A Pennsylvania man has been convicted for the brutal murder of a pregnant Amish woman and her unborn child during a violent home invasion.
Shawn Christopher Cranston, 53, was found guilty earlier this month of first-degree criminal homicide, second-degree homicide of an unborn child, burglary, and criminal trespass. The conviction stems from the shocking killing of 23-year-old Rebekah A. Byler in her Sparta Township home in February 2024.
According to authorities, Byler, who was six months pregnant with her third child, was discovered dead in her living room. Her throat had been slit, and she was laying in a pool of blood with obvious sharp force injuries. Police also found a “scalping-type wound” on her head.
Two young children, Byler’s 2-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, were there at the time of the incident but were unharmed. The youngster then informed authorities that he witnessed a man wearing shoes drive up in a green truck and murder his mother.
Authorities noted a Nike Air Force One shoe print inside the house. Notably, members of the Amish community do not wear sneakers, making this detail particularly significant.
During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses, including a prison inmate who said that Cranston admitted to the murder. According to the convict, Cranston said that the victim screamed when he approached her and then attacked her.
“He spun her around and started choking her,” the inmate testified. “She didn’t pass out, so he slit her throat. When that didn’t work fast enough, he shot her.”
Cranston, a truck driver who worked with a nearby Amish family, did not testify. His defense attorney claimed that there was no DNA linking him to the crime, citing a lack of physical evidence such as blood or fingerprints.
Though the prosecution did not establish a formal motive, nor did they recover the murder weapon definitively, the jury was convinced of Cranston’s guilt. A knife discovered later was devoid of fingerprints and DNA, and the gun was never found.
Despite the gaps in evidence, the jury deliberated for less than three hours before delivering a guilty verdict on all counts.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday called the killing “heinous” and said Cranston had “violated the sanctity of home.” He added, “It is hard to fathom conduct more heinous than brutally killing a young expectant mother and her unborn child in her home.”
Cranston is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, 2025, and is likely to face several decades in prison for the crime.
