SPARTANBURG, PA — Police have announced an arrest in connection with the death of 23-year-old pregnant Rebecca A. Byler, which has shaken the Amish community in rural Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania State Police announced early Saturday morning that Sean Cranston, a 52-year-old man from Collier, Pennsylvania, was arrested in connection with the murder of an Amish woman and is now facing multiple charges, including murder and criminal homicide. Murder of an unborn child, robbery, and trespassing.
Cranston was arraigned Saturday morning and is currently being held without bail in the Crawford County Jail.
Related: Pennsylvania State Police say slain Amish pregnant woman had cuts to her head and neck
On February 26, police responded to a home in Sparta Township where they found Byler dead, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Byler's cause of death has not been made public.
Sparta Township is a small town in Crawford County, just outside the Borough of Spartansburg and approximately 55 miles southeast of Erie, Pennsylvania.
“Everyone is shocked. This doesn't happen here,” Charlene Hajek, a pharmacist who was born and raised in Spartansburg, told ABC News. She said: “Everyone is talking. It's scary and frustrating.”
Hajek said she couldn't believe a murder would occur in the Spartan area, which she called a “close-knit community.”
“The outside world doesn't invade,” Hajek said. “For something so tragic to happen…it doesn't happen here.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for the latest information.
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