HARRISBURG, Pa. — A newlywed couple who were charged in the stabbing death of a stranger they lured through a Craigslist ad offering companionship pleaded guilty to murder on Tuesday and face mandatory sentences of life without parole.
Miranda Barbour, 19, and Elytte Barbour, 22, had previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges that carried a possible death penalty upon conviction. They changed their pleas to guilty of second-degree murder at a conference in Sunbury.
The Barbours married in North Carolina and moved to central Pennsylvania about three weeks before they met up with the victim, Troy LaFerrara, when he accepted her offer of companionship in exchange for money.
Miranda Barbour picked up LaFerrara at a mall in Selinsgrove on Nov. 11 and drove to Sunbury, northwest of Philadelphia.
After they parked, Elytte Barbour came out of his hiding place under a blanket in the back seat and held a cord tight against LaFerrara’s neck while his wife stabbed him about 20 times. Elytte Barbour later told police the couple killed LaFerrara because they wanted to kill someone together.