Amish woman murdered in Pennsylvania: Rebekah Byler, 23, was pregnant when she was shot dead at home

An Amish mother of two who was also six months pregnant was found dead of gunshot wounds in her home in rural Pennsylvania. The shocking crime has left investigators baffled.

Rebekah Byler, 23, was found dead by a family member on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, about 40 miles southeast of Erie, Pennsylvania, after police were called to the scene yesterday around 12:30 p.m.

State police said they are investigating Byler’s death as a homicide, which is unusual in parts of the Erie region with a large Amish population.

However, they said they are “aggressively investigating all available leads.”

Byler’s two other children were unharmed in the home when the body was found by police.

The police have no suspects for the suspected crime on Tuesday afternoon. The Erie Times News reported.

The autopsy is pending and police have not yet released any further details.

Neighbors told WJET/WFXP that Byler was six months pregnant and it was her husband who made the gruesome discovery.

Byler was found with gunshot wounds, KDKA-TV reported.

The ‘heartbroken’ community said Byler’s death has affected everyone who lives there.

‘Bencha good people, everyone seems to get along with them. Everyone is just stunned. No one could even imagine this kind of thing going on,” local resident Randy Eaton told WJET-TV.

‘It’s downright shameful that something like this could happen here. There is no person who does not worry. Everyone is surprised.’

“We’re just a very close-knit community and I’m absolutely heartbroken that this has happened. I’m very concerned about the Amish community, I’m concerned about them,” Spartansburg Pharmacy owner Charleen Hajec said.

“This is very shocking, very shocking, and especially not knowing what happened and what’s going on, but it’s just very, very shocking,” Hajec added.

Police are asking anyone in the area of ​​Fish Flats Road who may have seen suspicious people, cars or activity to contact them.

Police on site. Pennsylvania State Police said they are investigating Byler’s death as a homicide, which is unusual in parts of the Erie region with a large Amish population.

In July 2021, a Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2020 death of an 18-year-old Amish girl.

Justo Smoker was sentenced to 35 and a half to 71 years in prison, with an additional 17 and a half years to be added for parole violation, in the death of Linda Stoltzfoos.

He also pleaded guilty to kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and possession of an instrument of crime.

The young girl’s remains were found in rural Pennsylvania in April 2021, ten months after her disappearance.

The Lancaster County Coroner used dental records to positively identify the body of Linda Stoltzfoos.

The cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation, along with suffocation, said the coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, after the autopsy. He said the stab wound was a contributing factor in her death.

Stoltzfoos was last seen walking home from church in the Bird-in-Hand area on June 21, 2020.

Her remains were wrapped in a tarp and buried in a four-foot-deep grave along the railroad tracks behind Dutchland Inc, a company where Smoker had worked. It is located in the small town of Gap along Route 41.

Smoker, 35, of Paradise, was charged with murder in December 2020 after being arrested in August of that year.

Officials previously said the suspect’s DNA was found on the victim’s stocking.

Bird-in-Hand is known for its large Amish population, and tourists come to visit the Amish Village heritage museum there.

Pennsylvania and Ohio have the highest concentration of Amish communities, with 50 in each state.