twist of fait accomplis

I'm somewhat amazed. I never sat in on the trial, but from reading news accounts and paper reports, I thought that she would be acquitted. It looks as if her husband brainwashed her and got her to commit these murders and then she helped him chop them up and ditch them in DE.

Wow, that was fast.

CORRECTION: Life WITH chance of parole.

You're right... in the report I read earlier, it said "without."

Rhonda,
There was no brainwashing to this, Erika is and always has been a manipulative person who according to her parents could do no wrong. She and her parents would step on any little girl who came along and challenged her. I really thought her parents could buy her out of this one just as they've bought her out of every other tough spot she's had to face. Cheers to the prosecution and the jury who saw through these people. It's about time!

I agree Susan I highly doubt she was brainwashed and from seeing and hearing what I have heard about the case I was compelled to believe she killed them and Benjamin dismembered them for her.
I am also glad the jury came back with what they did!

I DID watch the trial from start to finish. So.....to all who are commenting without having heard ALL the evidence presented,,,,,,,,,get a life! You sound like absolutely morons surmising, speculating, concluding, opining, etc. based on very very few accurate and complete material facts. Might I suggest all to whom this message applies take your unfounded comments elsewhere.

Anon,
I am one of the above mentioned people and I don't know why you think you are the only person who "watched" this trial from the beginning. I have paid very close attention to this trial from the beginning too. I also have watched Erika grow up since she was in 2nd grade. She was always a conniving little girl who pushed all the other girls out of the way so she could get what she wanted. If she couldn't get them out of her way Mommy and Daddy would do it for her. I don't know about you but hearing about her saying "They're naked, just do it" to her husband then going out on the balcony or whatever she went out on to look in the bathroom and tell her where Josh was positioned so he could shoot him then watching Ben shoot Josh in the head then shooting him in the head herself then turning the gun on Martha is pretty bad. Luckily the jury was smart enough to come to that conclusion themselves without hearing the above mentioned "facts". If you, like her parents, are some of those who want to believe this woman shouldn't be held accountable for her actions that is your right.No matter what though she helped her husband carry human body parts in a garbage bag to a dumpster.I know I couldn't do that, could you? If she was so innocent why didn't she tell the dispatcher during her 9-1-1 call that there were two people in her condo that were either dead or soon would be. I'm with Joel Todd, the media needs to push to open the statements made by Erika and see what really happened. By the way, I do have a life but thank God someone like Erika won't be in it anymore.

If she was so frail then I ask you how could she have helped, stood there and watched, or carried around the momentos. Sounds pretty much like there was no brainwashing there.

That whole comment on brainwashing is bull shit. If Erika had really been "brain washed", you would think she would be in a solmn state of mind, not smiling for pictures and wanting to play putt-putt. The whole use of that poor woman in a controlling relationship thing drives me nuts. And further more, there are plenty of women who end up in bad relationships and arent going out and slaughtering people!!!!!!!! I'm just sorry he didnt get the same fate. I dont care if you pull the trigger or use the knife, to stand by and not run for help makes you just as guilty. (she wasnt too brainwashed to attempt to rob hooters for her "collections")

Lizabeth,
You're right, the husband should have gotten the same sentence as the wife. They sure made a team didn't they? It's scary to think there are people out there who really do this kind of stuff.

I was very good friends with Joshua Ford and am best friends with his sister in law, all I have to say is that these two sick individuals should be equally held accountable for Josh and Geni's murder, I also believe that this isn't the first time they committed such hanious acts. May they rot in hell.

I agree 100% both these nuts need to rot in hell,,,jail is way too good for them..Erica's parents are not going to be able to buy her skinny ass out of this on anytime soon..burn bitch burn

Erica and Benjiman Sifrit deserve to be punished severely for what they did to that couple. They are very lucky that I am not in charge of their punishment!!! Maybe their prison mates will teach them a lesson or two. Prison life will test them and show Erica and Benjamin(the discharged Navy seal-he couldn't cut it in the military) that they are not as tough as they think they are now that they won't have any gun to bully people with. Erica and Benjamin are a waste of life on this earth.

Does anyone have pictures of the two. I did a google search of someone I knew in VA and all this murder stuff came back. I just need to confirm if these two were in fact the people I knew.

Oh my was she Brainwashed?Tut,tut.by her evil husband.Well i never watched the trial but i don;t put my hand on a stove to know its hot.They should both be executed.pronto.A side by side double hanging would be nice.Ralph

It's been a about 3 years since Josh hasn't come to a family party or given me a awesome huge cousin hug. I miss him alot and even though the years pass the pain doesn't. I love you Josh and that will never change. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Love Your Cousin Brianna

Brianna, I feel your pain, I really do. I mourn with you even though I didn't know either of them. After reading the posts, though, I noticed they generally tend to be anti-Erika. Not much was said about BJ. I haven't known her nearly as long as Susan has, and I don't know her personally. I only know her because I bought some stuff from her off of ebay before this whole thing happened. But from what I do know of her from her emails and phone calls, she seemed like a pretty normal person. I was flabbergasted when I heard about all of this, and I'm not defending nor condoning her actions, mind you, but my instincts tell me her husband is probably the one that killed them. I mean, he was a Navy SEAL and was trained to kill. I just can't see her taking a gun and shooting two people. BJ routinely cheated on her and beat her up more than a few times. He was a really sick excuse for a human being. So while I don't feel he brainwashed her, he definitely abused her. As for Erika, I think it is important to remember she was abusing drugs and alcohol heavily when this happened. She was taking so much Xanax and Valium and washing it down with alcohol that she probably wasn't even aware of what she was doing. Those are all CNS depressants that can lower your inhibitions and impair your judgment. In light of how BJ treated her, I'm not surprised she turned to drugs and alcohol. Don't get me wrong. A drunk driver is still responsible if he kills someone. I'm not saying that's an excuse, but I really believe that had she not met and married BJ, she probably wouldn't be in prison right now. He was a really bad influence and he used her to get a lighter sentence for himself. I am more angry at him than I am at Erika. I realize my stance will not enamor me to the other people who have posted here, but I really feel more of our anger should be directed at BJ. Before the incident, my impression of Erika and her parents was favorable. I didn't see anything wrong with them.

Doug, Erika can obviously think for herself can she not? She started right away trying to put the whole thing over on BJ didn't she? THAT took thought and THAT didn't come from a cowed, drug induced, frightened girl who is afraid for her life. If she was afraid of her husband as she claimed, she wouldn't have said a bad word against him...period. I've sat here and read FIRST hand accounts from people who grew up with her, day after day and year after year. Rich folk have a way of coming off as better than others and I suppose I can almost see why you would think highly of them...I mean, they ARE rich after all! But guess what Doug...she got what she wanted when she wanted it thanks to her rich, high falutin' parents. That, in and of itself, is NOT a bad thing but that, without being taught responsibility, compassion, and to think of others as well, is Erika, the end product. She didn't need BJ to take her drugs or to kill those people and he didn't need her either. Sometimes, the planets align at the right (or wrong) times. This time, I think these two truly evil people met at just the right time in their lives and they committed these crimes willingly and together. I think the jury screwed up righously when it came to BJ's sentence but you better believe Erika got exactly what she deserved and that's what happens when you WANT to kill other human beings, Doug.