SPARTA TWP., Pa. (EYT) – With help from the public, the Pennsylvania State Police have successfully identified two “potential witnesses” in the Rebekah Byler murder.
PSP Community Service Officer Cindy Schick distributed photos of the men at approximately 12:00 p.m. on March 6. At 1:20 p.m., she notified the media that the men had been identified.
“We want to emphasize that these individuals are not suspects in this case but are potential witnesses,” said Schick in her original email.
Case Background:
According to a February 26 release from Trooper Schick, troopers from Troop E – Corry responded to the scene on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, Crawford County, at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Monday, February 26, where they found Rebekah Byler deceased in her home.
The young mother, six months pregnant with her third child, was discovered in the main living area by her husband and a family friend returning to the house. Byler’s two young children were present when they arrived.
According to court documents, Rebekah Byler suffered a laceration to the front of her neck, a “scalping wound” on her head, and a gunshot wound to her head.
52-year-old Shawn C. Cranston, of Corry, was arrested on March 2 on suspicion of Byler’s murder.
Shawn Cranston mugshot courtesy of the Crawford County Jail.
Cranston has been charged with Criminal Homicide, Criminal Homicide of an Unborn Child, Burglary, and Criminal Trespass. He is currently lodged at the Crawford County Jail.
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