The Amish community in Pennsylvania is reeling after a pregnant woman was found murdered.
On February 29th, Rebekah Byler was found dead in Sparta Township, near Erie. “We are people who believe in God and turn to him during a time like this,” an Amish man who knows the Byler family told ABC News. Byler was six months pregnant.
52-year-old Shawn Cranston was arrested for the murder, with Pennsylvania State Police warrants saying that Byler was found with “[a]n evident laceration… on the front side of [Rebekah Byler’s] neck” and “a scalping type wound on her head.” It also appears that Byler may have been shot, as the criminal complaint accused Cranston of “shooting [Byler] in the head and/or slashing her throat.”
A search of Cranston’s home found a broken knife handle, a broken knife blade, shell casings, and several guns. Cranston is not a member of the Amish community, according to Pennsylvania State Police, leading to questions about why Byler would have been targeted. The Amish community has remained quiet about the murder, with one woman telling the Daily Mail, “We like to keep things among ourselves. We’re not talking to protect the parents and the husband.”
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Cranston’s unnamed foster daughter gave an interview to YourErie, where she said she believed it may have been a case of mistaken identity. She said he is the only father she’s ever known. “Like I could never picture my dad being that cold-hearted monster. Never in a million years,” she said, and explained that an Amish couple previously lived near Byler’s home and had adopted Cranston’s grandson.
“As far as I know, he just wanted his grandson back,” she said. “Supposedly she started yelling at him, coming in, then that’s when boom, all it took. It’s just horrifying to think that.” On his Facebook page, Cranston wrote for his bio, “I’m someone’s worst nightmare if they mess with me and mine!”
In addition to being charged with Byler’s murder, Cranston has been charged with criminal homicide of an unborn child.
