Feb 20 (Reuters) - The father of a woman charged with murdering a man she lured via the Craigslist classified ad website has described his daughter as a manipulative liar and said he could accept her execution if a jury deems it just, a Pennsylvania newspaper reported.
However, Sonny Dean told Sunbury paper the Daily Item that he does not believe his daughter Miranda Barbour is a serial killer, even though she has admitted to the Craigslist killing and at least 22 other slayings.
"Miranda lives in a fantasy world made up in her own mind," Dean, who is from Texas, told the paper in an article published on Wednesday. "She craves attention, is selfish, dishonest and manipulative."
Barbour, 19, could face the death penalty in connection with the Pennsylvania murder of Troy LaFerrara, the 42-year-old man who answered her bogus ad offering sex for $100, authorities said.
The paper said Dean wrote a statement to the LaFerrara family saying he would willingly trade his life for the victim's.
If the jury recommends capital punishment for his daughter, he told LaFerrara's widow he "would stand side by side with you, take your hand, and silently pray that some good may come of this," the paper said.
Dean did not respond to an email request to speak about his daughter and told the paper he would not respond to any more media requests seeking interviews.
"I can honestly say that I had no idea my daughter was capable of this kind of horrendous act," he told the paper. "I've tried everything in my power to get her the help that she needed. Was I the perfect father? Not at all."
In a jailhouse interview, Barbour said she was part of a satanic cult and had no remorse for her victims, according to an article published in Saturday's edition of the Daily Item, a 25,000-circulation paper that has been closely following the case.
Barbour also said she had killed people in different parts of the country, including Alaska, California, Texas and North Carolina.
Barbour and her husband, Elytte Barbour, 22, in a Pennsylvania state court in December pleaded not guilty to killing LaFerrara, whose body was found dumped in an alley.
Prosecutors say the husband hid under a blanket in the back of the car when his wife picked up LaFerrara at a mall near Harrisburg, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Sunbury. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz, Jim Forsyth and Lisa Maria Garza in Texas and David Bailey in Minneapolis; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Richard Chang)
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