PA - Rebekah Byler, 23, mother & six months pregnant, murdered, Crawford County, 26 Feb 2024 *Arrest*

[Dotta]

Is an Amish couple adopting a child from outside of their family/community a common occurrence?

I think it is advisable for them to enlarge gene pool.

JMO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

CRANSTON, SHAWN CHRISTOPHER
03/02/24
182501A - CRIMINAL HOMICIDE
183503A1I - CRIM TRES-ENTER STRUCTURE
183502A1 - BURGLARY-OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATION PERSON PRESENT 182603A - CRIMINAL HOMICIDE OF UNBORN CHILD

https://www.crawfordcountypa.net/CCCF/InmateLists/crawford%20daily%20report.pdf?p=1709470388748

 

[Eli9]

I didn’t look up property records but are we sure the previous owners were related or they just have the same surname? As someone previously stated, in these small insular communities you are going to see the same surnames over and over again, even in Amish communities in other states.

1st post but lurking since page 1. Can anyone clarify were the previous owners related to Cranston or were they related to the Byler's. TIA as I can't seem to get this straight.

 

[SleutherGirl]

1st post but lurking since thread 1. Can anyone clarify were the previous owners related to Cranston or were they related to the Byler's. TIA as I can't seem to get this straight.

They were, as I understand it, not related to either of them. The previous owners were foster parents to Cranston's grandson.

 

[charminglane]

Building animosity.
Injustice collector.
This poor woman and her family and community.

 

[nightowl1975]

I wonder when he realized he was attacking the wrong person and family, that he had murdered a complete stranger that had no connection to his grandson?

So shocking. So senseless.

IMO, these types tend to refuse any accountability whatsoever, so I could totally see him believing he “had” to kill her bc she was screaming at him. “If only” she had been calm and rational, he would’ve realized the grandson no longer lived there. It’s somehow this poor, defenseless woman’s “fault” in his head.

 

[Shamrock1]

Is an Amish couple adopting a child from outside of their family/community a common occurrence?

Yes. For a while, at least, there were a number of Mennonite families in central PA with (largely Black) foster/adoptive children from Philadelphia. You might find it interesting to google around for non-white Amish/Mennonites. <modsnip> adoption allows new genes to enter the pool. (Conversion is extremely rare).

African American children in Mennonite families bridge two worlds

Janelle and Jasmine Newswanger lead simple, contented lives in one of Pennsylvania's Mennonite communities. The 17-year-old twins drive a horse-drawn buggy, wear long dresses and white head coverings, and see their friends at church on Sundays.

www.inquirer.com

 

[Dotta]

I guess the perp (allegedly) went to this house to demand the new address of foster parents.

When denied the info, he (allegedly) went berserk.

I suspect he (allegedly) harassed the previous owners of this house too.

Interesting that the grandson was (allegedly) taken from the family in the first place.
And he (allegedly) was not considered the appropriate guardian by authorities.

To add...
I thought in case of fostering/adopting kids,
the bio family is not informed of identity of foster parents.
Just to avoid such situations.

JMO

 

[Hereshecomes75]

I think many of the adoptions by Amish and Mennonite families start out as foster care situations. The people are used to having lots of kids around, have SAHMs, and want to do good, so adding in a foster kid isn’t a struggle as others age out of the nest. Then they grow to love each other, the child becomes adoptable, and it’s a natural next step.

 

[SherryLock]

I guess the perp went to this house to demand the new address of foster parents.

When denied the info, he went berserk.

I suspect he harassed the previous owners of this house too.

Interesting that the grandson was taken from the family in the first place.
And he was not considered the appropriate guardian by authorities.

To add...
I thought in case of fostering kids, the "blood" family is not informed of identity of foster parents.
Just to avoid such situations.

JMO

I think your theory sounds quite plausible.

But do we know these were foster children? The adoption could also have been a private one, with no authorities involved. If the parent/s willingly gave the children up. Which seems less likely to me but is possible.

If the family fostered the kids before the bio parents rights were terminated, then it’s likely their birth parent/s would have known who the foster/adoptive parents were because the bio parents typically get a year to follow CPS rules of what they need to change to get the kids back. And during that time period, they get regular visits with their kids and meetings that include the foster parents.

 

[Knox]

I guess the perp (allegedly) went to this house to demand the new address of foster parents.

When denied the info, he (allegedly) went berserk.

I suspect he (allegedly) harassed the previous owners of this house too.

Interesting that the grandson was (allegedly) taken from the family in the first place.
And he (allegedly) was not considered the appropriate guardian by authorities.

To add...
I thought in case of fostering/adopting kids,
the bio family is not informed of identity of foster parents.
Just to avoid such situations.

JMO

In the Orrin & Orson West case out of Bakersfield - bio-mom lost custody of the boys. For a period of time after, reunification services took place. She was allowed supervised visits and knew who they were placed with. My example above is a long, complicated case, which I've greatly simplified in my description.

Point being, with a little effort on the part of an interested party - identity/location could be discovered. Particularily if the bio party is not a law abiding person to begin with and feels wronged by the rulings of the court.

@charminglane put it best, SC is an Injustice Collector. His "me & mine" statement on his FB page clearly speaks to this, IMO.

 

[TexLil]

I find it odd that the alleged murderer was supposedly driven to kill to get back a family member from a foster/adoptive family when he himself was apparently a foster parent.

MOO

 

[elmomom]

I find it odd that the alleged murderer was supposedly driven to kill to get back a family member from a foster/adoptive family when he himself was apparently a foster parent.

MOO

It is quite possible there is more to the story. But also, it is possible that he has a different opinion of his grandson being raised in the Amish community than he would by a non Amish foster parent. Many people who do live alongside the Amish are not exactly supporters of their community, there can be a lot of friction and disagreement

 

[SherryLock]

Is an Amish couple adopting a child from outside of their family/community a common occurrence?

I think it's also possible that the adoptive parents who formerly live in the Byler's home were not Amish, even though they shared a last name with the current residents and were likely at least distantly related to them.

 

[Knox]

I find it odd that the alleged murderer was supposedly driven to kill to get back a family member from a foster/adoptive family when he himself was apparently a foster parent.

MOO

Just a thought - in his situation as a foster, he was in control. With his own grandson, he clearly wasn't in control of the situation. What happened wasn't right in his view. I wouldn't be suprised, if he tried to gain custody but was refused.
JMO, based on some of the statement we learned about yesterday.

 

[SteveP]

I think it's also possible that the adoptive parents who formerly live in the Byler's home were not Amish, even though they shared a last name with the current residents and were likely at least distantly related to them.

In the realtor pics of the home, posted here several pages back, I noticed the absence of visible electrical outlets in any room of the house. Based strictly on that, and on the very short amount of time that the Byler family has lived there, I tend to believe that whoever owned the house previously was likely also Amish. JMO

https://www.realtor.com/realestatea...h-Flats-Rd_Spartansburg_PA_16434_M46398-17184

 

[SherryLock]

Or it really could have been mistaken identity. I think that's definitely a possibility, especially if someone has a very disordered mind.

 

[SherryLock]

In the realtor pics of the home, posted here several pages back, I noticed the absence of visible electrical outlets in any room of the house. Based strictly on that, I tend to believe that it is likely that whoever owned the house previously was also Amish. JMO

I think the house was also put back on the market briefly after the current Bylers purchased it, so that confuses the issue a little. You're probably right though. MOO

 

[shetalksinstereo]

I guess the perp (allegedly) went to this house to demand the new address of foster parents.

When denied the info, he (allegedly) went berserk.

I suspect he (allegedly) harassed the previous owners of this house too.

Interesting that the grandson was (allegedly) taken from the family in the first place.
And he (allegedly) was not considered the appropriate guardian by authorities.

To add...
I thought in case of fostering/adopting kids,
the bio family is not informed of identity of foster parents.
Just to avoid such situations.

JMO

He could have just gotten the info from the county property records
He didn't need to murder someone.

 

[MassGuy]

The daughter of the alleged gunman suspected of killing a pregnant Amish mother-of-two has claimed that her father meant to kill previous homeowner.

Shawn Cranston, 52, was arrested and charged in the murder of Rebekah Byler, who was shot in her head and had her throat slashed inside her home on Monday.

Cranston's daughter, who was similar in age to the young victim, told JET 24/Fox 66 that she believed the killing may have been a case of mistaken identity.

The Amish couple, who lived in Byler's home a few years ago, adopted Cranston's grandson. The daughter said: 'As far as I know, he just wanted his grandson back.'

According to the daughter, the events took a deadly turn when Byler began shouting at her father. She said: 'Supposedly she started yelling at him, coming in, then that's when boom, all it took. It's just horrifying to think that.'

Daughter of 'gunman' who killed pregnant Amish woman speaks out

Shawn Cranston, 52, was arrested and charged in the murder of Rebekah Byler, who was shot in her head and had her throat slashed inside her home on Monday.

www.dailymail.co.uk