SUNBURY, Pa. (AP) - A prosecutor said Tuesday he will seek the death penalty for a central Pennsylvania couple charged with killing a man allegedly lured through a Craigslist ad.
Aggravating circumstances warrant death sentences for Elytte Barbour, 22, and his 19-year-old wife, Miranda, if they’re convicted of first-degree murder, Northumberland County District Attorney Anthony Rosini said.
Rosini said the Barbours tortured 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara and killed him in the commission of a robbery, making the couple eligible for the death penalty.
“We believe that this is an appropriate case in which to seek the death penalty and that a jury would be likely to impose the death penalty,” Rosini said.
Miranda Barbour stabbed LaFerrara, of Port Trevorton, in the front seat of her car while Elytte Barbour held a cord around his neck from the back seat on Nov. 11, authorities said.
Elytte Barbour allegedly told investigators they committed the crime because they wanted to kill someone together. Miranda Barbour had met LaFerrara on Craigslist, where she offered companionship for a fee, and arranged the meeting that led to his death, police said.
County Chief Public Defender Edward Greco, who is representing Miranda Barbour, said Rosini’s decision to seek the death penalty was “not something that we did not expect.”
Elytte Barbour’s attorney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Rosini also said he will seek to have a joint trial for the Barbours, who were married in North Carolina and moved to Pennsylvania weeks before LaFerrara’s death.
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