A pregnant Amish woman’s 2-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were at home when she was attacked and killed, and the 3-year-old witnessed the murder, according to newly disclosed court documents.
According to the affidavits, the 3-year-old informed authorities that a green truck pulled into their driveway and that a man wearing shoes entered their Sparta Township, Pennsylvania, home and killed his mother.
According to court filings, Rebekah Byler, 23, was shot in the head and sustained several sharp-force wounds to the neck during the February 26 incident.
Police arrested Shawn Cranston, 52, of Corry, Pennsylvania, on March 2 and charged him with criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary, and criminal trespass.
Julie Warner, a driver for the victim’s family, stated in court filings that she picked up the victim’s husband, Andy Byler, from his home at 8:15 a.m. on the day of the murder to bring him to job sites. When Warner and Andy Byler returned to his home that afternoon, they discovered Rebekah Byler had died, according to the records.
According to newly revealed court documents, a surveillance camera showed a red Jeep leaving Cranston’s home between 8:39 a.m. and 8:42 a.m. and returning between 1:55 p.m. and 2:02 p.m.
That afternoon, the footage showed a white, seemingly bald man at Cranston’s house putting goods in and out of a red Jeep before an apparent fire broke out, according to the documents.
According to the records, a piece of a rubber glove recovered from the crime scene looks to match a glove found in the trash at Cranston’s home, and the tire tread on Cranston’s red Jeep resembles the tire tread imprints discovered at the crime scene.
According to the documents, Andy Byler informed police that around two weeks before his wife’s murder, a suspicious figure arrived at their home at night. According to Andy Byler, a bald, white man with a white beard came to the house, and “when confronted, the male inquired about purchasing the house,” the documents stated.
According to the records, Katie Byler, a lady who lives near the victim, told police that a man named John drove her husband, from whom she had recently separated. When John wasn’t available one day, he recommended that his father, Shawn, serve as a driver, according to court filings. The husband “accepted the ride from Shawn and immediately got an uneasy feeling about him,” according to the documents.
Katie Byler and the two people she lives with told police that from December to February, they “had very odd experiences with this individual they know as Shawn,” according to the records.
They informed police that after Shawn gave Katie Byler’s husband a ride, “Shawn would randomly show up at their residence,” according to the records.
“On one occasion, Shawn drove a Jeep to their residence and parked in their driveway,” according to the court papers.
Shawn, dressed entirely in black and holding a small weapon in a holster on his belt, “was walking around their property looking aimlessly into their fields, and his speech made no sense,” according to court filings. “He was inquiring as to when and where they attend church and that he wished to go with him.”
According to the records, Rebekah Byler’s neighbor reported to police that a bald, white man driving a red SUV stopped into her driveway 10 days before the murder. According to Rebekah Byler, the man then backed out of the driveway and headed toward her house.
Records show that one woman saw a photo of Cranston’s car and claimed to have seen it drive by 10 days prior to the murder. She also “indicated she believed” the driver’s first name was Shawn.
