Slain Amish woman had ‘scalping wound’
Rebekah Byler, a pregnant Amish woman found murdered inside her Pennsylvania home last week, had her throat sliced open and a “scalping type wound on her head,” according to court documents.
Her husband, 24-year-old Andy Byler, and a family friend, identified as Julie Warner, had only just returned to the residence in Sparta Township on Feb. 26 when they discovered Rebekah’s body, according to an affidavit of probable cause cited by NBC News.
They found her lying on her back in a pool of her own blood in the living room, per the 911 call placed by Warner.
Byler’s two children, ages 2 and 3, were also in the house when her body was discovered, but they were not physically harmed in the grisly attack.
Police previously said Rebekah, who was six months pregnant, also suffered a gunshot wound.
Investigators have since recovered three firearms — a .22-caliber rifle and a pair of shotguns — bullets and two spent casings from the crime scene.
They also found broken knife parts, including the orange handle of a knife, a broken knife blade and a bone-handled knife, according to an inventory made public on Tuesday.
A white bonnet, as well as the contents of an ashtray and trash bin, were also listed among the evidence.
On Saturday, authorities announced they’d arrested Shawn Cranston (photo) in connection with the slaying. The 52-year-old suspect is facing charges including criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass, Pennsylvania State Police said.
He has not yet entered a plea and is currently being held without bond at the Crawford County Jail.
It’s unclear whether any of the weapons found at scene belong to Cranston, a Corry resident who lives some 8 miles from the Bylers.
Authorities have so far provided few details regarding what triggered the arrest, citing only interviews and evidence collected amid the investigation. A motive for the slaying, which rocked the tight-knit neighborhood in western Pennsylvania, was also unclear.
Scores of Amish traveled on Thursday to the Byler residence, located along a dirt road in a very remote farming area, to pay their respects. The stretch of road, which is particularly dark after nightfall due in part to the community’s forgoing of technology, was illuminated by lights on arriving buggies, all of them carrying mourners and well-wishers.
Sparta Township is a small township in Crawford County, just outside of the borough of Spartansburg and about 35 miles southeast of Erie, Pa.