M. William Phelps - Cruel Death

Acknowledgments

Thank you...

Deborah Dawkins, Donna Dudek, Amanda Evans, and everyone else at Jupiter Entertainment. Deb, Donna, and Amanda were extremely helpful to me during the early stages of considering this case for a book, introducing me to the right people, and pointing me in the right direction.

The Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) as a whole was incredibly obliging. Several detectives opened up their lives and made this book truly what it is. I can never thank them enough for their time, input, expertise, and commitment. Scott Bernal and Brett Case were always willing to answer my questions, even when those answers did not suit their own needs; and that, to me, shows immense integrity and honesty. Scott Bernal inspired me in ways I could never explain. He is one of the most candid, passionate, dedicated lawmen I have ever met. Finally, great appreciation to OCPD chief Bernadette DiPino for allowing her detectives to speak with me about this case.

Kensington editor Mike Shohl and copy editor Stephanie Finnegan.

I dedicated this book to my agent, Peter Miller, president of PMA Literary & Film Management. Peter has been championing my career for years, and any success I achieve would not be possible (or worth much to me) without his guidance and friendship. Likewise, without the help of Peters assistant, Adrienne Rosadowell, I would be far less efficient.

Of course, none of this would be possible without my editor, Michaela Hamilton, who has been by my side for all ten books, or my family.

Also By M. William Phelps

Perfect Poison
Lethal Guardian
Every Move You Make
Sleep in Heavenly Peace
Murder in the Heartland
Because You Loved Me
If Looks Could Kill
Ill Be Watching You
Deadly Secrets
Cruel Death
Death Trap
Kill For Me

Failures of the Presidents (coauthor)
Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of Americas First Spy
The Devils Rooming House: The True Story of Americas
Deadliest Female Serial Killer
The Devils Right Hand: The Tragic Story
of the Colt Family Curse
Love Her to Death
Too Young to Kill
Never See Them Again

The Dead Soul: A Thriller (available as e-book only)
Murder, New England
Jane Doe No More
Kiss of the She-Devil

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Crime writer, serial killer expert, and investigative journalist M. William Phelps is the author of twenty-four nonfiction books. Winner of the 2008 New England Book Festival Award for Ill Be Watching You, Phelps has appeared on nearly one hundred television shows, including CBSs Early Show, ABCs Good Morning America and The View, NBCs Today Show, TLC, BIO Channel, and History Channel. Phelps also created, produces, and stars in the hit Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds, which is in its third season, and is one of the stars of IDs Deadly Women . Radio America calls him the nations leading authority on the mind of the female murderer.

Profiled in such noted publications as Writers Digest, Connecticut Magazine, New York Daily News, New York Post, Newsday, Suspense Magazine , and the Hartford Courant, Phelps has also consulted for the Showtime cable television series Dexter and written for Connecticut Magazine . Touched by tragedy himself, due to the unsolved murder of his sister-in-law, Phelps is able to enter the hearts and minds of his subjects like no one else. He lives in a small Connecticut farming community and can be reached at his author website, www.mwilliamphelps.com .

Epilogue

Mitch Grace told me that he speaks with Erika by phone just about every day.

I leave my phone line open between nine and ten-thirty A.M . during the week, in case Erika calls, he said.

Throughout this project, I asked Mitch questions based on information I had uncovered, with the implication that he would talk it over with Erika during those phone calls. I never received a straight answer to anything important I had ever asked. Most of Mitchs responses pertinent to the caseand what he wanted to shareare in this book.

Can we blame Mitch, however, for not wanting to ruin his daughters chances on appeal?

Near the end of the project, I asked Mitch one last time to talk to Erika on my behalf. Explain to her that I am offering her a voice in this book if she wants it. But time is running out.

Mitch said he would, but that Erikas lawyers would likely advise her to keep quiet.

Which she did.

I respect that.

In light of this offer, Mitch asked if he could extend it to several of Erikas fellow (and former) inmates.

Sure, I said. Like to hear from them.

And so... in came the letters. One batch of five. All of them had an Erika is a loving and caring person type of tonethat Erika was, more or less, nothing more than a victim of love. That she had hooked up with an abusive, controlling, manipulative man, who had fundamentally stolen her emotional identity and then convinced her to do the unthinkable for (and with) him. He baited her, so to speak, and then set her up to take the fall for those crimes.

The evidence, of course, points to a far different scenario. Erikas own recollection of that night in the condo with Joshua and Geney, as she explained it to Secret Service SA Carri Campbell, telling her that she had told BJ to just fucking do it, is, in and of itself, an entire contradiction to the story she would later refuse to let go of.

I do, however, respect the loyalty, love, and friendship these women, who truly believe in Erika, showed by writing to me. Many of them displayed an eternal devotion to Erika. Theres a you dont know the real Erika Sifrit sense to these letters.

I cannot help but think that those of us who use the facts as our guide have been blinded somehow by our own ignorance. Is there a convicted criminal serving time for a crimeno matter what that crime iswho would ever condone the actions of a jury?

I have not yet met him or her.

One woman who wrote to me on Erikas behalf, Leslie Johnson, articulated her thoughts about Erika in a way that touched me. I feel for women like Leslie and, believe it or not, all the others who wrote to me. Many of these women are doing time in prison solely because the men they loved either abused them or dragged them down into an abyss of criminal activity, for which they saw no way out. Many of these women have children on the outside who are being taken care of by their mothers, friends, and relatives. Many of these women committed crimes to protect their children, to feed their children, and to give their children a chance in life. Ive met women like this throughout my career. They get mixed up with a criminal, have his kids, and end up taking the fall with (or for) the guy when the ride is over. Its a sad American story played out in towns and cities across this nation, which usually involves the abuse of drugs and/or alcohol.

Still, this is a separate issue when we begin talking about Erika Grace Sifrit. Despite the role she now plays in prison when housed with these same women, Erika doesnt fit into this subsection of the criminal justice system.

Erika is a convicted murderer. She was not abused by her husband in this same way.

Leslie Johnson wrote, Im sure you have heard many horrible things about Erika because of the nature of her crime, but she is not a horrible person to me.

Emphasis on to me.

Those are the two words that truly belong in the context of these letters.

Erika Sifrit can be whatever and whoever she wants to be in prison: it is her domain now, her world. A place in which she is, essentially, preaching to a choir of women who will sympathize with her.