Police have said that the newlywed couple wanted to kill someone together, so they lured someone in off Craigslist.
The couple, 18-year-old Miranda Barbour and 22-year-old Elytte Barbour, posted an ad on Craigslist which had said that for money, Miranda would offer her companionship through "delightful conversation," New York Daily News reports. On Nov. 11, they murdered the 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara who replied to their ad.
Sunbury Police Chief Stephen Mazzeo told Daily News, "They went out to dinner on Veteran's Day to celebrate and to enjoy the thrill of killing."
Elytte admitted to police that he hid in the backseat with a cord and waited until his wife gave him the signal and then he pulled the cord against LaFerrara's neck, while his wife stabbed him 20 times. His body was found in an alley, reports The Associated Press.
Miranda's story has changed over time, with her first denying knowing the man, but evidence quickly disproved her various claims. She signed an affidavit saying that she did meet him in Selinsgrove, Penn. and took him to Sunbury where he groped her before she stabbed him as he tried to grab her neck.
Elytte said that before the murder, he let his wife offer herself up as a "companion," but there was no sexual contact. She would make from $50 to $850 from each meet up. "She is not a prostitute," Elytte said. "What she does is meet men who have broken marriages or have no one in their lives and she meets with them and has delightful conversation."