SPARTANSBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man was arrested Saturday and charged with murdering a pregnant Amish woman whose body was found last week.
Sean C. Cranston, 52, of Collier, was charged with murder, murder of an unborn child, robbery and trespassing, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
He was denied bail at a preliminary arraignment early Saturday morning and is being held in the Crawford County Jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 15, according to online court records. They do not list an attorney.
Calls and emails to state police, the district attorney and the public defender's office did not immediately respond Saturday morning.
Cranston's arrest came less than a week after authorities discovered the body of Rebecca A. Byler, 23, in the living room of her home a few miles from Spartansburg.
Police said she appeared to have cuts to her neck and head.
The killing shocked rural areas of northwestern Pennsylvania, where people say the Amish have good relations with their neighbors in the area.
Police began investigating on February 26 after Byler's husband, Andy Byler, discovered Byler's body inside their home just after noon.
Officer Cynthia Schick told The Associated Press on Thursday that the investigation and autopsy have given police an idea of what kind of murder weapon may have been used.
Schick said Byler's two young children who were in the home were not harmed.
The Beiler family home is located on a dirt road in a very remote agricultural area. On Thursday evening, dozens of Amish people gathered at area homes for hours to make phone calls. Many people arrived in buggies down narrow country roads with headlights shining on them.
Residents say the Amish have long existed in the area and are well integrated into the surrounding community. Amish and non-Amish visit each other's homes, and Amish work for non-Amish and attend events such as fish fries. Neighbors are raising money to help the Byler family.
According to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, the Amish generally follow basic Christian beliefs and practices, but they are not homogeneous. They are known for their simple clothing and reliance on horses and carriages for transportation. Local congregations maintain different rules and restrictions regarding dress, use of technology, and participation in American society.
The overall Amish population is approximately 400,000 people in hundreds of settlements across 32 states, Canada, and Bolivia. Pennsylvania has one of the highest concentrations of Amish.