A Pregnant Amish Woman Was Found Dead in Her Pa. Home, and Police Suspect Homicide
Rebekah A. Byler, 23, was six-months pregnant with her third child, according to reports
TIM HAHN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS/USA TODAY NETWORK
Pennsylvania State Police troopers searched a residence on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, Crawford County, on Tuesday in their investigation into the suspected homicide of a 23-year-old Amish woman.Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the death of a 23-year-old pregnant Amish woman as a homicide, authorities said this week.
Rebekah A. Byler was found dead on Monday inside her home in Pennsylvania’s Sparta Township, in the northwestern part of the state, in an area with a large Amish population.
Byler was six-months pregnant with her third child, according to local ABC 6.
“It’s definitely shameful that anything like this could go on here,” Randy Eaton, who lives in Spartanburg, told the outlet. “Everyone’s surprised.”
Byler’s possible homicide would be the first among the state’s Amish community since 1993, according to the Erie Times-News.
Pennsylvania State Police told ABC 6 that authorities are “aggressively investigating all available leads,” though no suspects have been identified thus far. Police have not brought anyone in for questioning yet, Erie News Now reported.
Authorities have also not yet revealed how Byler was killed. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for a comment about the case.
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According to the Erie Times-News, Byler was at home taking care of two young children on the day she was found dead. A family member and a friend of the Byler family discovered her body shortly before 12:30 p.m., the newspaper reports.
ABC reports that it was Byler’s husband who discovered her body inside the family’s home.
The children who were home at the time were not injured, according to Erie Times-News.
Charleen Hajec, another neighbor in nearby Spartansburg, told ABC 6 that news about the murder was “very shocking” to hear.
“We’re just a very tight-knit community and I’m just absolutely heartbroken that this has happened,” Hajec said.
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