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

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How does this former foster child know why he went there and what happened when he got there? Did this information about him being yelled at come from any other source?
If not from him, likely his wife. She seems truly devastated by what he did, so all of them are probably struggling to put the pieces together. They are considered victims here as well.
 
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I'd guess the foster daughter's statements were her putting together the pieces, from what she does know of SC and the overall situation, rather than her meaning to claim that she has direct, irrefutable knowledge like someone would if they were there or if they had recently spoken about it with the accused himself.

So yes, unverified at this point but also the best we've been given so far about a possible motive etc. It's still early, with this ordeal.
 
While we certainly cannot take the reported story as fact at this time, I strongly believe this story will prove to be true...jmo
I agree - in the beginning of the thread, it was noted that the Bylers wanted to sell the house shortly after they bought it. Perhaps harassment and a realization that they had a real problem prompted them to try and sell the house right away...
 
And if that’s the case, it sounds like he came prepared. But why?

Perhaps three general possibilities:

A- Was in a rage and cruising for a random victim under the "right" circumstances. The source of the rage could be anything from financial stress to say, umm...."poor performance" issues despite his macho social media etc.

B- Dispute with the victim's husband from prior business contact

C- Sought out and targeted an Amish victim, perhaps in conjunction with another motive.

I would think that "A" or "C" would be most likely.

Even if their was prior business contact, it would not appear that the perpetrator and the poor victim's husband would have been deeply intertwined financially. Likewise, the delivery of some building material late, or of insufficient quality grade, or with an increased price etc. can lead to disputes, some of which may get heated, in the construction industry.

But... dirt is dirt, is dirt. If one thinks he is being short changed on what constitutes "X" number of cubic yards of dirt, just pay and then find another supplier. I cant see a bitter argument developing.
 
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Her story does not hang together. I think the news station should have tried to verify much of her story. If the daughter is correct then SC would have been carrying this for months and months. The Bylers bought the home in October2023. So, did SC ever confront the Amish family who supposedly adopted his grandson? And when did the daughter last see SC? Without verification of her story, it is just not credible.
You can't fathom that Cranston would be on a slow burn, over the loss of a grandchild? Maybe he himself tried to gain custody and was refused, that would add fuel to the fire, JMO.

We have no idea if he appeared at any court hearing related to removal and custody of his Grandson, nor if he ever confronted the adoptive family. But I have no doubt what this woman says will prove true.

I was able to track down a few things, but we aren't allowed to sleuth family members - so I'll leave it alone until MSM finds it as well.
 
You can't fathom that Cranston would be on a slow burn, over the loss of a grandchild? Maybe he himself tried to gain custody and was refused, that would add fuel to the fire, JMO.

We have no idea if he appeared at any court hearing related to removal and custody of his Grandson, nor if he ever confronted the adoptive family. But I have no doubt what this woman says will prove true.

I was able to track down a few things, but we aren't allowed to sleuth family members - so I'll leave it alone until MSM finds it as well.
I’m not implying anything. I appreciate your perspective and the questions you raise and that still does not explain why SC shot her. Do you believe SC mistook Rebekah Byler for someone else? Because it seems like if SC did attend a court hearing and/or confronted the adoptive family, that would undermine the mistaken identity theory.
 
I’m not implying anything. I appreciate your perspective and the questions you raise and that still does not explain why SC shot her. Do you believe SC mistook Rebekah Byler for someone else? Because it seems like if SC did attend a court hearing and/or confronted the adoptive family, that would undermine the mistaken identity theory.
not the OP but if this man was chronically angry, the victim could have still represented to him, "the people who took my grandson away" IMO (not saying that anything he did makes any sense in a rational way)
 
I’m not implying anything. I appreciate your perspective and the questions you raise and that still does not explain why SC shot her. Do you believe SC mistook Rebekah Byler for someone else? Because it seems like if SC did attend a court hearing and/or confronted the adoptive family, that would undermine the mistaken identity theory.
No, I don't think he mistook Rebekah for someone else at all.

I think it's entirely possible he went there armed and ready for a fight. He was going to remove his Grandson from the "enemy" and bring him back into the family fold where he belonged. Things escalated once he suprised her, he was out of control - Rebekah was violently killed. MOO.

Clearly SC is deranged/delusional, how could he possibly think his red jeep wouldn't be a dead giveaway in such a small community. It's 13 miles from his home in Corry to Rebekah's. How he knew who the adoptive parents were or where they lived is an interesting question. I think it's reasonable to assume that his direct knowledge, could be learned through a lawyer, court hearings, failed reunification services, or supervised visitation - just a guess but he knew it somehow.
 
I’ll just leave this article here for everyone’s reading. I don’t mean to imply that this has anything to do with what happened, but I grew up in Lancaster County, PA surrounded by lots of Amish neighbors. This was 20-30 years ago. Even back then it was fairly well known that there were connections with drugs, biker gangs, organised crime.

I think there is a perception that Amish communities are idyllic and olde world far removed from the dysfunction of the modern world, but they have the same dark elements as the rest of us in our communities.

Now me personally, I don’t know that this isn’t closer to home, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to me either if this has a drugs/organised crime element (even if as a result of mistaken identity). JMO

Small world!! I was born and raised in Mount Joy!
 
IMO, he wasn't a complete stranger. I think there is a good possiblity she knew who he was and maybe even why he would show up at her house. Property records reveal who the previous owners were, they were relatives of the couple. Surely the information about this guy was shared?
I didn’t look up property records but are we sure the previous owners were related or they just have the same surname? As someone previously stated, in these small insular communities you are going to see the same surnames over and over again, even in Amish communities in other states.
 
I didn’t look up property records but are we sure the previous owners were related or they just have the same surname? As someone previously stated, in these small insular communities you are going to see the same surnames over and over again, even in Amish communities in other states.
I connected the dots, that's all I can say - MOO.
 
Whether or not Cranston and Rebekah knew each other is unclear. But his foster daughter told News Nation Now that his grandson was adopted by the Amish couple who lived in Rebekah’s residence a few years ago.

After being arraigned, Cranston was committed to the Crawford County Correctional Facility in Saegertown, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. He was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, criminal homicide and criminal homicide of an unborn child.

On March 15, 2024, Cranston will attend his preliminary hearing. His wife Jamie Cranston, 47, who is a nurse, has yet to release a statement about his arrest.

 
As of Saturday, Crime scene tape still surrounds Cranston’s home on Main Street in Corry. JET 24/FOX 66’s Jennifer Mobilia spoke with a woman who said Cranston was her foster dad growing up.

“Like I could never picture my dad being that cold-hearted monster. Never in a million years,” daughter of Shawn C. Cranston.

The morning of the murder, neighbors reported seeing a red Jeep in Byler’s driveway. Then on Friday night, a red Jeep was towed from Cranston’s home.

“As far as I know, he just wanted his grandson back,” she added.

Cranston’s daughter believes the murder was a case of mistaken identity. She added the Amish couple who lived in Byler’s home a few years ago adopted Cranston’s grandson.

“Supposedly she started yelling at him, coming in, then that’s when boom, all it took. It’s just horrifying to think that,” she continued
 
You can't fathom that Cranston would be on a slow burn, over the loss of a grandchild? Maybe he himself tried to gain custody and was refused, that would add fuel to the fire, JMO.

We have no idea if he appeared at any court hearing related to removal and custody of his Grandson, nor if he ever confronted the adoptive family. But I have no doubt what this woman says will prove true.

I was able to track down a few things, but we aren't allowed to sleuth family members - so I'll leave it alone until MSM finds it as well.
BBM. I have even considered that perhaps the fact that she was pregnant infuriated him even more than he already was. If he seriously thought that she was the mother of his adopted grandchild, perhaps he thought "how dare her steal MY grandbaby, and then have another one of your own, too", in addition to the others, she already had.

I am not convinced that he thought Rebekah was the adopted mother of his grandchild, but that she REPRESENTED the loss of his grandchild, and for that, had to pay. JMO
 
I didn’t look up property records but are we sure the previous owners were related or they just have the same surname? As someone previously stated, in these small insular communities you are going to see the same surnames over and over again, even in Amish communities in other states.

I guess,
in small isolated communities, everybody is related to everybody.

JMO
 
BBM. I have even considered that perhaps the fact that she was pregnant infuriated him even more than he already was. If he seriously thought that she was the mother of his adopted grandchild, perhaps he thought "how dare her steal MY grandbaby, and then have another one of your own, too", in addition to the others, she already had.

I am not convinced that he thought Rebekah was the adopted mother of his grandchild, but that she REPRESENTED the loss of his grandchild, and for that, had to pay. JMO
Certain kinds of murders do have victims who are representative of who the murderer is really enraged. Sad as that is. How old do you think his grandson was/is? Why didn’t he kidnap the 4 yr old who apparently saw him murder his mother?
 

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