who had been a history major and star basketball player at MWC, goes on trial June 2 in Frederick County for murder and other charges. Both trials were moved outside of Worcester County due to pretrial publicity. Sifrit could have been sentenced to life in prison without parole if he had been convicted of first-degree murder. Instead, he faces a possible 30-year sentence for the murder conviction and five years for the accessory charge. He also was convicted of first-degree assault against Crutchley, which his attorney, William Brennan, said will likely be included in the murder charge at sentencing. Circuit Judge Paul Weinstein delayed sentencing until a trial date is set for an unrelated burglary charge against Sifrit. Worcester County prosecutors said Crutchley and Ford, both of Fairfax, were killed as part of a twisted game that involved luring couples back to their condominium and then accusing them of theft.
Date published: 4/10/2003
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