Sonny Dean also told The Daily Item newspaper on Wednesday that he believes his 19-year-old daughter, Miranda Barbour, may have been involved in one other murder besides the Nov. 11 fatal stabbing of Troy LaFerrara, 42, in Sunbury.
But he cast further doubt on Barbour's claim in a prison interview that she had killed more than 20 other people. Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Rosini said earlier this week that investigators have so far been unable to substantiate her claim.
Police said LaFerrara met Barbour through her Craigslist ad, which offered companionship in exchange for money.
Investigators allege the young woman stabbed LaFerrara, of Port Trevorton, about 20 times in her parked car as her husband, Elytte Barbour, held a cord tight against LaFerrara's neck from the back seat and then dumped his body in an alley.
Dean told the newspaper that his daughter was a heroin addict and is a liar and manipulator, but he doesn't think she is a mass murderer. "Miranda lives in a fantasy world," he said.
Miranda Barbour told The Daily Item last Friday she killed fewer than 100 people but stopped counting at 22. She said she lured a man into an alley in Alaska and watched as the leader of a satanic cult to which she belonged shot the man before telling Barbour it was her turn.
"Believe very little of what Miranda says," said Dean, of Texas. "She has a long history of extreme manipulation and dishonesty."
It is possible she participated in a killing in Alaska, he said. He also did not dispute her claim of being a satanist.
"The reason I think that the Alaska incident is a possibility is that Miranda ran away from home at least two times that I remember, both for over a 48-hour period," he said. "Once was around the age of 13 and once was sometime the following year, when she was 14. I don't know what took place during either of those 48-hour periods."
Dean said he prays for peace and comfort each morning for LaFerrara's family, especially the victim's widow, Colleen LaFerrara.
In a statement to the family, he said if a jury decides his daughter should be executed, "I would stand side by side with you, take your hand, and silently pray that some good may come of this."
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