Pennsylvania State Police reported that on Saturday night arrested a man accused of murdering a pregnant Amish woman, identified as Rebekah A. Byler, 23last week.
Shawn C. Cranston, 52, of Corry, He is charged with criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, robbery and burglary, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
Cranston allegedly broke into Byler’s Sparta Township home last Monday and killed her by “shooting her in the head and/or slitting her throat.”
Police said a family member, later identified as her husband Andy Byler, found her dead shortly before 12:30 p.m. Her other two children were also in her house, who were unharmed.
Cranston was denied bail at a preliminary arraignment early Saturday due to the possibility of a life sentence, and He is being held in the Crawford County Jail.
Court records show he has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 15.
Sparta Township is a small township in Crawford County, outside Spartansburg Township and about 35 miles southeast of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Residents said the Amish had a long-standing presence in the area and blended well with the surrounding community.
Neighbors have been raising money to help the Byler family.
The total Amish population is nearly 400,000 people in hundreds of settlements in 32 states, Canada and Bolivia. Pennsylvania has one of the largest concentrations of Amish.
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