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

Amish, often entire families, regularly use Amtrak's Keystone Service between Philadelphia, Lancaster and Harrisburg, and are a regular sight at 30th Street Station in Philly.
The ones I watch are in Galesburg, Illinois; Fort Madison, Iowa; and La Plata, Missouri. La Plata, which is about 10 miles south of Kirksville in the northeastern portion of the state, is right smack dab in the middle of many Amish and Mennonite communities.
 
None of the Amish in our communities have telephones in their homes. One of the community members might have a phone in the barn or in an out building. Folks can leave messages on that number which, in due time, get delivered to the intended recipient.
Most babies in the Amish communities in Missouri were delivered by lay Amish midwives, but even in the 00s, many of them carried cell phones with solar-powered chargers. They would not hesitate to call an ambulance if they even thought they were in over their heads.
 
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

 
State police have announced the arrest of 52-year-old Shawn Cranston of Corry, PA in the killing of 23-year-old Rebekah Byler.

Cranston is being charged with Criminal Homicide, Criminal Homicide of Unborn Child, Burglary, and Criminal trespass. Cranston was arraigned just before 4:30 Saturday morning. He is currently being held without bail at the Crawford County Jail.

Cranston’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 15th

He was arraigned Magistrate Amy Nichols on Friday. Cranston is currently in the Crawford County Jail, with no bail.
 
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Police said in a news release that, in accordance with the Rules of Criminal Procedure, there is no chance of bail on homicide charges.

Byler, who was six months pregnant, was found dead in her home on Fish Flats Road on Monday. Trooper Cindy Schick of Pennsylvania State Police Troop E said she expects police with further investigate a motive for the murder now that they have Cranston in custody.
 
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I'm confused. I found a Rebecca Byler (Schmucker), who was married to Abe, but had a b-i-l Andrew/Andy, divorced 2012 from husband Abe, has 2 daughters, looks just like Rebekah, but her age isn't fitting. Rebecca was a part of the docu about Amish people "Breaking Amish".
I think, it's better, to let other people sleuth .....

Like other insular communities that do not accept outsiders and that shun those who leave, there will be limited surnames. Similarly, there are likely limited traditional first names. There are probably multiple “John and Jane Doe” couples and many, many Johns, Janes, and Does. JMO.
 
Snipped
By
Jon Haworth
March 2, 2024, 7:49 AM ET
• 1 min read
amish-woman-killed_1709383557175_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg

Questions mount after murder of pregnant Amish womanAn urgent search is underway for the killer of Rebekah Byler, 23, after the pregnant mother of two was found murdered inside her home in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, on Monday afternoon.Gene J. Puskar/AP
Police have announced an arrest in connection to the death of 23-year-old Rebekah Byler that has shaken an Amish community in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania State Police announced early Saturday morning that Shawn Cranston -- a 52-year-old man from Corry, Pennsylvania -- has been arrested in connection with the murder of the Amish woman and is now facing multiple charges, including criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass.
Being arraigned today
 
Like other insular communities that do not accept outsiders and that shun those who leave, there will be limited surnames. Similarly, there are likely limited traditional first names. There are probably multiple “John and Jane Doe” couples and many, many Johns, Janes, and Does. JMO.
That’s very true. I work for a business where most of our customers are Amish or Mennonite. When they call, they often say things like, “This is David Fisher from Whatever Road in Whatever Town,” because they know just saying their name will narrow our computer search to 100 possible customers.
 
Unless more information comes out, it sounds like a home invasion/burglary gone bad, really bad. Perhaps he didn't expect anyone to be home. Or worse, didn't care.

Awful, awful, awful.
 
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'.

He 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

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.

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'.
 
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'.

He 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

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.

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'.

Hmmm, maybe retribution? Some kind of business deal gone bad? What's this guy do for a living?
 
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'.

He 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

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.

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'.
I was looking at FB earlier this morning and wondered if that was him. I noticed that wording on his bio too and cringed.
 
Unless more information comes out, it sounds like a home invasion/burglary gone bad, really bad. Perhaps he didn't expect anyone to be home. Or worse, didn't care.

Awful, awful, awful.
Home invasion on the Amish? What is there valuable enough to consider such a thing? I think it's more than that. He was there for a reason and it wasn't to steal.

Burglary doesn't constitute theft. Burglary is entering a place to commit a crime, any crime.

JMO
 

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