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Pa. suspect says she’s killed 22 others

Miranda Barbour, 19, is charged with killing a man she and her husband met through Craigslist.Christine Baker/PennLive.com

SUNBURY, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman charged along with her newlywed husband with killing a man they met through Craigslist admitted to the slaying in a jailhouse interview and said she participated in the killing of more than 20 other people across the country, claims that police said they are investigating.

In an interview with The Daily Item in Sunbury, 19-year-old Miranda Barbour said she wants to plead guilty to killing Troy LaFerrara in November. She also said in the interview she has killed at least 22 other people from Alaska to North Carolina in the last six years as part of her involvement in a satanic cult.

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‘‘I don’t care if people believe me. I just want to get it out,’’ Barbour told the newspaper.

Police Chief Steve Mazzeo said investigators were aware of Barbour’s claims of involvement in other homicides. He said they are ‘‘’‘seriously concerned’’ and have contacted police in other jurisdictions, as well as the FBI.

The FBI’s Philadelphia office said Sunday that it had been in contact with Sunbury police and ‘‘will offer any assistance requested in the case.’’

Barbour’s lawyer did not immediately return messages left at his office Sunday. Mazzeo did not respond to a message seeking comment left at his office.

Attorneys for Barbour and her husband, 22-year-old Elytte Barbour, have both sought psychiatric evaluations for their clients.

Miranda Barbour’s attorney also asked a judge last week to toss out statements she made before she was charged. Public defender Ed Greco said in the motion that Barbour was not given an attorney despite repeated requests during two police interviews.

Barbour said in the jailhouse interview that she wanted to plead guilty at her arraignment, but that Greco pleaded not guilty for her.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both defendants in LaFerrara’s killing.

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Barbour allegedly told authorities she met the victim after he responded to a Craigslist ad offering companionship for money.

Elytte Barbour told investigators they committed the crime because they wanted to kill someone together, according to court papers.

The couple wed in North Carolina and moved to Pennsylvania about three weeks before the slaying, police said.