Just two days after saying they had no suspects Pennsylvania State Police have arrested a 52-year-old local man and charged him with the murder of Amish mother of two, Rebekah Byler.
The 23-year-old was six months pregnant when she was gunned down in her home in Spartansburg on Monday morning.
Now, after what cops described as an ‘exhaustive’ five-day investigation the man charged with the murder of Byler and her unborn child has been named as Shawn Cranston.
Cranston, pictured here for the first time, is married to nurse Jamie, 46, was taken into custody Saturday morning when he was arraigned at 4.24am and committed to Crawford County Jail.
His Facebook bio reads: ‘I’m someone’s worst nightmare if they mess with me and mine’.
Cranston has been charged with criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary, and criminal trespass. He is not eligible for bail.
Shawn Cranston, 52, from Corry, Pennsylvania was arrested today morning for allegedly murdering pregnant Rebekah Byler, 23, in her home on Monday
The 23-year-old was six months pregnant when she was gunned down in her home in Spartansburg on Monday morning
He has been charged with criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary, and criminal trespass. He is not eligible for bail
His preliminary hearing is set for March 15.
Bylers’ two- and three-year-old children were in the home when their mother was killed. It fell to her husband, Andy, to make the gruesome discovery of her dead body.
According to investigators, the victim had wounds to her neck and head.
Police have not released any information regarding the scene beyond confirming that she was shot and that her death was a homicide.
The remote house, set on a long dirt road that cars rarely drive, stood empty when DailyMail.com visited Friday.
A child’s scooter rested by the front door and swing set and slide stood in the rough garden. A traditional Amish buggy was parked in front of an outbuilding.
The remote house, set on a long dirt road that cars rarely drive, stood empty when DailyMail.com visited Friday
The Amish woman’s body was found with gunshot wounds. Her two toddlers were at home at the time of her death
Police have not released any information regarding the scene beyond confirming that she was shot and that her death was a homicide
One Amish woman declined to comment beyond telling DailyMail.com: ‘We like to keep things among ourselves. We’re not talking to protect the parents and the husband’
Despite the shocking crime neighbors remained tight-lipped, in keeping with the notoriously closed Amish community’s customs.
One Amish woman declined to comment beyond telling DailyMail.com: ‘We like to keep things among ourselves. We’re not talking to protect the parents and the husband’.
Residents and family members reported seeing a red jeep parked outside the Byler home around 10am Monday morning – an unusual sight in a part of the world where motor vehicles are a rarity and on a road only usually traversed by horses and buggies.
Locals in the community have also banded together to raise money for Byler’s family.
‘I’m just absolutely heartbroken that this has happened,’ Charleen Hajec, the owner of Spartansburg Pharmacy, told ABC 6. ‘I’m very concerned about the Amish community and worried for them.’
Locals in the community have also banded together to raise money for Byler’s family
A homicide investigation is exceedingly uncommon in the rural area, which is located 40 miles outside the city of Erie
Kelsey Bova, owner of Bova’s Hardware and administrator of a local Spartansburg Facebook group, set up a GoFundMe for donations
A homicide investigation is exceedingly uncommon in the rural area, which is located 40 miles outside the city of Erie.
Kelsey Bova, owner of Bova’s Hardware and administrator of a local Spartansburg Facebook group, set up a GoFundMe for donations.
‘We would like to show our support for the entire Amish community and help raise funds so that Andy and his children can find a safe new home,’ she wrote.
Bova announced that she was organizing a drive for food, toys, cleaning products and gift cards, inviting locals to drop the donations off at the hardware store or a local pub.
Byler’s cousin Rosanna posted to Facebook asking friends to pray for her.
‘I’m in shock! I can’t believe it! Where they live in PA is a rural area!’ wrote the Rogers, Ohio woman. ‘I grew up about 20 miles from there and would go down to that area all the time.’