PA - Rebekah Byler, 23, mother & six months pregnant, murdered, Crawford County, 26 Feb 2024 *Arrest*

[Cryptic]

I find it odd that the alleged murderer was supposedly driven to kill to get back a family member from a foster/adoptive family when he himself was apparently a foster parent.

MOO

Good point about the irony.

Alot of angry and aggressive types of all stripes tend to self exempt themselves from the same written, or unwritten rules that they expect others to adhere to.

As a side note, if he was not qualified to adopt the child, he may of also been "de listed" as a foster parent. Foster parents receive subsidies by the State or county for fostering. As a result, getting de listed can result in a loss of expected income and increased financial stress.

 

[Cryptic]

Cranston's daughter, who was similar in age to the young victim, told JET 24/Fox 66 that she believed the killing may have been a case of mistaken identity.

The Amish couple, who lived in Byler's home a few years ago, adopted Cranston's grandson. The daughter said: 'As far as I know, he just wanted his grandson back.'
[/URL]

I am thinking that claim of a possible mistaken identity maybe a gentle allowance.

If the alleged perpetrator was as interested in pursuing the matter as it seems, my guess is that he had a pretty good idea of what the adoptive parents looked like.

Rather, I am thinking that he presumed that as the new owners are also Amish, she would both personally know the former Amish owners and know where they had moved to- and his presumption could be pretty accurate as they are a small, tight community.

She then either refused to give tell him where the former owners had moved to, or simply did not know. He then attacked her in a rage.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

I’m wondering whether SC was an actual foster parent (as in approved and paid by the state) or was in a more informal role to the daughter who spoke out. According to PA records and as mentioned in several articles, he has a history of reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct charges. Would someone with these in his past be able to serve as a foster parent?

With all the clearances you need just to volunteer at your kid’s school in PA, I’m wondering if SC would have had an issue being an actual foster parent or, later, a guardian for his grandson.

 

[saoirselouise]

MOO of course but he probably wasn’t a licensed foster parent able to take outside children, but rather just a kinship placement.

 

[SleutherGirl]

That makes a lot of sense.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

MOO of course but he probably wasn’t a licensed foster parent able to take outside children, but rather just a kinship placement.

Thanks! I didn’t know that was a thing.

 

[Knox]

I think the house was also put back on the market briefly after the current Bylers purchased it, so that confuses the issue a little. You're probably right though. MOO

I think some of the activity may have been due to refinancing/consolidating existing loans, JMO.

 

[acutename]

MOO of course but he probably wasn’t a licensed foster parent able to take outside children, but rather just a kinship placement.

It is also possible that he had a different personality 10 or 20 yrs ago- some people do not remain stable throughout their lifetime and we do not know what happened to his grown child that caused the grandson to be fostered or adopted.

 

[SherryLock]

If it clears anything up for anyone, I believe SC's other charges were in 2009, so it's possible he qualified to foster before that. After that, I am not sure if any felony (if it even was a felony?) disqualifies you permanently or if they consider it on a case-by-case basis.

I don't know the exact rules for kinship placement but they're typically lower requirements and may or may not come with the monthly stipend. In other words, say the state gets involved and then the grandparents want to take the child in. The state will come check out the house to make sure it's inhabitable and run a background check on everyone living in the home and that's about it. But if the grandparents want the monthy stipend, they may have to attend the CPS foster care classes and meet other, additional requirements too, just like anyone else who wants to become foster parents through the state.

Re the monthly stipend, it can continue throughout childhood in a lot circumstances even after adoption, like if the child is older than five years old or so, a minority or disabled- categories that make them harder to find a permanent placement for.

However, the above are the rules for fostering or adopting through CPS (the state). There are also churches that run their own foster and adoption programs and their requirements are not necessarily the same as the state's.

 

[airportwoman]

MOO of course but he probably wasn’t a licensed foster parent able to take outside children, but rather just a kinship placement.

This is possible, and sadly, it's also not an impossible scenario that the area was so desperate for foster parents, they were willing to take just about anybody.

 

[Choices]

I don't think devout Amish girls tend to have a string of exes.

I think maybe this is sexually motivated, but not because of a former relationship. I think this might be a predator who fixated on her or possibly chose her at random, watching the home and striking when her husband was gone.

MOO

A 52 yo man has been arrested. He's from Corry, Pennsylvania, nearly 6 hours from the murder victim's home in Sparta Township. I wonder if he had fixated specifically on an Amish woman, like a fetish. All sorts of sickos in the world.

 

[SherryLock]

A 52 yo man has been arrested. He's from Corry, Pennsylvania, nearly 6 hours from the murder victim's home in Sparta Township. I wonder if he had fixated specifically on an Amish woman, like a fetish. All sorts of sickos in the world.

I think it's actually only about 8 miles between Corry and Spartansburg. Could definitely be some kind of weird fixation though. After all, the only one who's weighed in on a possible motive is SC's alleged foster daughter and there could be things about him that she doesn't know.

 

[Chimera]

Thanks for posting the link, @MassGuy !
Looks like there was a possible motive ?
I'm betting the perp was unstable for a long time.
You don't go from a bad temper to killing someone.
Omo.

Awful for Rebekah's young family and extended relatives.

 

[Choices]

I think it's actually only about 8 miles between Corry and Spartansburg. Could definitely be some kind of weird fixation though. After all, the only one who's weighed in on a possible motive is SC's alleged foster daughter and there could be things about him that she doesn't know.

Oh sorry, you're right, it's not far away. Another Sparta went through on my Google search. I should have checked it first.

 

[airportwoman]

A 52 yo man has been arrested. He's from Corry, Pennsylvania, nearly 6 hours from the murder victim's home in Sparta Township. I wonder if he had fixated specifically on an Amish woman, like a fetish. All sorts of sickos in the world.

The suspect had a grandchild who was being fostered/adopted by an Amish family that had previously lived in the Bylers' home. Many of us think that this was the motive, and that he didn't know, or care, that these weren't the same people.

 

[Joe Friday]

The information about Cranston coming from the "Foster Daughter" about this being a case of mistaken identity, I take with a grain of salt.

From what this daughter has said to the media, CS had to have confessed to the killing and described his actions after the killing and before being arrested. It doesn't sound to me that LE was alerted to Cranston from any of his own family members.

If Cranston actually did confess to the killing, I'm sure LE and the DA would want to question this daughter and other family members and possibly even charge them in connection to the killing (a way to make them testify for the state) for not, if they didn't, informing LE to Cranston describing and confessing to the murder.

JMO

 

[Shamrock1]

The information about Cranston coming from the "Foster Daughter" about this being a case of mistaken identity, I take with a grain of salt.

From what this daughter has said to the media, CS had to have confessed to the killing and described his actions after the killing and before being arrested. It doesn't sound to me that LE was alerted to Cranston from any of his own family members.

If Cranston actually did confess to the killing, I'm sure LE and the DA would want to question this daughter and other family members and possibly even charge them in connection to the killing (a way to make them testify for the state) for not, if they didn't, informing LE to Cranston describing and confessing to the murder.

JMO

If someone confesses a crime to you, you’re not obligated to report it. Failure to report a confession is not a crime. (There are some very narrow exceptions, such as a mandated reporter and child abuse).

 

[SteveP]

The information about Cranston coming from the "Foster Daughter" about this being a case of mistaken identity, I take with a grain of salt.

From what this daughter has said to the media, CS had to have confessed to the killing and described his actions after the killing and before being arrested. It doesn't sound to me that LE was alerted to Cranston from any of his own family members.

If Cranston actually did confess to the killing, I'm sure LE and the DA would want to question this daughter and other family members and possibly even charge them in connection to the killing (a way to make them testify for the state) for not, if they didn't, informing LE to Cranston describing and confessing to the murder.

JMO

I also tend to take the "mistaken identity" idea as perhaps only her supposition, or wishful thinking, based on things about the case that she did know...the alleged back story of the suspect's grandson being adopted by a family that previously had lived at that location, and perhaps SC's rage at the loss of the grandchild. I do believe the bulk of her story. I believe he, as someone else posted upthread, may have become enraged when Rebekah either could not or would not divulge information about the whereabouts of that family, or, as I earlier opined, she may have simply represented the loss of the grandchild. I am sure that LE have investigated the supposed back story, and know whether it is true or not. I strongly believe that it is, and that is the reason Rebekah Byler was murdered, whether he thought she was that mother, or knew that she was not. And again, I go back to the well-documented presence of a red Jeep at the scene of the murder, at the approximate time, and with everything else I have read and heard, I do not believe that is mere coincidence that a red Jeep was parked at the suspect's home, when investigators showed up. I am confident that LE have the right person in custody, and will be able to build a strong case against him., that will result in a conviction for murder. JMO

 

[SherryLock]

Rebekah Byer was found with her throat cut and a "scalping type wound on her scalp."

(My note) Wow. That seems very up close and personal; extremely angry and vicious.

MSN

 

[SteveP]

Rebekah Byer was found with her throat cut and a "scalping type wound on her scalp."

(My note) Wow. That seems very up close and personal; extremely angry and vicious.

MSN

Yes, this, in addition to having been shot in the head. Absolute overkill. Those poor children had to see their mother like that. May her killer rot... JMO