An Altoona, Pa., couple, charged with killing two tourists Memorial Day weekend in Ocean City and dismembering their bodies to cover up the crime, are suspects in a Virginia burglary similar to the bungled break-in that led to their arrests in the Maryland resort.

Police in Fredericksburg, Va., have told Ocean City investigators that Erika Grace Sifrit was identified as the woman who apparently walked out of a Hooters restaurant there with about $300 worth of T-shirts and other merchandise.

The incident occurred two weeks before Sifrit and her husband, Benjamin, were arrested in the theft of similar items from a Hooters a few blocks from the luxury condominium where police believe the couple killed Martha Crutchley, 51, and her boyfriend, Joshua Ford, 32.

"Apparently, it was a smash-and-grab-type burglary at the Hooters in Fredericksburg," said Ocean City police spokesman Jay Hancock. "There seems to be a big market for the T-shirts. Each Hooters prints their own every year and they're popular with some collectors."

The Sifrits, both 24, were arrested early Friday, police say, as they loaded in their car $5,500 in Hooters merchandise from the restaurant's souvenir store in north Ocean City.

Officers found three handguns, two knives and other evidence that led them to the oceanfront high-rise where investigators believe Ford and Crutchley were shot.

Among other items in the condo were two pet boa constrictors police found in an ice chest. The Sifrits, who own a number of exotic and poisonous snakes, apparently were visiting Fredericksburg on May 11 to attend a reptile show, police say.

Erika Sifrit told police her husband shot the Fairfax, Va., couple, then disposed of their bodies in half-a-dozen black garbage bags in a trash bin in nearby Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Police found several bags containing human remains in a Delaware landfill Monday but are awaiting results of DNA tests to determine the identity of the victims.

Police say the Sifrits remained in Ocean City for nearly a week after the killings, apparently cleaning up the unit where they were staying. Police say they bought paint, a door and other items from a Home Depot on U.S. 50.

The couple, held without bail in the Worcester County Detention Center, face first-degree murder, assault and handgun charges.

Benjamin Sifrit is scheduled to appear Tuesday in county District Court for a preliminary hearing. A June 17 hearing has been set for Erika Sifrit.