A Pennsylvania man has been charged with the murder of a young pregnant Amish woman, who was mysteriously found dead in her living room while her two other small children remained unharmed.
Rebekah Byler, 23, was six months pregnant when her husband entered their Spartansburg home Monday afternoon to find her deceased, reported CBS News. Her unborn child also did not make it.
The local Amish community and surrounding non-Amish neighbors alike were shaken by the news, with one Spartansburg Fire Department volunteer saying everyone was “sad and shocked,” and this was “not something that happens around here.”
Search warrants obtained by the outlet revealed that Byler appeared to have cuts on her neck and head, possibly from a knife. Her cause of death has yet to be officially announced, however.
While investigators had “no suspects” in the mother’s death by Thursday, according to 6ABC, Pennsylvania State Police announced the arrest of 52-year-old Shawn Cranston early Saturday morning.
Cranston, from the neighboring town of Corry, is facing several charges, including criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary, and criminal trespass.
He has already been arraigned and is “currently being held without bond” at the Crawford County Jail, reports ABC.
Spartansburg, a town of fewer than 300 residents, is a tight-knit community with very low crime. The death of Byler, a soon-to-be mother-of-three, has shocked locals.
“Everyone is stunned — this doesn’t happen here,” said lifelong resident Charleen Hajec. “Everyone is talking. It’s scary and frustrating.”
“The outside world doesn’t get in,” she added. “To have something this tragic … it doesn’t happen here.”
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