Pennsylvania
Craigslist killing suspect claims 22 other victims
SUNBURY, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman charged with her newlywed husband with killing a man they met through Craigslist admitted to the slaying in a jailhouse interview with a newspaper and said she has killed more than 20 other people across the country, claims 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.
“I feel it is time to get all of this out. I don’t care if people believe me. I just want to get it out,” Barbour told the newspaper for a story published Saturday night.
Sunbury police Chief Steve Mazzeo told the newspaper that investigators were aware of Miranda Barbour’s claims of involvement in other murders. He said they are “”seriously concerned” and have contacted police in other jurisdictions.
In a statement issued Sunday, the FBI’s Philadelphia division said it had been in contact with Sunbury police and “will offer any assistance requested in the case.”
Miranda Barbour’s lawyer did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press left at his office Sunday. Mazzeo did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment left at his office Sunday.
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 wasn’t afforded 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.
Miranda Barbour, a petite woman with long brown hair, told investigators she met the 6-foot-2, 278-pound victim after he responded to her 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, who were married in North Carolina and moved to Pennsylvania about three weeks before the crime, told police Miranda Barbour stabbed LaFerrara in the front seat of her car while her husband held a cord around his neck.
Miranda Barbour said in the interview that she doesn’t want to get out of jail and that she would kill again if released. She said she had no remorse and killed only “bad people.”
Miranda Barbour offered little detail on the murders she claimed to have participated in in Alaska, Texas, North Carolina and California.
She claims she joined a satanic cult in Alaska when she was 13 before moving to North Carolina. Online records for the woman that the newspaper identified as Barbour’s mother show her as having lived in both Alaska and North Carolina.
Minnesota
Motion to block archbishop’s deposition denied
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A judge has denied an attempt by lawyers for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to block a court order requiring the archbishop to testify about how the church handled clergy sexual abuse and release the names of all local priests accused of abusing children since 2004.
The archdiocese contended Ramsey County Judge John Van de North exceeded his authority in allowing attorneys for an alleged clergy abuse victim to depose Archbishop John Nienstedt and former Vicar General Kevin McDonough.
Minnesota Public Radio News reports Van de North said in his ruling that there was “no persuasive legal or factual basis” for the motion. The archdiocese argued that church records and depositions were not relevant to the case brought by a man who said he was sexually abused by priest nearly 40 years ago.
Missouri
Judge rejects Marine’s guilty plea in shootout
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — A southeast Missouri judge has refused to accept a former Marine’s guilty plea to charges related to a shootout with police in June 2012, saying he wasn’t convinced the Gulf War veteran truly thought he was guilty.
Lawrence Guthrie, 47, is charged with domestic assault, armed criminal action and assault on a law enforcement officer. He was scheduled for a pretrial conference Friday but after several discussions, Guthrie’s attorney said he was ready to accept a plea bargain, the Southeast Missourian reported.
The deal would require Guthrie to plead guilty to three counts of first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer in exchange for a 15-year prison sentence on each count, to run concurrently.
Police say Guthrie shot at his wife — and later police — during a dispute on June 13, 2012. Police said Guthrie began shooting when they arrived and shot himself in the head before he could be captured.
Guthrie’s lawyer, Bryan Greaser, has suggested that his client is not responsible for his actions because he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
After Greaser announced the proposed plea bargain, Cape Girardeau County circuit judge Benjamin Lewis asked Guthrie if he thought it was a satisfactory deal.
“I’m taking it, sir, but it’s not to my satisfaction,” Guthrie replied, saying he thought the sentence was too long.
Guthrie said at the hearing that he has no memory of the events of the shootout because he was undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and was taking “at least 12 to 13 medications when this all happened.” He said he doubted that he had shot at officers because, as a former Marine rifle instructor, it’s unlikely he would have missed from 100 to 150 yards away.
Lewis told him he could go to trial instead, but if found guilty he could face a sentence of 30 years or more. The judge told Guthrie that if he could not say for sure he was guilty, he could enter an Alford plea that acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction, Lewis said.
After a short break, Lewis said he was not inclined to accept Guthrie’s plea bargain.
The judge said the case remains set for trial for March 11, but Guthrie could come back with another plea before then if he wanted.
