Pennsylvania man receives life in prison for murdering pregnant Amish woman
Shawn Cranston will spend the rest of his life in prison after a Crawford County judge sentenced him for the killing of 23-year-old Rebekah Byler, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said in a news release on Monday.
In June, the 53-year-old Cranston, a truck driver who lived about 8 miles from Byler's home, was convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder of an unborn child, and related charges.
On Monday, the judge sentenced the man to the mandatory life-without-parole sentence for the first-degree murder conviction, plus an additional sentence of life in prison.
Authorities said Cranston shot and stabbed Byler to death after encountering her during a robbery of her home on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township on Feb. 26, 2024.
An autopsy previously showed the 23-year-old victim died of sharp force injuries and a gunshot wound to the head.
"This defendant committed a truly evil act, and is now held fully accountable as he will spend the rest of his life behind bars without an opportunity to ever again harm another person in free society," Sunday said in Monday's news release.
Byler's two young children were home when she was killed. They were not physically harmed, law enforcement said during the investigation.
A Crawford County jury found Cranston guilty after four days of testimony in June.
Officials said Byler "lived for her children and had a passion for cleaning." Her family members attended Monday's sentencing but did not speak, the news release said.
"My thoughts are with the victim's family, whose quiet strength throughout the process has been inspiring," Sunday said.
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