US newlyweds kill man from Craigslist for thrill of it, police say

A couple married for just three weeks lured a man to his death with an ad on the Craigslist website because they wanted to kill someone together, police said.

Elytte Barbour, 22, told officers before his arrest on Friday night that he and his wife, Miranda, 18, had planned to kill before, but their plans never worked out until last month when Troy LaFerrara responded to an online posting that promised companionship in return for money, authorities said.

"They had tried to kill others before this victim but the plan didn't work out so they continued to try to find someone," police wrote in an affidavit.

The couple face criminal homicide charges in LaFerrara's death. His body was found on November 12 in an alley in Sunbury, a small city about 160 kilometres northwest of Philadelphia. The couple had recently moved to nearby Selinsgrove from Dunn, North Carolina.

Sunbury's police chief, Steve Mazzeo, said he did not want to comment on the case or the couple's motives since it was still an active investigation.

According to Sunbury police, Elytte Barbour told investigators he hid under a blanket in the backseat of the couple's SUV as his wife picked up LaFerrara at a mall on November 11.

He told police that, on his wife's signal, he wrapped a cord around LaFerrara's neck, restraining him while his wife stabbed him.