HAGERSTOWN, Md.— The Maryland Parole Commission has denied parole for Benjamin Sifrit, who along with his then-wife, was convicted of killing and dismembering a Virginia couple in Ocean City on Memorial Day Weekend in 2002.
Sifrit is serving 38 years in prison for the murder of Joshua Ford and Martha Crutchley. He and his then-wife Erica were both convicted of shooting and killing the couple inside a penthouse condo in Ocean City after a night of partying. The Sifrits later dismembered their victims' bodies, which were found in a southern Delaware landfill.
Two parole commissioners heard his case, according to Latoya Gray, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
This was Sifrit’s first parole hearing. It was held at Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, where Sifrit is imprisoned.
The hearing lasted one hour and 40 minutes. In addition to the two parole commissioners, the hearing was attended by a correctional case manager as well as virtually by four people representing the victims of Sifrit's crime, Gray said.
Sifrit, now 44, and his former wife—who is serving a life sentence in Jessup— have both filed numerous appeals, all of which have failed.
Correctional officials said if Sifrit chooses to ask for another hearing, regulations require him to wait two years before writing to the commission to indicate that he has compelling new information he believes would necessitate a new hearing.
Sifrit’s current mandatory release date is in 2030, but may change based on credits he earns while incarcerated, according to Gray.